“Imagine the honor and privilege of being contacted by top executives of a brand new luxury real estate company located in North India requesting a meeting with you to help further that company’s growing needs and requirements in Westchester, New York! Such was the case for Shamim Mirza from the Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s Larchmont office, Nayna Sheth, from the Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s Rye Office, and Inaam Rahman from the Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s Scarsdale office this week. Oh my! Ankit Tyagi and Ashwin Chadha from the North India Sotheby’s International Realty Company will be visiting the Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s Rye office on February 24th at 9 am. on their North American tour to share with the area Sotheby’s agents the growth and vision of the new Sotheby’s International Realty Company.
Everyone knows that Sotheby’s is global with over 760 Affiliates offices worldwide, $70 Billion in sales, 56 countries and over 16000 agents. Right? Did you know that because of the prestigious brand name, and what it represents both in the real estate world as well as in the art world, it just seemed like a natural progression to open a Sotheby’s International Real Estate Luxury office in North India on July 29th, 2014.
“Northern India is one of the most exciting, beautiful and fastest growing markets in the world, with a developing luxury real estate market,” said Philip White, president and chief executive officer, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. “Expansion into India was one of our core objectives for this year, and I am proud to welcome Amit (Goyal – Co-owner and Chief Executive Officer)) and his team to our global network.”
“We are delighted to become part of the Sotheby’s International Realty worldwide network,” said Goyal. “The luxury residential real estate market in India is beginning a period of expansive growth and the Sotheby’s International Realty brand will meet the needs of high net-worth individuals internationally looking for luxury homes in India and overseas using the brand’s global platform. We also envision future appointments of exclusive representation of luxury residential properties. India’s luxury residential market is poised to grow rapidly, supported by strong economic growth, and we are in an ideal position to lead this growth by leveraging the Sotheby’s International Realty global platform.”
Property values have increased to great proportions in India where many corporations both in finance and industry are located. Accordingly, it is now estimated that approximately 3 million non resident Indians reside in the United States and is the second largest Asian group in the U.S. with the SIR (Sotheby’s International Real Estate) network providing access to 45% of the global non resident Indian population. Indians own 50% of all economy lodges and 35% of all hotels in the U.S. which have a combined market value of almost $40 Billion. There are top Indian CEO’s in the US: Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Indira Nooyi (Pepsico), Ajay Banga (MasterCard), Anshuman Jain (Deutsche Bank), Vikram Pandit (,Portman Square Capital), and Sanjay Jha (Global Foundries) just to name a few..
The owner’s objective in reaching out to Shamim, Nayna and Inaam was to cultivate a business model between the two cultures with Sotheby’s Realtors who are experienced, and well versed in serving International clients, and who can converse in Hindi as well as English, enabling the clientele to feel comfortable in every aspect.
Shamim has been in real estate for over 20 years, has resided in Westchester for over 26 years, and has also lived in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Shamim has a degree in Psychology, and has an in-depth understanding of the different cultures, thus softening and assisting in the culture shock between the different countries, and being able to relate well with her International clientele.
Nayna (whose father was the President of the Indian stock Exchange), has such a rich and interesting history, it is worthy of a novel! In chatting with her, I had mentioned that I was revisiting in my late night reading a wonderful book entitled “Freedom at Midnight” by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre (Published in 1975). Nayna responded “Bapu Gandhi? Oh, I knew him when I was a little girl!” Excuse me? Nayna knew Mahatma Gandhi when she was a very young 2 1/2 years of age until she was 7. She reflected on a vivid memory wherein she would give the spiritual leader a silver rupee for the poor whenever she would see him. It became a little ritual between them. One evening, she was digging into her pocket, and she could not find that silver rupee (there was a hole there and it had fallen out). When she saw the Mahatma in a procession a few days later, he stopped the procession and asked her (jokingly) for that silver rupee…. and then asked her to join in the procession. Nayna did so, holding his walking stick in her left hand, and after a few minutes they were joined by Jawharlal Nehru who took her right hand and they finished the procession together. Nayna has over 30 years of real estate experience and holds the coveted CIPS Designation ( Certified International Property Specialist), and also holds a degree in Economics and Accounting which has served her well in her real estate field.
Inaam was born and raised in the United States, yet has roots in South Asia and speaks Hindi. He holds a degree in Marketing Management, and at the age of 31, represents the largest group of consumers in the marketplace today, the Millennial generation, thus providing insight into generational spending patterns, needs, wants and priorities. As one of the youngest Associate Brokers in the company, Inaam has already 10 years of real estate experience under his belt, and is a rising star in the Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s Scarsdale office.
It promises to be an exciting morning, and we are all looking forward to enhancing both our knowledge of the Indian market and clientele, as well as welcoming Ankit and Ashwin to Westchester and our ever popular and desirable real estate market.
Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s – Over $3.3 Billion in Sales for 2014, 28 Offices. The largest Sotheby’s Affiliate in the World. Sotheby’s International Realty – the quintessential luxury real estate brand.
Westchester is GREAT
As a member of RE Vamp (a real estate networking group that meets once a month, and is currently being considered for Continuing Education credits by NYSAR), it has been an enjoyable experience. Our saying is “where you can dine and opine” and we do just that. We meet at the Westchester Burger Company in Rye Brook usually the third Wednesday of each month, and we have become (I think) a close group of networking friends and associates. There are always differences of opinion, which makes for exciting discussions. The topic we covered in February was Dual Agency – always something to learn.
, and if you wish to join, we would love to have you! Visit Re Vamp on Facebook!
I met Angela through the City of New Rochelle’s Mayor’s office, and have always known her to be both intelligent and competent in all of her endeavors. So, when I was invited to listen to her speak this past week at the 
