Surterre Properties, a leading luxury real estate brokerage in Southern California, has named industry veteran Tom Iovenitti as head of business development. Former president and chief operating officer of a leading residential brokerage in Orange County and Coachella Valley, Iovenitti will lead Surterre’s expansion into major luxury markets in Orange County, beginning with opening the company’s new Monarch Beach office in June 2011, as well as examining opportunities throughout California and select cities across the U.S.
“First quarter 2011 showed remarkable growth for our company,” said Gary Legrand, president and chief operating officer for Surterre Properties. “Forecasting 2011, we are on pace to reach a staggering improvement over 2010, which amazingly enough showed improvement over 2009 by 36 percent. In Q1 2011, we recorded nearly $300 million in gross volume with an average closed sale price of $1,354,425. Third-party numbers show we led Orange County in Q1 2011 and have seen strong growth in our listing and sales volume over Q1 2010.”
According to Legrand, the coastal market has seen a vast improvement in $1 to $3 million closings, therefore allowing markets in excess of $4 million to improve. In March 2011, the Surterre Properties Newport Beach office recorded 50 percent of the real estate transactions closed over $4 million.
“We feel bullish on luxury real estate based upon trends we’re seeing in the overall market, as well as our own success, Legrand said. “We are responding by opening a new Monarch Beach (Dana Point) office this year, as well as bringing Tom onboard to lead business development in many other ventures. Tom’s high passion and energy are a welcome addition to our company, and his knowledge and former high level positions will allow us to leverage his creative skills in our luxury real estate firm. We are very happy to have him at Surterre Properties.”
“The staff and agents at Surterre are second to none with a unique teamwork orientation and outstanding personalized service that exceeds client expectations,” Tom Iovenitti said. “I am very happy to be associated with a culturally focused professional firm like Surterre Properties, which provides its agents best-in-market support through award-winning design and advertising and the most advanced technology in the industry.”
Rick Trevers has been named the new manager of the Monarch Beach office.
“Surterre Properties is the only luxury real estate firm in the region to offer our clients and agents the advantage of an award-winning, full-service, in-house advertising agency: Surterre Studio,” said Paula Ansara-Wilhelm, chief marketing officer for Surterre Properties. “Rick is a big believer in the importance of the strong brand we’ve built at Surterre and feels that in today’s dynamic real estate climate, the importance of leading-edge advertising in marketing and selling luxury homes can’t be overstated.”
According to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), The Schreiber Report and cross examined with actual company production, Surterre Properties is No. 1 in market position in total gross volume and listings taken to date in 2011, outpacing major competitors and franchises in Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach, where a large majority of luxury real estate is bought and sold along the Southern California coast.
Surterre Properties is a luxury real estate firm with offices in Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Covenant Hills and soon to open Monarch Beach. A unique company-wide focus on perfecting the art of outstanding personalized service, an award-winning in-house design and advertising studio, the latest advances in industry technology and a commitment to conducting business in an eco-friendly, community-conscious fashion are only a handful of characteristics that place Surterre in a class above its competitors.
The new Monarch Beach office is located on Pacific Coast Highway at 33522 Niguel Road, Suite 100, Dana Point, Calif. 92629.
For more information about Surterre Properties, visit www.surterreproperties.com.
