Sotheby's International Realty® Brand to Target China's Wealthy with New Juwai.com Alliance

MADISON, N.J., Sept. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC has announced an alliance with Juwai.com that enables the luxury real estate brand to generate Chinese buyer interest on one of the world's most prominent real estate websites with over two million monthly visitors. As a truly international brand, Sotheby's International Realty now has the most global representation on Juwai.com, displaying luxury listings from 65 countries and territories.

Chinese Wealth

Because of its rapid economic growth, the number of Chinese dollar millionaires is expected to reach 2.3 million by 2020, a 74 percent increase compared to today.[i] Largely due to China, Asia was responsible for 70 percent of all new billionaire wealth in 2015.[ii]

Chinese Real Estate Buyers

China is already the second-largest source of visits to sothebysrealty.com, only after the United States, and accounts for one out of every 10 visitors.

Chinese investors favor real estate as an asset class. Chinese purchasers acquired at least US$350 billion of U.S. real estate between 2010 and 2015.[iii] 69 percent of Chinese purchase on an all-cash basis.[iv] Between 2009 and 2015, Chinese buyers went from accounting for 10 percent to 28 percent of all foreign residential real estate acquisitions in the U.S. In the same period, its annual investment level increased more than nine-fold.[v]

Looking forward, Chinese buyers are expected to continue their international real estate purchasing spree. The best estimate is that they will spend at least US$218 billion on existing U.S. real estate between 2016 and 2020[vi] – with investments in the rest of the world on a similar scale.

Details of the Alliance

The Sotheby's International Realty brand alliance with Juwai.com includes the following components:

• Listing display: Sotheby's International Realty property listings will appear on Juwai.com and in its real estate search results.
• First responders: Juwai.com's Chinese-language team is located in mainland China so they can respond to consumer inquiries in real time, translate the inquiries into English and forward them to the Sotheby's International Realty sales associate who has the listing.
• Brand page: A Sotheby's International Realty brand overview page carries information about the brand, a contact form and the network's listings – all in one place.
• Banner advertising: Sotheby's International Realty banner ads will run on the Juwai.com homepage, promoting the company's new brand page and listings to Juwai.com's audience.

Quotes

"We are constantly looking for opportunities to expand globally by adding new distribution opportunities that showcase properties to affluent consumers in key growth markets. The alliance with Juwai.com achieves that by giving us better access to a market that is already one of our most important, and which promises great future growth."

"From now on, our listings will also be promoted on Juwai.com. Having Juwai.com's team respond to leads in timely fashion overcomes the cultural and time-zone challenges of working with overseas buyers. That's a huge competitive advantage to our affiliates and independent sales associates, and to their clients."

"One of Juwai.com's key advantages is that it is hosted on both sides of China's internet firewall, so its listings are visible online both within China and outside of China."

-- Wendy Purvey, chief marketing officer, Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC

About Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC

The Sotheby's International Realty network currently has more than 19,000 affiliated independent sales associates located in approximately 845 offices in 63 countries and territories worldwide. Founded in 1976 to provide independent brokerages with a powerful marketing and referral program for luxury listings, the Sotheby's International Realty network was designed to connect the finest independent real estate companies to the most prestigious clientele in the world. Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global leader in real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage, relocation and settlement services. In February 2004, Realogy entered into a long-term strategic alliance with Sotheby's, the operator of the auction house. The agreement provided for the licensing of the Sotheby's International Realty name and the development of a full franchise system. Affiliations in the system are granted only to brokerages and individuals meeting strict qualifications. Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC supports its affiliates with a host of operational, marketing, recruiting, educational and business development resources. Franchise affiliates also benefit from an association with the venerable Sotheby's auction house, established in 1744.

CONTACT

Lindsey Scharf 
Sr.Manager, Brand Content and Communications 
Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC 
175 Park Avenue 
Madison, NJ 07940 
(973) 407-5596 
[email protected]

[i] Credit Suisse, Global Wealth Report 2015

[ii] Wealth-X, Billionaire Census Highlights 2015-16

[iii] Asia Society, Breaking Ground: Chinese Investment in U.S. Real Estate

[iv] National Association of Realtors (USA), 2015 Profile of Home Buying Activity of International Clients 

[v] National Association of Realtors, International Buyer Report for years 2011 to 2016.

[vi] Asia Society, Breaking Ground: Chinese Investment in U.S. Real Estate

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SOURCE Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC