Luxury Real Estate

By Yvonne Harvey

I was surprised to see a copy of US Airways Magazine on my desk this week with a sticky note on it saying “Info for Conference.” I was perplexed on what that would have to do with our conference in Philadelphia. Then I saw it. In the top right-hand corner in small letters are the words “Philly’s Best-Kept Secrets.” Well, hello!

I thought I would list them out for you, and maybe you can guess which one really jumped out at me.

1) Center City – It’s dynamic and diverse, but also compact and walkable – offering something for everyone.

2) America’s Most Historic Square Mile – The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, The National Constitution Center.

3) A Lively Arts Scene – Music, dance, theater – whatever calls to you, Philadelphia has it.

4) Tax-Free Shopping for Apparel and Shoes – Enough said.

5) Entertainment & Nightlife – With dozens of trendy nightclubs and other up-to-the-minute hot spots, you’ll be able to party ‘til the wee hours.

6) Great Eats – From cheese steaks to five-star dining, Philadelphia has culinary offerings to satisfy every palette.

7) Room to Roam – Even though Philadelphia is a big city, it also has some great outdoors. Run wild in one of America’s largest urban parks.

8) Easy Access – Philadelphia is a quick Amtrak train ride from Washington, D.C. and New York. The airport offers 1,600 daily departures and arrivals to 122 domestic and international destinations.

9) Rooms for Everyone – We have lots of hotel rooms, meeting spaces, and the Convention Center all in the heart of Center City.

10) Historic Service – The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau sales and service team is one of the most critically acclaimed in the industry.

So, did you guess which one jumped out at me? Wait for it …. TAX-FREE SHOPPING! Can we say Neiman Marcus, Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors and Juicy Couture!

As it says above… enough said.

See you in Philly!


Editor’s Note:
Yvonne Harvey is the Events Coordinator for LuxuryRealEstate.com. So when you come and enjoy the wonderful presentations, discussions and networking opportunities at Luxury Real Estate conferences, you know who to thank. It looks like there are now 13 great reasons to attend the Fall Conference in Philadelphia – besides, of course, the networking opportunities, knowledge waiting to be shared, etc. The photo above is from www.flickr.com/photos/vic15/15082596 and it is the copyright of vic15.

By Courtney Jackson

The summer 2008 issue of LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine was just released. Be sure to pick up a copy or view it online.

Editor’s Note:
Courtney Jackson is the Print Director for LuxuryRealEstate.com. She works closely with The Wall Street Journal, Unique Homes and a variety of other publications to help luxury brokers gain domestic and international exposure for their properties. It’s funny, but I just read in another website, called Asiaing.com, that LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine came out today. Very cool!

By Brian Langhorst

The luxury real estate market place is filled with various companies with very strong branding messages for the corporation. What are you as an agent doing to stand out from the other competing agents in your own company?

Editor’s Note:
Brian Langhorst is LuxuryRealEstate.com’s Membership Manager. He meets members’ unique needs through the dynamic services LuxuryRealEstate.com provides. Short and sweet – just the way I like blog entries! LuxuryRealEstate.com can help you stand out with print and online advertisements in The Wall Street Journal, LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and more. The above picture is from www.flickr.com/photos/vieuxbandit/499540173 and is the copyright of vieux bandit.

By Robert Lockard

I have some fun news to share about John Brian Losh, Publisher/CEO of LuxuryRealEstate.com and Broker/CEO of Ewing & Clark, Inc., Seattle's oldest real-estate brokerage.

Mr. Losh will appear on Lakefront Radio, an Atlanta radio show on Friday, June 20, 2008. He will discuss the luxury real estate market and high-tech trends with hosts Mary Thompson, Chuck Thompson and Lee Kantor.

The radio show is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Pacific Time. You can listen to the show live by visiting the Lakefront Radio website. That will be great. I’m sure Mr. Losh will have some great insights to share.

In addition to this radio show, Mr. Losh also appeared in the April/May issue of Unique Homes magazine. He was the focus of Ken Weingartner’s “Unique Personalities” section. Nick Antonicello, Director of Sales at Unique Homes, gave Mr. Losh a copy of that magazine issue at the 13th Annual Luxury Real Estate Spring Retreat this past April.


Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with LuxuryRealEstate.com. I am Robert. I create all of Luxury Real Estate’s newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. This is very exciting stuff. I can’t wait to listen to this radio show tomorrow.

By Brian Langhorst

You may have noticed that LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine can now be viewed over the Internet, digitally. Our company did this for a few reasons: to increase distribution of the magazine and listings of our members, and to increase distribution in a manner that reduces printing and paper use, thus reducing our carbon footprint and environmental impact.

I recently learned that our distinguished Luxury Real Estate member, Jenny Pruitt & Associates in Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding area, took their magazine The Atlanta Collection digital as well.

We will be more than happy to speak with you and your print team about what is necessary to do this. Please feel free to contact me at blanghorst at LuxuryRealEstate.com to learn more.


Editor’s Note:
Brian Langhorst is LuxuryRealEstate.com’s Membership Manager. He meets members’ unique needs through the dynamic services LuxuryRealEstate.com provides. Reduce, reuse and recycle. Growing up in Washington state, those words were often impressed upon me. I’m all for being good stewards over the land we possess. Being able to reach an even broader audience than would be possible through traditional paper media is an added benefit of conserving resources. Excellent point, Brian! The cover of The Atlanta Collection is from Pruitt Pulse, an awesome real-estate blog.

