In today’s uncertain economy, a growing number of home sellers are turning to auctions. Many people might consider this selling tactic a desperate move, but when the auction is monitored by the nation’s top-selling real estate group, desperate might be the last word that comes to mind.

Known throughout the worldwide luxury real estate arena for its innovative marketing and sales strategies, the Newport, California-based McMonigle Group recently launched its new 90-Day Certain Sale Program, which speeds the selling process, optimizes equity and sells homes within 90 days.

Accounting for a 60-day marketing period and a 30-day escrow, the program begins with a meeting between an interested seller and representatives from the company. During this analytical meeting, a seller’s property is evaluated for eligibility and a value-based listing price and predetermined sales price are set.

If approved for the program, a seller’s property will be featured on the 90-Day Certain Sale Web site, as well as the McMonigle Group’s Web site, the MLS and events such as open houses. On the 90-Day Web site, potential buyers can view detailed information about listings, browse photo galleries, take virtual tours and place a bid on properties they are interested in purchasing.

"The 90-Day Certain Sale Program is an innovative marketing and sales strategy that provides an innovative way to sell your home and maximize your equity in this challenging market," said John McMonigle (founder and principal of the McMonigle Group) in a press release this week.

An initial selection of six properties, ranging in price from $450,000 to $3,495,000, stretches from South County to Newport Beach. For more information, to set up a personal profile, to register or to bid on a property, visit 90daycertainsale.com

– Sarah Binder

Educational video access at your fingertips—RealtyAcademy.com offers exactly that!

Through cutting-edge video technology, real estate experts now have free access to professionally produced videos featuring many of the industry’s top coaches, speakers, vendors and authors. RealtyAcademy.com’s video channel highlights industry experts and covers a variety of topics including strategies, techniques and principles designed to assist agents during challenging times.

Interviews with real estate experts are recorded regularly in both the Realty Academy’s Orlando area studio, as well as at other locations around the nation.

The multi-channel video player allows real estate professionals to view experts and topics on-demand, while learning at their leisure.

RealtyAcademy.com’s one-click functionality offers the ability to e-mail the videos, as well as embed them on blogs and websites.

For more on Realty Academy, visit RealtyAcademy.com

Realty Academy is a division of Realty Video USA, which offers a wide variety of specialized video content and services for the real estate industry.

—Robert Burke
 

When Real Estate agent Stephen Pringle of Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate decided to donate a bookshelf that a seller left behind, he got more than he bargained for. While dropping it off at The Marin County Food Bank’s thrift store, GoodStuff, Pringle met Sue, an employee who inspired him to do more.

After receiving an email from Sue about how the amount of people in of need food has drastically increased, Pringle forwarded the email to other Pacific Union agents and took out a full-page ad in the local newspaper in order to get support from the community.

The Marin Food Bank provides meals for nearly 3,000 people each month and the number is still growing. Pringle is willing to pick up food, furniture, clothing and other items from people’s homes. “I have been picking up furniture and clothes in Marin and donating at their thrift store weekly,” says Pringle. Many people are also drop off items at his office to bring over to the food bank.

“With all of the people losing their homes to foreclosures and becoming homeless and losing their jobs I feel that we need to do something for these families, says Pringle. “We have had a great run in the real estate market over the last 10 years and its time to take care of our community.”

For more information or to make a donation, contact Stephen Pringle at 415.720.7832 or springle@pacunion.net

—Shari Barbanel

Doug Balog of Keller Williams in Palm Springs, Calif., has announced the opening of a new luxury home market division.

Introduced as the Lifestyle Estate Collection, the new division, which will be operated by Team Balog, will be devoted to finding luxury homes abroad for current Palm Springs residents and pairing foreign buyers with luxury homes in the Palm Springs area.

