List Sotheby’s Opens Office in Hong Kong to Market Global Homes

Luxury residential agency List Sotheby’s International Realty has made its Hong Kong debut, as the Tokyo-based agency expands its global footprint. The Japanese affiliate of Sotheby’s International Realty – itself an offshoot of the well-known Sotheby’s Auction House – opens in the city as Asian buyers continue to snap up high end homes in London, New York and other global hubs.

“As sophisticated and developed as the property market of Hong Kong may seem, List Sotheby’s International Realty still sees an opportunity to fill a market niche focusing upon high quality service delivery to developers, owners, buyers and lessees of luxury residential property, which is currently underserved,” said Binoche Chan, Chief Operating Officer of List Sotheby’s International Realty in Hong Kong.

The new office in Hong Kong adds to List Sotheby’s International Realty’s nine offices in Japan, two in Hawaii, one in the Philippines and one in Singapore. In a statement, the group indicated that it will add an office in Bangkok, Thailand in 2018. The List Sotheby’s affiliated presence replaces a separate Sotheby’s operation previously present in the territory under separate ownership.

“The Sotheby’s International Realty brand is synonymous with luxury, taste and discernment,” Chan added. “Given the scale of our global affiliate network, List Sotheby’s International Realty in Hong Kong has access to an inventory of unique properties all over the world, including those that are considered to represent ‘collector’s items.’ Sotheby’s has a network of approximately 900 offices in almost 70 countries, including international gateway cities such as London and New York, according to the company’s statement.

High-End Agency Ties Up With Global Media

To help fuel its expansion, List Sotheby’s is counting on a combination of digital marketing and customer experience as the company leverages its expert-oriented business model for international property sales.

All homes listed by the agency across its offices in nearly 70 countries, including Hong Kong, will be housed and hosted under a single global website, sothebysrealty.com. The site makes use of videos and virtual reality tools to help bridge the gap between buyers and sellers. The company says it also plans to list its properties in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, and Juwai.com. Through its media partnerships, Sotheby’s says it generated a record 22 million visits to its property listings in 2016 – a 54 per cent increase in traffic year-on-year.

During last year, Sotheby’s International Realty achieved a record US$95 billion in global sales volume from 120,000 transactions for the year 2016, according to its statement.