Competition Among Top Firms Heats Up In Still Solid Sector For High-End Real Estate
There’s a new piece of ammunition in one of luxury real estate’s fiercest battles: a $34,000 trailer in Goleta, Calif.
The home is for sale through Sotheby’s International Realty, a brokerage better known for oceanfront estates and country manors. The company has greatly expanded since it was sold off by its auction house parent three years ago. New Sotheby’s Realty franchises in places like North Carolina and Colorado are marketing dozens of big-ticket properties, but they’re also taking on many less luxurious ones. One new franchise in northern Idaho, for example, is listing a small three-bedroom house for $139,500 and a double-wide manufactured home for $38,000. (The listing boasts of “newer” appliances.)
The company’s venture into the land of carports and doublewides has been the source of much delight among agents at its chief competitor, Christie’s Great Estates, some of whom email each other, especially about downscale Sotheby’s properties. Norman “Pete” Callaway, a former Sotheby’s broker who is now with Christie’s, keeps a photo of a rival listing — a hot dog stand — in his desk drawer. “They’ve lost that high-end credibility,” he says.