“We introduced the new Lifestyle Estate Collection venture after a great deal of research of discerning homeowners who own property throughout the world and live in the Palm Springs area on a part or full-time basis,” says Balog. “Our focus is to link our local upper-end homeowners to luxury homes markets in Europe, island countries and the Americas while offering local luxury estate homes to the international buyer market.”

Evidence that the California luxury home market remains healthy is found in the recent formation of multiple luxury firms—including Gibson International and Teles Properties—and luxury divisions, such as the Lifestyle Estate Collection.

“At a time when the media is filled with stories of lending crises and real estate gloom, we’ve seen listings of million-dollar homes in the valley continues to chart its own curse, particularly where multi-million dollar homes are concerned,” adds Balog.

Balog has more than 30 years of real estate experience and is a member of the Institute for Luxury Homes Marketing, which is an independent organization that trains and certifies real estate agents in the art of handling exceptional properties.

—Lauren Varga
 

Angela C. Eliopoulos of Global Owner Properties at the Georgetown and McLean offices of Long & Foster Real Estate-Washington Metro area was recognized as the national award winner for Most Unique Property by Leaders in Luxury, a networking symposium for upper-tier Realtors.

Hosted annually by The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, Leaders in Luxury represents an exclusive, invitation-only educational and networking opportunity for the top 100 luxury agents nationwide who work in the million- and multi-million dollar housing market.

The Realtor collective met in Miami for the event, where Eliopoulos’ entry was chosen by an advertising agency executive from Dallas-based Brand Agent.

Eliopoulos’ winning estate is a 4,200-square-foot waterfront penthouse, complete with a roof-top sundeck, a wine cave with a talking “ghost,” and a “stealth limo” with the purchase of the home. Eliopoulos said, “Not only was this a fabulous luxury condo, it had a long list of unique features and surprises. It was a joy to market!"

Eliopoulos continued, “Attendance at Leaders in Luxury is important to an upper-tier level professional’s success. With the current real estate market, we have to be proactive to stay on top of market conditions. By networking with the best in the business, sharing ideas, and learning about the latest trends and outlooks, we can help my affluent clients find success where others are finding challenges.”

—Holly Marie Busacca

No matter where you turn it’s hard not to hear some report about real estate but it seems that at least 200 agents and brokers failed to get the message that we are in a down market according to the “The Real Estate Top 200,” a national ranking sponsored by the Wall Street Journal, lore Magazine and REAL Trends.

Garnering top honors among more than 1.2 million Realtors is Santa Barbara’s Suzanne Perkins with more than $275 million in sales volume. In 2007, Perkins, who is with Sotheby’s International Realty, spearheaded the largest non-commercial real estate transaction in California history:  the EL Cojo and Jalama ranches were which were listed at a combined $155 million. Taking second place for individual sales was Mary Gullixson of Alain Pinel in Menlo Park, Calif.

Among teams, the John McMonigle Group once again came in first with more than $435 million in sales. In addition to high end properties near his Newport Beach, Calif. base, McMonigle’s far flung menu of luxury listings includes Cabo San Lucas, France, Vail and the Hamptons.  The Creig Northrop Team at Long & Foster Real Estate in Clarksville, Md. took second place honors for team sales volume.

Congratulations to everyone who made this very select group. Check out everyone on the list by clicking here.

—Camilla McLaughlin

Christina Lodar, International Sales Director for Unique Homes Luxury Media, recently attended FIABCI-USA’s Annual VIP Luncheon at the United Nations in New York. The luncheon celebrated the International Real Estate Federation’s, or FIABCI’s, Special Consultative Status to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Over 130 leading international real estate professionals from around the world and representatives from the UN were in attendance. Lodar partook in an unparalleled opportunity to network and do business on a truly global level.

Robert M. White Jr., founder and president of Real Capital Analytics, delivered a presentation on the global outlook for commercial properties and currencies. White noted that 10 percent of U.S. buyers in 2007 were foreign, and 70 percent of European buyers are global buyers with the number of global buyers in the U.S. on the increase. As this happens, the whole world is competing for the same buyers. “These statistics are invaluable when trying to market U.S. properties to foreign buyers. It also shows that we need to start thinking outside of American boundaries and attract Europeans and Asians to the U.S. real estate market,” explained Lodar.

