Sotheby's International Realty Scott Webber gives insight on the Fuller acquisition

BrokerIPTV: Today we are talking with Scott Webber, the new owner of Fuller Sotheby's International Realty and Scott, welcome to the program.

Scott Webber: Dan, thank you.

BrokerIPTV: Glad you are here. In our first segment, we talked about you purchasing Fuller Towne and Country Properties and converting it to Fuller Sotheby's. Obviously, any time you come in and you change ownership and you buy a new brokerage firm, you have got a lot of challenges. The first is how do you keep the natives happy so to speak, how do you keep all of the agents staying with the company? Were you concerned about that change over and their perception?

Scott Webber: Yeah, that's a natural concern and with about any other brand and with about any other organization, I would have had a lot more concern, but you know having been part of Sotheby's now for about six or seven months in parts of the Utah and it has just been my experience that as people discover it, that they discover the actual value and they are excited about it.

BrokerIPTV: People on the outside looking in would say, "That guy has got a lot of guts buying a real estate firm in this economy." Did that ever occur to you?

Scott Webber: Not really. You know having been in this business since 1976 and in a variety of markets, I would like to think that I have seen it all. You know, that's never a good thing to say because just when you say that you find you are now seeing something that you have never seen before, but this is a long term commitment and in the long term and in the long run, you have these kinds of things happen and I have managed in soft markets before. It's nothing unusual and I am just... I am really grateful to be able to be part of the Sotheby's International Realty Organization to manage through that because they bring a lot of great resources and strength to the table.

BrokerIPTV: What is your gut feeling about the economy?

Scott Webber: Well, you know, I think that this was inevitable given the gravy train or the crazy ride we have all been on for so long, it just couldn't continue and I would like to think that the extreme times that we are seeing right now really are what we have had to go through to kind of get to the bottom and I really feel like we are starting to see the bottom and you know, how long it is going to take for us to dig out of it, it is hard to say, but I think we are experiencing the pain and the challenges associated with finally being at the bottom, getting all the skeletons out on the table, and working through them and now starting the process of rebuilding. I think it will be nice to get the election behind us. A lot of... you know, there is so much instability and uncertainty right now and that's a big part of it, the fact we don't know who is going to be President and so I think when we get that behind us, then we can start working on the rest of it. So, I just think that we are going to get better from here, but Denver is a unique place.

BrokerIPTV: You got a two pronged challenge ahead of you. You have got to introduce Sotheby's to the Denver market which didn't have a huge presence here, it had some, and you have got to market and sell high end properties in a tough economy. What's the strategy?

Scott Webber: Well, you know, introducing the brand here is really a privilege and it is amazing how well known the Sotheby's brand is. A lot of people have experience with Sotheby's from the Sotheby's Auction House and there is a lot of affluent people in Denver and while our brand is largely oriented to the luxury segment of the market, we still serve the entire marketplace. Today, like never before, you know to get a property sold at the highest price, exposure is what it is all about and to be able to expose a property literally on a national, international platform, just I think gives us a competitive advantage in a market where that's what sellers need today like never before.

BrokerIPTV: Scott, [Inaudible] much success. Appreciate you coming in.

Scott Webber: Dan, thank you very much.

BrokerIPTV: Thanks.

Posted on October 31, 2008 11:13:07 by Blog Author