Luxury Real Estate Marketing News - Post Credit Crunch

The credit crunch is affecting all but the very highest echelons of real estate, and a number of changes have been made in the world wide luxury real estate scene. Clearly the real estate market is going through some significant changes, not least of which is the reduction in numbers of agents. These are some recent headlines, changes, successes and, unfortunately, failures.

Halifax close 53 branches in UK

HBOS bank closed 53 Halifax real estate agencies in the UK in August, shedding at least 100 employees. One entertaining note within this news was the fact that HBOS “was working with its members to help them make the transition from an estate agency to a bank branch,” as though the two skill sets were completely interchangeable. According to the spokesman, 450 extra mortgage advisors are now needed in their bank branches…..

Real estate agents in Scotland have already begun the process of shedding staff, with between 10 and 20% already gone, and almost everyone agreeing it will get worse before it gets better.

“Professionals,” a New Zealand based real estate agency chain, is to close seven agencies, losing at  least 50 staff on Auckland’s north shore, reports the National Business Review.

The Real Estate Bloggers report that HouseValues, the lead generation company has renamed and re-branded itself to Market Leader and is expanding it’s operations to sell to different segments of the real estate industry. They sensibly wonder at the reasons for this change, given the timing.

I don’t know about you but why would one go through the expense and trouble of completely rebranding a company if everything was doing great. While I am not a fan of lead generation purchases, they are a proven method if scattered way of growing a real estate business. But to spend the money in a down market to re-brand and even change one’s stock symbol is pretty extreme if all is well. HouseValues renames itself.

Another company feeling the need to re-brand themselves is Properazzi, who recently changed their name to “enormo.” Enormo now claim to be the world’s largest property portal, with listings in over 50 countries. Enormo.

The Motley Fool takes a look at 4 Dot-Com real estate firms, after Realtor.com and ZipRealty posted decidedly lack-lustre quarterly results.

It is fair to say that the luxury end of the market is faring slightly better, but even here, the financial turmoil around the world is having an impact. Foreign buyers have been keeping the Manhattan market above water for most of the year, but with the sudden change in dollar value has deterred many. “The number of international buyers has fallen by 50% in the last six months,” reports the International Herald Tribune.

Bright notes

It is not all doom and gloom though. One thing for sure is that the market and industry needed a shake up, and the strong agencies will still be around when the market begins to recover. On a more positive note, Leslee Farrell believes that high inventory and low interest rates makes it a good time to be a buyer. New times call for new tools, and a number of marketing tools for the new face of luxury real estate marketing are about to launch.

The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing recently announced their new “Luxury Market Report,” which offers real-time data on the luxury home market in 31 US metro areas. Knowledge is power, and a full understanding of the state of the luxury market in a particular area will be key information for any luxury real estate agent wishing to weather the current storm.

After interminable delays and legal battles with software developers that I am not allowed to discuss, Luxury Property is almost ready to launch. Featuring what has to be the sexiest video search facility on the planet, a sneak peek at the beta site is available here - Luxury Property Still a work-in-progress, but expect the launch in the next week. AT LAST !