Realogy and Sotheby’s are the new owners of luxury real estate auction marketplace Concierge Auctions, according to a joint announcement on Wednesday. The acquisition closed today for an undisclosed amount.
Ryan Schneider
“Realogy is the market leader in luxury real estate, an area in which we continue to strategically invest to drive future growth,” Realogy President and CEO Ryan Schneider said in a prepared statement. “As demand for luxury real estate auctions increases, we believe Realogy and Sotheby’s can jointly bring powerful data and network scale to Concierge Auctions, a valuable tool for real estate agents helping clients expertly navigate the global high-end property market.”
The acquisition gives Realogy and Sotheby’s — the auction house, not to be confused with the brokerage Sotheby’s International Realty, a Realogy brand — an 80 percent joint ownership stake in Concierge Auctions, with company co-founders Chad Roffers and Laura Brady retaining their ownership stake and their roles as president and chief executive officer, respectively.
The company will continue to operate independently, the announcement explained, with Sotheby’s and Realogy executives joining Concierge Auctions’ newly-minted Board of Managers.
“We founded Concierge Auctions with a vision to enhance the way luxury properties are bought and sold,” Brady said in a written statement. “Thirteen years and billions in sales later, we are the largest auction marketplace for high-end homes, have one of the most comprehensive databases in the industry, and are active in 30 countries and 44 U.S. states.”
Laura Brady
“We couldn’t imagine better partners than Sotheby’s and Realogy for our next phase of growth,” she added.
Founded in 2008, Concierge Auctions facilitates the sale of some of the world’s most expensive properties by connecting real estate agents and consumers on a single platform.
The majority of listings on Concierge’s platform are sold auction-style, with listing agents determining the terms of the sale and the length of the bidding window. Concierge then provides listing agents and their sellers with a bid range, offer lineup and exposure metrics so they’ll understand what the winning bid could be on the day of the sale.
Once the seller accepts a winning bid, the company will facilitate a contingency-free closing within 30 days of the sale date. For homes that don’t sell on the auction block, Concierge Auctions hosts a series of portfolio sales, which “aggregate a subset of properties from different geographies and brings them to a venue where there’s a large pool of buyers that fit the properties.”
Chad Roffers
In 2020, Concierge Auctions processed more than $3.4 billion in competitive bids with an average home sell price of $3.5 million. The company is already on track to best its 2020 performance with the sale of Villa Firenze, the most expensive single-family home to ever be sold at auction for $165 million.
“We look forward to helping more clients than ever before sell their one-of-a-kind real estate assets to the world’s most capable buyers, with speed and certainty,” Roffers said.
Sotheby’s International Realty President and CEO Philip White said the acquisition of Concierge Auctions shows Sotheby’s confidence not only in Concierge Auctions itself, but in the work Realogy and his brokerage have done in the luxury real estate space.
“Since 2004, Realogy has had a very successful relationship with Sotheby’s as the operator and steward of the Sotheby’s International Realty brand,” said Philip White, who’s the newly appointed Chairman of Concierge Auctions. “Just as the power of Sotheby’s and Realogy has fueled the tremendous growth of Sotheby’s International Realty, we are excited for what this new partnership can bring to Concierge Auctions as Laura and Chad grow their lead in the luxury real estate auctions sector while keeping the agent at the center.”