Coldwell Banker tops $40M in sales
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate has announced the Southwest Florida market led international sales with over $49 million in closed sales volume as of December 31 2008. Comprised of 19 offices and nearly 1,000 sales associates in Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee and Collier Counties, the Southwest Florida area represents 58 percent of Coldwell Banker international sales across the state.
Thirteen of Coldwell Banker’s international sales in Florida sold for $1 million or more. The Sarasota market outperformed historically strong luxury property sales in Miami-Dade County with six of our multi-million dollar sales closing in the Sarasota area. The top sales price of $6,214,000 belonged to a property in Sarasota, followed by the second highest sales price in the state of $4,625,000 in Boca Raton.
The third highest sales price for Florida was in Longboat Key at $3,300,000. Three of the top sales in the Southwest Florida area include Cape Coral (at $1,825,000), Marco Island (at $1,250,000) and Naples (at $1,100,000). These international buyers are from Canada, the U.K. and India.
“We are seeing buyers from Canada, the U.K, France, Germany, India, Denmark and Egypt buying property in our area. International homebuyers are attracted to Southwest Florida real estate for many reasons. Mortgage interest rates are low, the favorable exchange rate of the Euro enables many to ‘buy more for their money’ here, and baby-boomers want to maximize their return on investment properties,” said Sue Wolverton, regional senior vice president, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Southwest Florida. Buyers from Canada account for 66 percent of sales, followed by buyers from the United Kingdom (11 percent), France (4 percent), Denmark, Egypt and India (2 percent each).
Based on National Association of Realtor statistics, Florida leads the nation in attracting international homebuyers with 26 percent of all foreign home sales.
According to Wolverton, “International buyers currently account for 15 percent of total home sales statewide. As one of the worlds’ most well-known and respected real estate brands, Coldwell Banker is uniquely positioned to serve the needs of the international homebuyer.” Con-sumers from 145 countries on six continents visited www.floridamoves.com in December of 2008. Top countries from which users visited the site were Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Uruguay and Brazil.
The company recently appointed Lena White to the position of Manager of Luxury and International Markets. White, a real estate professional for 15 years and the company’s former events and executive services manager, will direct the luxury program and further develop international relations for Florida. “Coldwell Banker Previews International is a comprehensive marketing effort designed specifically for marketing luxury residential properties to affluent buyers worldwide,” said White.
As part of its commitment to utilizing cutting edge technology in real estate, Coldwell Banker recently announced that company listings are accessible via a customized platform from iPhone and BlackBerry users. When viewed on an iPhone, BlackBerry or other smartphone, the Coldwell Banker Web site, www.coldwellbanker.com, has special navigation features tailored for optimal viewing.
According to Wolverton, “Buyers and sellers can easily search for Coldwell Banker properties using their mobile devices in any part of the world.”
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate (FloridaMoves.com), is the leading real estate brokerage company in Florida, serving the communities of Central Florida, Palm Beach, Southeast Florida, Southwest Florida and Tampa Bay.
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate is part of NRT LLC, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company. NRT, a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, operates Realogy’s company-owned real estate brokerage offices.