Each Friday, Robbie Briggs, president and CEO of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, writes about luxury, trends, business and more in the advertising pages of the Mansion section of The Wall Street Journal. Below is his letter of March 12, 2021.
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE
A pandemic may have surprised us, but our agents didn’t.
The numbers are in from Sotheby’s International Realty® and there are some eyebrow-raisers: The entire network — that’s 24,000 agents across 75 countries and territories — achieved a record $150 billion in 2020 global sales volume, a nearly 32-percent increase in sales growth, year over year. The brand also opened more than 50 new offices around the world, bringing its total to nearly 1,000. The network’s YouTube channel, where buyers can see brilliant videos of beautiful properties, delivered 43 million views. And, as I write this, buyers can tour more than 6,000 properties via virtual reality or video on sothebysrealty.com, and hundreds of our own brokerage’s listings at briggsfreeman.com.
You get the picture: The numbers are up, in every way.
This is all very impressive — and I am very proud. Here at Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, our agents and staff raised the bar, too, in a time when we weren’t quite sure what was going to happen.
That’s the part that doesn’t surprise me at all. This bunch, through twists and turns in the world and the market, adapted to every single challenge — like they always have. They took to their phones and computers to present houses virtually. They revved up online document signing to help close deals safely. They rethought open houses, private tours and almost every aspect of their businesses — and they triumphed.
I’ve got news for you: We are in a full-on reinvention of the meaning of home. Going forward, your home may also be a school, an office, a vacation spot, even a place for relatives to move into. Navigating the selling or buying of a home — a more important place than ever — takes a real pro.
I think Philip White, the president and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty, said it best, as these numbers were revealed: “Our 2020 results prove what is possible when you focus on quality above all else.”
Here’s to more of that.
Robbie Briggs
President and CEO
Footer Social Links