A relative newbie to the real estate scene, REmexico Real Estate is taking the Cabo market by storm. With a total of three offices, 12 active agents, two managers and a five-person support staff, the firm’s brokerage model is laser-focused on luxury home sales and marketing. Here, Managing Partner Blake Harrington discusses the state of luxury real estate in Cabo, current trends affecting the market and what REmexico Real Estate’s future looks like.
Please describe your current housing market.
Blake Harrington: We’re seeing steady prices with no real movement in either direction. Cabo’s market was drastically affected by the 2008 recession in both real estate and tourism. There was a definite lag time between the recovery in the States and Cabo, but with tourism soaring in the area today, our real estate market has rebounded nicely and is showing more consistent and solid trends.
Additionally, our inventory levels remain high; however, our market has always sustained a fairly high market time compared to markets in the States. What’s very exciting to see is the quality of the new inventory. The Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Discovery Land Corporation, Ohana Real Estate and other name brands are entering our market with truly spectacular offerings where no detail is spared in design, construction and service. It’s a very exciting product coming to our market.
Tell us about the types of properties in your market and which are most popular.
BH: The properties we sell are within luxury gated developments filled with amenities. Cabo isn’t just a real estate investment, but, rather, a lifestyle investment. When owners come to Cabo, they want to play, so many of the homes we sell have amenities such as a golf course, beach club, gym and fitness center, in addition to restaurants and services galore. Mexico offers such a beautiful year-round climate that people want to be outside and active, and most of the homes we sell come with access to these exciting amenities.
What types of buyers do you work with?
BH: While most of the clientele we service are Americans, it truly depends on what the need is. For example, many of our buyers are Americans from the West Coast or Texas. Wherever direct flights come in from, we get those individuals. For listings, we work with a great group of Mexican sellers who build beautiful custom homes and for whatever reason need to either downsize or move locations. We take pride in the fact that we service both local Americans and Mexicans as we build our brand.
What are some of the most important trends in your market?
BH: As previously mentioned, some of the most important trends in our market are the new developments that are bringing true quality to our region. When you have the likes of The Ritz and Four Seasons, you also bring a quality clientele from all over the world. Our design trends are also changing. In the past, it’s always been the Mexican Villa/Hacienda style, which is charming and warm. Today, we’re also seeing a more contemporary design trend that’s using more clean lines and light/earthy colors. It’s doing wonders for brightening up our town.
What are your biggest challenges/opportunities for growth?
BH: We’re incredibly proud of the sales and support team we have at REmexico Real Estate. We’ve kept our staff small, by design, to create a family atmosphere, which encourages growth and facilitates the practice of agents helping one another. As a brokerage, our goal is to increase our sales staff by 20 percent in the next two years. That being said, we remain committed to having the right people for our brokerage. Honesty, integrity and a real commitment to Baja is what we’re looking for. Cabo can be a challenging place to move to, so we focus on hiring agents and staff that are already living in Baja and understand the way things work in Mexico.
How does being part of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® help advance your business?
BH: Where do I begin? We could not be prouder to be a member of LeadingRE. LeadingRE and Luxury Portfolio International® have shown our sellers that we have the most powerful broker-to-broker referral marketing machine in our hands and available to put to use for their listings. Long gone are the days of simply putting a For Sale sign in the front yard and putting the listing on the MLS. Today, a full global approach is needed, especially in Cabo, where we’re getting attention from all over the world. LeadingRE has elevated our marketing plan for each listing while helping us obtain more listings that are of higher quality.
For more information, please visit www.CaboRealEstate.com and www.luxuryportfolio.com.
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