BY NADINE PARLAPIANO, Special Sections Correspondent
Tampa Bay attracts affluent homebuyers with its award-winning beaches, prestigious neighborhoods, businesses, and beautiful weather year round. More luxury home buyers turn to Coldwell Banker Previews International, the luxury marketing platform of Coldwell Banker, each year.
While Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate is the No. 1 residential brokerage in Florida, according to Real Trends, the Hughes Shelton team was the No. 1 team in Tampa Bay in 2013. Sales associates Mike Hughes and Jeff Shelton are certified Previews Property Specialists, skilled in satisfying the unique needs of buyers and sellers of the area’s most desirable properties.
‘Tampa is very attractive to luxury property buyers. It has the most amount of business structure: larger than Miami as a matter of fact,’ says Hughes. ‘Our business district goes all the way from Lois (Avenue) to Rocky Point. The mayor of Tampa has done a great job of bringing business from up North. The area attracts snowbirds, people moving their companies to Tampa, and there’s no state income tax. It’s a great place to invest.’
Hughes and Shelton fully believe in the Previews program, which was involved in five of the top seven most expensive sales in America, according to Forbes.
‘Previews sells more million dollar homes in the Bay area than any other company,’ says Shelton. ‘That data is pulled from the multiple listing service. No one can escape that data.’
Shelton thinks the reason for Coldwell Banker’s success is that society is driven by well-known brands.
‘The Coldwell Banker brand name is so recognizable to the public,’ says Shelton. ‘Previews is the leader in the luxury home market and has been for over 80 years. The strength of Previews has a lot to do with our size. Obviously, Coldwell Banker is one of the largest real estate companies in the world, and there is a strong name recognition with Previews, and we have so many agents in our global network.’
Hughes and Shelton have been with affiliated with Coldwell Banker for more than 20 years. They were attracted to the company for its national and international reach, as well as the Previews program.
Shelton says that because of Coldwell Banker’s global relationships, the company is actively involved in social networking. He adds that when a seller locally lists their home, the seller is not just listing with that particular agent or that local Coldwell Banker agent.
‘You are actually getting 85,000 agents worldwide with 3,100 offices in over 50 countries,’ says Shelton. ‘That’s the global presence and the legacy of the Previews market.’
Shelton explains that Coldwell Banker properties are promoted on more than 725 websites.
‘Because Florida is the top U.S. destination for homebuyers,’ says Shelton, ‘I think it’s critical that we have the ability to reach out to the international buyer, and that’s what Previews does.’
Hughes says Coldwell Banker made him successful because of their international reach and the consistent quality of their marketingmaterials. ‘As technology has grown, our company stays ahead of the game and has repeatedly been the first to use new technologies,’ says Hughes. ‘That’s why I love being affiliated with Coldwell Banker. It’s not like I’m doing anything magical, I’m effectively using all the tools the company provides.’
Coldwell Banker Previews International is recognized as a world leader in the marketing of exceptional properties, and widely considered to be among the world’s consummate marketing programs for successfully promoting luxury properties to a local, national and international marketplace.
In 1933, young entrepreneur Henderson Talbot took his cue from motion pictures, capturing the beauty and style of million- dollar mansions on film. He began ‘previewing’ the luxury properties to affluent audiences, which increased the exposure and rate of sale by appealing to those for whom time was money. Talbot’s innovation didn’t stop there, as Previews was the first real estate marketing program to go beyond the local market and specialize exclusively in marketing luxury properties nationally and internationally. He was also the first to implement a national and international Multiple Listing Service through a collection of publications that highlighted distinctive properties.
Since its early days, the Coldwell Banker brand has realized the magnitude of this global opportunity. In the early 1980s, the real estate leader acquired Previews to create the Coldwell Banker Previews International program, enabling their sales associates to better meet the needs of an affluent global clientele.
For more information about Previews, please visit www.coldwellbankerpreviews.com or contact Hughes Shelton Residential Real Estate at www. HughesShelton.com or call (813) 286-6563.
Source: Tampa Tribune (Sunday, June 22, 2014)