Highlands Sotheby’s International Realty Maximizes the New Migration
Soaring real estate sales in 2020 will be viewed for generations as one of the most unexpected outcomes of the pandemic that swept the nation.
The widespread mandate to “stay home” forever redefined the meaning of home and created new opportunities for real estate success. No longer just a place to sleep after long days at the office, home became the center of the universe, where people worked, cooked, exercised, socialized and homeschooled their children.
Real estate broker Jody Lovell and her husband, Wood, owners of Highlands Sotheby’s International Realty in the idyllic resort area of Highlands, North Carolina, were among the first to realize that months of solitude had shifted consumer priorities; that pandemic-weary Americans, many of whom were working remotely, longed not just for more space or more amenities, but for a home close to nature and far from city life.
Idyllic vacation or second-home resort communities, like their pristine Highlands/Cashiers Plateau mountain area in western North Carolina—known by the locals as “Aspen of the East”—became a coveted long-term or year-round living destination. Buyers set their sights on this sparsely populated bit of mountain greenery in droves…and Jody Lovell was up for the challenge, shattering state records in 2020 with $165 million in closed transactions.
“Social distancing was practiced here long before the pandemic,” Lovell says. “For more than a century, wealthy easterners like the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers flocked to the Highlands/Cashiers Plateau for its cool summers and laissez-faire ambience.”
The Lovells found it more than two decades ago, relocating to the area in 2000 from Atlanta, Georgia, where Jody, an attorney with post-graduate law degrees from Oxford University and King’s College in London, was working for a busy law firm.
The Highlander Mountain House is a boutique hotel located in the idyllic mountain town of Highlands, North Carolina.
“When Wood and I moved to Highlands, I expected to become a female Perry Mason and help a lot of clients solve their problems,” she says. “But I realized after five days of working with a local attorney that there are few problems to solve in this idyllic little town. The only legal work for me was researching title and preparing closing statements for real estate.”
Meanwhile, she notes, Wood, who owned a property management company, was awarded the real estate office at the gate of their country club, Cullasaja, when the developer, Arvida, sold it to the membership.
“So, I asked him if he would hire me,” says Lovell. “That was 21 years ago, and he hasn’t fired me, yet!”
The real estate company the Lovells started at the gate of Cullasaja Club with two additional agents grew into Highlands Sotheby’s International Realty, officially launching in 2008. In a moment of foreshadowing, the Lovells originally named the firm Exurbia Sotheby’s, based on a book by David Brooks called “Bobos in Paradise,” describing the migration from large cities to high-quality small towns. The trickle of Exurbia migration in 2008, however, has now become a stampede, and today, with 28 agents in two offices, the firm posted sales of nearly $300 million last year, establishing themselves as the top-producing office in their MLS area and first in sales in Highlands for the last seven years.
“When Sotheby’s International Realty invited us to be a member of the franchise in 2008, we were witnessing a real estate collapse that created much of the same uncertainty and fear that we experienced in 2020,” Lovell explains. “Both periods caused a lot of introspection about what is really important in life. They also prompted consumers to flock to quality brands with a solid reputation and track record. We believe the Sotheby’s brand helped us gain and maintain clients during the recession, and once again in 2020.”
Lovell says that the brand provides a long history of quality and exposure as well as cutting-edge technology agents can utilize in their marketing and communications.
“Judicious use of the resources available to us helps the company outshine the competition year after year,” says Lovell. “Additionally, and as important as technology is, we do our best to provide what we call ‘touchology.’ Staying in touch and supporting our agents daily, especially during the challenges of the last year, has been just as important to our overall success as any other tools and resources.”
The Highlands, North Carolina, region is known by many as the ‘Aspen of the East.’
The firm’s achievements have not been lost on Jenny Pruitt, co-founder and owner of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, where Lovell holds her Georgia license. “One agent with our company in Atlanta, with its population of 6.5 million, sold $107 million of real estate last year, breaking the state of Georgia’s individual agent sales record,” Pruitt says. “The fact that an agent in a small area of North Carolina with 1,000 permanent residents surpassed that, closing $165 million in property sales, is both a tribute to her and a signal that resort markets are providing a welcome escape hatch in a world where everything can be turned upside down overnight.
“As a matter of fact,” Pruitt adds, “I just purchased a home there.”
For her part, Lovell attributes her success to the three Rs: Reputation, Relationships and Referrals.
“My reputation as the top producer in our market for the last 20 years provides a track record that helps me close deals,” she says. “My relationships with both clients and fellow brokers provide the basis for structuring transactions—and referrals from past clients and the extensive network of Sotheby’s International Realty agents provides fuel for ongoing business.”
Referrals in the Sotheby’s International Realty network as a whole, she notes, rose 42% during last year’s period of global reshuffling.
Philip White, CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty, understands the demographic shift.
“What’s happening in Highlands is a microcosm of what is happening in popular small resort areas of the world,” he says. “It’s a testament to the power of our network to be able to help many clients navigate through so many lifestyle options.”
Philip White, CEO, Sotheby’s International Realty
Indeed, the fact that people can work from second-home markets, perhaps indefinitely, has accelerated home purchases in less-populated areas that offer a strong sense of privacy and security.
“We are seeing buyers from feeder markets as far away as San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and New York,” says Lovell. “One couple called me from San Francisco last August. They were confined in their expensive condo on Nob Hill overlooking the bay, afraid to walk outside. They had always used Sotheby’s International Realty for their real estate transactions, and they wanted to know more about our area. In the end, they arrived here in the fall and purchased a $6 million estate. It is so exciting to share this special spot on the planet with people seeking a beautiful sanctuary.”
Another client, Lovell says, told her that the vibrations being felt in Highlands today are the same vibrations that were felt in Aspen 30 years ago.
“This extraordinary area has been discovered,” she says, “and real estate here is still undervalued compared to other resort areas of this caliber.”
The flight to this small piece of North Carolina paradise, however, has not been without consequence. Inventory has shrunk measurably and prices have risen to an average of $923,000. Yet, the growing desire to be at home with nature, and with reasonable access to culture and entertainment, continues to turn once seasonal markets into year-round destinations.
“The genie is out of the bottle,” says Lovell, “and the additional exposure we received during the great COVID-based migration will continue to help us grow here in the Highlands/Cashiers Plateau.”
Part of the reason for that, she explains, is that virtual meetings, Zoom calls and instant communication will be the norm of the future.
“In this competitive market, where timely communication can make or break a deal,” Lovell explains, “there is an escalating sense of urgency. Clear and frequent communication between agents and their clients will likely be critical forever more.”
But being successful comes with responsibility, she maintains.
“We are bullish for the foreseeable future and grateful to have found our special spot on the planet,” says Lovell. “Our goal is to continue to serve our clients, our brokers and our brand with enthusiasm. At the same time, we are committed to being good stewards of this remarkable location.”
For more information, please visit www.highlandssothebysrealty.com.
Barbara Pronin is a contributing editor to RISMedia.