FIABCI-USA members from across the country welcomed FIABCI World President, Luis Correa of Colombia, during the recent national meeting in New York, N.Y. Members participated in the association’s governance and shared business tips. Tyler Clay, current President of FIABCI-USA, cited some highlights from the conference in an email to members. He noted:

” –Congratulations to new young member, Laura Farrell, of Lisa James Otto Country Properties! Laura won the Jim Wray Memorial Marketing Award for her presentation during the Networking Lunch & Marketing Session.

” –More than 20 new members received their pins during our Welcome Session and shared their experiences and expertise during the New Member Orientation Breakfast.

” –Past World President, Sheldon Good, offered tools and tips on ways the FIABCI Prix d’Excellence property awards program can help your business.

” –Danielle Grossenbacher, who has recruited 18 new members for teams, talked about how to use the Team Plan to grow membership in your local area.

” –Eugenia Foxworth led a discussion on marketing tips. The group stressed keeping in touch with clients and prospects to benefit from referrals and selecting the people you choose to work with.

” –Dagmar Sands and Kathryn Hunt chaired a lively discussion and brainstorming session of the Luxury Property Forum. The group is looking into developing a template for use by members in marketing themselves and their luxury listings.

” –Congratulations to Wayne Carroll and Greer Lee who were elected as our 2009-2010 President-Elect and Treasurer, respectively.”

FIABCI also recognized the Long Island Board of Realtors recently at a cocktail reception hosted by Shlomi Reuveni, executive vice president of Brown Harris Stevens Select, who provided an impressive venue in the former Tiffany’s Building at 15 Union Square in New York City. Special mention to FIABCI-USA’s New York Chapter President Michael Rossi of Elegran Real Estate and Development Services and to Joanne Dowds, who also served as hosts at the New York reception, providing live entertainment with a jazz ensemble.

LIBOR was cited for its philanthropic activities on a global basis and for its “We’re More Than Realtors” campaign. FIABCI serves as special consultant with NGO status to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations Organization (ECOSOC) and through this relationship has a strong philanthropic commitment to help others throughout the world. FIABCI recognized LIBOR for this same commitment to global philanthropy. In addition to its domestic charity, LIBOR recently contributed $5,000 to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to assist in the ongoing recovery and rebuilding efforts in China following the devastating earthquake that hit Sichuan Province, a mountainous region in Western China on May 12, 2008. The quake, which registered more than 7.9 on the Richter scale is responsible for the deaths of nearly 70,000 people and the destruction of thousands of homes, as well as, numerous businesses and schools.

GPDLink.com recently launched the first-ever social networking site specifically for real estate professionals. Think Linked-in, but just for the real estate industry. The site provides an open environment where people can network with others in the same business, while listing and/or searching resources for jobs and freelance labor, news and industry research. “The goal is to bring all the professionals around the globe together. In addition to deal-making and capital-raising services, we will have a strong labor-finding and company/ services database. Washington has been slow to act on US real estate problems – putting tons of skilled labor into the market. So, we are adding tools that will permit firms to find and hire that labor on either a temporary or permanent basis,” said Bryan Shaffer, IRETO Chairman. “Over the last 5 years I have traveled to almost every real estate market around the globe and developed extended relationships there. With GPDLink, professionals can develop the same relationships without leaving their office computers,” Shaffer added.

George Harvey of Telluride Properties has an article posted at LuxuryRealEstate.com about his market and the advantages for those looking to buy right now.  His data is interesting, and really makes sense.  Check it out here.

LuxuryRealEstate.com will crown 18 winners at its Annual Awards Dinner Oct. 13 at the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia during its 13th annual Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference. The list of nominees is as follows:

Best Brand Integration

Alain Pinel Realtors

Ezra International Realty

John Daugherty Realtors

Slifer Smith and Frampton Real Estate

Turnquist Partners Realtors, Inc.

