Each Friday, the executives of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty write about luxury, trends, business and more in the advertising pages of the Mansion section of The Wall Street Journal. Below is president Russ Anderson's letter of April 28, 2023.

 

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S POINT OF VIEW

 

As I write this, I am in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the finest real estate professionals in the entire world — literally, from all over the world — including many of the agents of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty.

We have come for the Global Networking Event, the annual mixer each year for Sotheby’s International Realty agents, marketers and leaders. This time, we are 3,000 strong, from 173 brokerages in 37 countries and 44 states. We are having seminars, speakers, dinners and soirees — and a lot of idea-trading and strategy-making. There is nothing like the GNE. We come away with so many valuable practices to employ now and down the road that will benefit everyone — especially our clients. Here is a rapid-fire summary of just some of the concepts we’re exploring:

• The largest transfer of generational wealth and a large number of millennial buyers are coming into the market.

• You are who you surround yourself with.

• A.I. will disrupt. (Take a course on ChatGPT now.)

• We are really in the hospitality business. Our agents are famous for taking care of their clients — who see them as trusted advisors, not salespeople.

• Luxury real estate is a durable investment for the future. Collect it the way you would collect art.

• Our agents know how to put headlines in context.

• We have to rethink how to get our inner cities going again.

• Don’t do what a competitor is doing. You could ruin your industry. 

I’m telling you: The discussions are amazing — as is this network. We are growing, thriving and leading. We’ve weathered storms and we’re blazing trails.

You could say that, in Las Vegas, we have rediscovered ourselves. And what’s happened in Vegas is coming home to North Texas. We can’t wait.

 

Russ Anderson

President

Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty

randerson@briggsfreeman.com

 

PHOTOS: Live from Las Vegas! Top: Agents from Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty. Inset: Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty president Russ Anderson with Peerage Realty Partners CEO Gavin Swartzman.