In the roughly 13 years since Mauricio Umansky founded his luxury real estate brokerage, The Agency, he’s followed a consistent strategy: selling the lifestyle.
“We were the first ones to have the mega open house,” Umansky said in an interview. “The party open house with collaborations with Lamborghini or Tiffany or Rolls Royce or something like that. We were throwing parties that are open houses with DJs and you know, we were selling the lifestyle that occurred around the home, and not just the three bedrooms, two baths, limestone floors.”
And now, after expanding the firm across 12 countries with more than 2,800 agents, The Agency is making its next foray into the luxury world with the launch of The Agency Art House.
Last month, the brokerage announced it was partnering with Arushi Kapoor, an art collector, curator and private art advisor. Dubbed The Agency Art House, the partnership aims to offer clients personal consultations, market data, help with building an art portfolio and managing collections, according to a release.
"Together, we are entering a new era that seamlessly fuses the worlds of real estate and art," Kapoor said.
As part of the art house's launch, Kapoor and her team will offer "personalized walkthroughs" and other curated client experiences at the annual Art Basel Miami Beach fair between Dec. 6 and Dec. 8.
It's an expansion that comes at a time when much of the residential real estate market is stagnating, creating challenges for both consumers and agents. But luxury real estate — The Agency’s specialty — has bucked that trend. While that has allowed the firm to find growth in an otherwise slow time for real estate, it's also brought increased competition for business.
So, The Agency is finding a new edge, turning its attention to expanding beyond just real estate, offering clients even more access to the luxury lifestyle, according to the brokerage's President Rainy Hake Austin.
"To be able to really live our brand promise and see it come to fruition, I think is something that's uniquely special," she said in an interview.
Collaboration and innovation
When Umansky started The Agency in 2011, he set out to change the way luxury houses were sold and imbue a spirit of collaboration into his company. With that in mind, he launched his brokerage with a team of about five.
“We said, ‘let's create a brand that's exciting, it's new, it's hip on technology,’” he said. “It's going to foster collaboration, culture, fun. We’re going to dare to be out there and say things that other people aren't really daring to say.
And as far as Umanksy is concerned, he said, that’s exactly what his team has done.
They’ve found “quality partners” to open affiliate offices around the world. They’ve accomplished their transaction goals. They’ve starred in their own Netflix reality show, “Buying Beverly Hills.” And they’ve maintained a collaborative mentality.
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By remaining committed to those goals and growing sustainably, not only has the brokerage expanded as a business but it’s also brought benefits for its clients, according to Hake Austin.
“It's not just a transaction,” she said. “Our agents approach the relationship they have with their clients as I am your consultant, if you will, when it comes to all things lifestyle and luxury, and so we either help connect them with other people or help facilitate things for them. And just really understanding that most of our clients are super busy, and that the greatest gift that we give them is the trust factor of knowing that they can lean into us to make their lives more efficient, and save them time, which is their greatest asset.”
‘Luxury lifestyle company’
But amid a competitive luxury brokerage landscape, some industry insiders are wary of The Agency’s growth potential. Though the firm has made waves, especially with its television presence and celebrity connections (Umansky has also starred alongside his family in Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), some have raised concerns about its long-term potential.
Earlier this week, Compass announced it had reached a deal to acquire @properties Christie's International Real Estate, a global brand specializing in luxury real estate. The transaction gives Compass a stronger foothold among the already limited luxury buyer client population.
Hake Austin and Umansky are optimistic, though. And they are busy looking ahead to their next chapter: becoming “a luxury lifestyle company,” Hake Austin said.
“What that means is embodying that service experience at the real estate level first, and then actually moving into other luxury verticals,” Hake Austin said. To do that, the brokerage will partner with experts in other high-end goods and services. For example, a company that specializes in chartering private jets and yachts or an interior designer.
The Agency Art House is just the first step in that transformation that Hake Austin says will be helped by the brokerage’s well-connected agent base.
“Having those agents who have those connections, and the passion and the propensity for innovation and collaboration really is what helps at us apart,” she said.
Even as it undertakes that endeavor, though, The Agency will keep its clients front and center, according to Umansky.
“What’s top of mind is to continue to deliver an amazing experience,” he said. “Be at the forefront of marketing. Be the leader in innovation. Be a face and a voice for the industry and have a loud voice in the industry, irrespective of our agent counts.”