Waterfront Properties and Club Communities

Best Overall Marketing Package

Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty

Harry Norman, Realtors

Hill & Company

John Daugherty Realtors

Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate

Peaks Real Estate/Sotheby’s International Realty

Rimontgó

Telluride Properties

Most Innovative Marketing Technique

Hill & Company

John Daugherty Realtors

Lawrence Realty

Real Living, Inc.

Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty

Waterfront Properties and Club Communities

Best Web Site – Design

Ezra International Realty

Hill & Company

John Daugherty Realtors

Keller Williams Realty

Lang Realty

McGuire Real Estate

Oakville Properties

RE/MAX Elite Realty

Real Living, Inc.

Rimontgó

Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty

Slifer Smith and Frampton Real Estate

TerraCognita

Vision Real Estate

Best Web Site – Innovation

Chase International

Choi International

Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty

Ezra International Realty

Hill & Company

John Daugherty Realtors

Lawrence Realty

RE/MAX Elite Realty

Rimontgó

Most Outbound Referrals

Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty

Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty

Main Street Realty International

Best Print Marketing

Beacham & Company, Realtors

Harry Norman, Realtors

Hill & Company

John Daugherty Realtors

Rimontgó

Slifer Smith and Frampton Real Estate

Best Industry Networking

Alain Pinel Realtors

Arizona Best Real Estate

John Daugherty Realtors

Perry & Company

Stribling and Associates, Ltd.

Waterfront Properties and Club Communities

Billionaires Club

Audrey Ross – Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, Inc. Realtors®

Bob Melvin – Gasparilla Properties, Inc.

Cathy Jones Coburn – Slifer Smith and Frampton Real Estate

Dolly Lenz – Prudential Douglas Elliman

Elizabeth Stribling – Stribling and Associates, Ltd.

Kathy Iverson – Slifer Smith and Frampton Real Estate

Michael Saunders – Michael Saunders & Company

Patricia Choi – Choi International

Patricia Petersen – Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty

Shari Chase – Chase International

Most Transactions in 2007 – Individual

Eleanor Farnsworth – Prudential Gardner

Highest $ Volume in 2007 – Company

Slifer Smith and Frampton Real Estate

Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales, LLC

Highest $ Volume in 2007 – Individual

Bob Melvin – Gasparilla Properties, Inc.

Harma Hartouni – Keller Williams Realty – Studio City

Jacky Teplitzky – Prudential Douglas Elliman

Patricia Choi – Choi International

Outstanding Rookie

Ambra Bisconti – Coldwell Banker Beverly Hills North

Kelly Reark – Gasparilla Properties, Inc.

Michael Marquette – Marquette Turner Luxury Homes

Mike Hammonds – Turnquist Partners Realtors, Inc.

Most Valued Partner

duPont Registry

Unique Homes

Wall Street Journal

Best New Community

City Center Las Vegas

Four Seasons Residences, Bora Bora

Lake Club

Las Villas de Mexico

Ritz-Carlton Residences Paradise Valley

Seasons at Sandpoint

Biggest Sale in 2007

Audrey Ross – Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, Inc. Realtors®

Heather Lemon – Slifer Smith and Frampton Real Estate

Tom Smyth – St. Barth Properties Sotheby’s International Realty

Extraordinary Philanthropist

Anna K. Pennington-Boucher – Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty

Diane Turton – Diane Turton, Realtors

Harry Norman, Realtors

Jim Walberg – Caribbean Islands Realty

John Daugherty – John Daugherty Realtors

Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate

Staige Davis – Lion & Davis

Tim Murray – Alain Pinel Realtors

Lifetime Achievement Award

As previously announced, Lois Schneider, founder and president of Lois Schneider Realtor in Summit, N.J. will be honored.