Going global depends not only on one’s goals but also on what one wishes to achieve, as well as the tradeoffs with which one would be comfortable.
“We wanted to remain independent, plus you have to pay eight percent of your gross earnings to the franchisor,” Larry Roberts, Bahamas Realty’s (BR) principal told the Guardian in a telephone interview.
Bahamas Realty, one of the well-known companies in The Bahamas, was a Sotheby’s affiliate “for about five or six years.” Damianos was the Sotheby’s affiliate for Lyford Cay, Mr Roberts explained.
“Commercial real estate is a big part of what we do and we decided not to get the Sotheby’s franchise,” he explained. “It did not make sense to pay our gross earnings on our commercial business in The Bahamas.”
Instead of accepting the Sotheby’s franchise, Mr Roberts said that the company sought and won an affiliate with Savills, one of the major international property companies based in the UK.
Mr Roberts said that Bahamas Realty has been affiliated with Savills since the company began “at the end of February.” He added that, “We have received more referrals from Savills than in the time we were with Sotheby’s.
“Sotheby’s was good with listings. They helped us a lot with listings but Savills has been sending us referrals.”
He explained that listings are just properties for sale but referrals are actual buyers, people who come prepared to buy.
“We decided that we wanted to go after the European market because the weak dollar makes The Bahamas attractive,” Mr Roberts pointed out. “We wanted to take advantage of that and we have been very happy with that decision.”
He acknowledged that with the Savills affiliation, Bahamas Realty was also well placed to take advantage of any upsurge in the Asian market. Savills, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) with a worldwide staff of 12,700 in 103 offices, bills itself as having “extensive expertise in global property markets.”
Mr Roberts explained that Cendant a U.S. company which is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) had bought the Sotheby’s name and franchised it. Cendant owns the following real estate franchises: ERA, Coldwell Banker and Century 21 and now Sotheby’s.
By: C. E. HUGGINS, Business Editor, The Nassau Guardian
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