Keller Williams NYC is now affiliated with Lionard Exclusive Real Estate based in Italy.
Lionard, a boutique brokerage firm located in historic Pistoia, has a wide portfolio of luxury and super-luxury properties throughout Italy, with a strong focus in Tuscany.
As their exclusive representative in the US, Executive Director of International Relations and Director of Italian Property Services Richard Tayar of Keller Williams NYC, will market their listings within the United States and continue to support Italian buyers looking in New York City.
Lionard’s portfolio of more than 800 listings, of which 300 are viewable only upon request, have an average price of $8,000,000. The entire portfolio amounts to more than $6,100,000,000.
“This is a great time to invest in Italy, after five years of a very difficult real estate market, sellers are more willing to negotiate and often take into consideration offers that are 20-30 percent below asking price,” says Richard Tayar, KWNYC Executive Director of International Relations and Director of Italian Property Services.
“Tuscany remains the area in Italy with most requests from long-term investors interested in the purchase of high-end real estate. Other areas, such as the lake region in the north, are more susceptible to fashionable trends.”
Tayar will be working with Lionard in showcasing Italian properties to those interested in investing from the United States, such as Luxury homes in coastal Sardinia, villas near Florence built in 1893, boutique hotels in Tuscany.
“This is an exciting time at KWNYC as we build international relationships, especially with the Lionard Real Estate,” says Eric Barron, KWNYC CEO.
“We are dedicated to supporting our agents and their interests. Richard was able to combine his native Italian background and good real estate practices to create a valuable relationship with the Italian real estate community. This is one of many new developments to come this year.”
The partnership comes on the heels of some big moves for the KW franchise.
Last year, KW was preparing to add more than 10,000 s/f to its 25,000 s/f of space at 425 Park Avenue in Midtown. It would be the third expansion since Keller Williams NY launched with a 1,000 s/f office in Trump Tower nearly three years ago.
It already has more than 200 agents and is planning to have 1,000 within the next two years at four to five satellite offices around the city.
Though the franchise has a relatively small footprint in New York City, KW is one of the largest real estate franchise companies in the United States, with approximately 700 offices and 80,000 associates around the world.