By Brian Langhorst

Lately, the keyword in advertising is international! Everyone wants international exposure as foreign currencies are very strong compared to the U.S. dollar. This strength presents great options for investors to come to the United States and purchase real estate. I agree that this is a great target audience, given the current situation.

I also wanted to throw out some facts from Forbes.com, which recently compiled a list of the top billionaires in the world. These facts drew my attention to the importance of continuing to market domestically as well as globally. Of the 1,125 billionaires in the world, 444 or 39.4 percent are citizens of the United States. This is by far the highest number of individuals in one country anywhere in the world. In your marketing campaigns be sure to reach out to both audiences.

There are several print magazines that do a very good job reaching both international and domestic buyers. LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine, Unique Homes and Country Life all work very well. We are happy to help you design ads and market to these key groups. Please contact me with questions or to advertise: blanghorst@LuxuryRealEstate.com.

What are you doing to reach both domestic and international markets?


Editor’s Note:
Brian Langhorst is LuxuryRealEstate.com’s Membership Manager. He meets members’ unique needs through the dynamic services LuxuryRealEstate.com provides. In addition to these excellent publications, we also run group ads in The Wall Street Journal, and we have one coming up on June 27, 2008 that you can sign up for. Contact our Print Director, Courtney Jackson, for details.

By Allyson Metters

Like many of my friends, the most important thing in a home for me is the kitchen – not that I am a great cook, but there is something about that room that appeals to me. Every time I see a property listing, I always take a look through the photos for the kitchen shots.

According to an article entitled “What Luxury Looks Like in the New Kitchen and Bath” in Custom Builder magazine, multiplicity is a trend in luxury kitchens – multiple islands, sinks, appliances – even multiple kitchens.

The article also covers luxury trends for master baths – including showers equipped with steam, sound therapy, and aroma therapy.


Editor’s Note:
As she mentioned, Allyson Metters is the Relocation Manager for LuxuryRealEstate.com. She helps people who are moving to find a perfect broker to meet their needs in their new area. Allyson makes an interesting point about amenities and what people are looking for in a luxury home. Keep an eye on changing tastes.

By Brian Langhorst

We are featuring a special section in the upcoming Summer 2008 issue of LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine on golf properties and developments. This is a phenomenal opportunity for our members to showcase their knowledge of the golf community marketplace and share sales opportunities. Please contact Robert Lockard, our PR writer, to be included in this great opportunity!

I look forward to hearing your ideas, and seeing your sales opportunities!


Editor’s Note:
Brian Langhorst is LuxuryRealEstate.com’s Membership Manager. He meets members’ unique needs through the dynamic services LuxuryRealEstate.com provides. As the author of this upcoming editorial in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine, I can definitely vouch for Brian’s sentiments. I hope to hear from you soon, as well. By the way, you can find the photo above at www.simonperry.org/golf-courseaircraft-carrier.

By Courtney Jackson

The digital version of the spring issue of LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine is now online! Click here to check it out: www.luxuryrealestate-digital.com/luxuryrealestate/2008spring/.

 

Editor’s Note:
Courtney Jackson is the Print Director for LuxuryRealEstate.com. She works closely with The Wall Street Journal, Unique Homes and a variety of other publications to help luxury brokers gain domestic and international exposure for their properties. As the author of the editorials in this magazine, I can vouch for its quality. I hope you enjoy reading it!

By Janice Ridge

We at LuxuryRealEstate.com have been hearing lately that some of our members are focusing more on Web marketing these days, and have reduced their budget for print. Well, let me ask you to rethink this trend. Here’s a story that just may change your mind.

LuxuryRealEstate.com member Prominent Properties - Sotheby’s International Realty, in Tenafly, N.J., recently reported that a front-cover ad of the August/September 2007 issue of Unique Homes magazine not only brought their agent, Jennifer Patterson, the buyer, but she sold the listing at the full sale price of $11.8 million in cash! That equaled 28 times the initial investment made on the ad! Incredibly, the same all-cash buyer also purchased an estate in Greenwich, Conn. for $22 million!

Many agents mistakenly believe that their business should be either print-based or Web-based. However, a multimedia approach is necessary in the specialized luxury real estate market. With most luxury buyers over the age of 40, these are people who grew up reading a good Sunday paper, including the real-estate classified ads and magazine inserts. These are also the buyers and sellers who are connected to the Internet and are online regularly. They are going back and forth from print to Web and then back again.

In addition to posting their listings on www.luxuryrealestate.com, members regularly take advantage of Luxury Real Estate’s group advertising rates with the Wall Street Journal. This means that an ad in the Journal reaches a core audience of business and professional people who are likely candidates to purchase luxury properties in addition to their regular subscribers.  With Luxury Real Estate’s newly offered product, the Wall Street Journal International edition, our members’ listings are sure to reach the widest audience possible in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.

So those of you who question the value of print – think again! Your successful marketing campaign should include a combination of online listings and group advertising in our many print opportunities. Call us today for further information on how you can participate!


Editor’s Note:
As the Director of Membership at LuxuryRealEstate.com, and herself a licensed REALTOR®, Janice Ridge is devoted to coordinating the efforts of all of the LuxuryRealEstate.com Membership and Account Managers, so that each of our members is given superior service. I’d like to mention that all of our group Wall Street Journal ads are also placed online in a great example of print and Web marketing working together. Long live print, indeed.