International luxury realty brand expands to Calgary

International luxury realty brand Sotheby’s has opened an office in Calgary — its first in Alberta — to take advantage of the growing demand for high-end homes, the Herald has learned.
Sotheby’s International Realty Canada is already established in Canada’s major metropolitan markets and resorts in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.
Ross McCredie, founder/president/chief executive for Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, said the company has been watching the Calgary market for some time.
“We’ve literally been having calls or emails two or three times a week asking us when we’re coming there,” he said.
“In the last six months we’ve seen a lot of signs as to why we want to be in that marketplace. And we felt that the timing was perfect right now.”
One of those signs is the amount of business investment being attracted to Alberta, particularly in the oilsands.
“As well as the ability of a lot of Calgarians and Albertans in total and what they’re buying in Phoenix, Arizona, Maui for instance,” said McCredie. “So a lot of our business model isn’t just marketing and selling the homes in Alberta, it’s actually handling the entire real estate portfolio for high net worth individuals. Calgarians in particular buy more property abroad than probably anyone else in Canada in terms of the percentage.”
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, up to and including May, there have been 190 single-family MLS sales over $1 million and seven in the condominium market this year. Last year, there were 149 sales in that high-end bracket for single-family homes and three for condos for the same time period.
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/International+luxury+realty+brand+expands+Calgary/4944523/story.html#ixzz1YnZUCy30