Roxann Taylor & Associates Joins Engel & Volkers Luxury Real Estate Network as First Franchise in Texas

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Southlake is just a beehive of activity these days. Maybe it’s because a lot of Toyota execs are moving here — the CEO bought in Vaquero — or the fact that many affluent people relocating to Dallas love Southlake. The lots are large and leafy, the homes luxurious, spacious and reasonably-priced for the most part, the schools among the best anywhere. If they come from California or other highly congested, car-centric cities, they could care less that they have to drive — driving is a way of life for these folks.

Now let me tell you something about real estate: when you see a hot housing market, behind the scenes the real estate business — what goes on in the brokerage houses — goes wild. Brokers (who get a cut of every transaction that goes through the house) recruit agents like mad, enticing them with services, marketing assistance, just about everything they can do to help the agents land listings and sell. I have almost become convinced that real estate is like a bear that hibernates for the winter. When the market is good, the pace is almost frenetic and agents and brokers sell and make money as fast as they can. When the market is down, they hibernate, living off of what they stored up during the good months.

A real estate company called Engel & Völkers has entered our market. Engel & Volkers is a global luxury real estate franchise, German-based. It was founded in 1977 as a specialty boutique providing exclusive, high-end real estate services in Hamburg, Germany to folks of high net worth. In other words, rich Germans. Their Concierge level of service to clients soon spread across Europe. These are the folks who invented the word “uber” when it comes to luxury. Oh, they are no longer JUST in Germany. Engel & Völkers has become one of the world’s leading companies specializing in the sale and lease of premium residential and commercial property and yachts.

Did I say, yachts?

I did. In 2006, they extended their franchise market into the United States, into Miami. The firm currently has offices in key U.S. markets including New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, Scottsdale, Denver, Park City Utah/Northern Cali, and now North Texas.

The company is luxury real estate on a whole new level. Like their fine autos, the Germans know how to create luxury, package, sell and service it. Engel & Völkers currently operates a global network of more than 5,000 real estate advisors (note –  not agents) in 550 residential brokerages and 43 commercial offices spanning 38 countries across six continents, offering both private and institutional clients a professionally tailored range of luxury.

Think Starbucks for Real Estate with solid 18kt gold cups: in their store-front presentation, E&V make veritable showrooms out of real estate. Brilliant, yes? Strut your stuff!  The branding of Engel & Volkers is to have every single store look exactly alike so that when you see the all-white store, you immediately know ta dah! that is the brand for a very fine real estate shop. The Cartier’s of real estate buying.

Ooops — did they steal this concept from Apple? Perhaps. The stores are pristine white with black and red signs. It’s more like a jewelry store, and real estate is presented as jewels encased in boxes on a slanted display case that moves your eyes into the store naturally, gracefully.

A friend of mine in Park City, Utah just moved from Sotheby’s International — another global luxury franchise — to Engel & Volkers. I asked him how E&V is different from Sotheby’s.

“They are more established globally in 6 of 7 continents,” says Paul Benson. ” And they are much more customer service oriented.”

I guess that the company starting in Europe gave it a leg up over any US company — E&V expanded on its own turf.

“They are European based and used to focusing on luxury,” says Laurie Moore-Moore of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing “They have a different perspective on the luxury consumer.”

There is consistency in what they do — the same signs, the same stores, the same display of real estate like fine jewels.

“They understand that so much of marketing is presentation,” says Laurie, “and compelling story-telling.”

When you see the clean, almost minimalistic real estate stores on Main Street in most every city in the US,  you want to know the story. What is sold here? Dirt, but pricey dirt — the best kind. What does this mean for consumers? More players are coming to town to help you sell your million dollar mansion. More competition will raise the bar for everyone. And this could very well help you snag more equity out of your home with skillful marketing.

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Well the BIG news is that Texas now has its very first Engel & Volkers franchise. It is with Roxann Taylor & Associates, Southlake, the newest addition to its North American network and the first in Texas. The new brokerage will provide the firm’s global standard of premium service in the market as Engel & Völkers Dallas Southlake.

Of course, premium service has always been a standard at Roxann Taylor. The fascinating woman, who I met last week, came to Dallas in the late nineties, a victim of domestic violence. She had to change her name and identity, basically bury her past. She had to hide. She got into real estate, which the Monterrey, CA-born woman had done previously — along with building homes —  in North Carolina. Building structures is in her blood: her mother had a degree in engineering.

“I picked Texas because I had never been here,” she told me. “I didn’t know one single person. I absolutely love it here.”

She settled in Southlake, which was just beginning to emerge. She even had to plead to get a bank loan — borrowing money is pretty hard to do when you are in hiding from a husband who put you in the hospital for six months straight, and have no previous credit history.

But the local folks at Chase Bank gave her a loan, something Roxann has never forgotten.

“They believed in me — the loan officer, who remains a close friend to this day, looked me in the eye and trusted me. Used her instincts,” says Roxann.

Roxann says she grew her company by applying the same principles to herself that she had always lived with, and then began teaching them to her agents. She remains one of the most philanthropic brokers in the business: a Legacy of Women awards recipient for her philanthropic contributions through her company as well as a Shining Stars recipient for the generous support, Roxann Taylor has given to 43 different fundraisers and charities. She also sits on the advisory board of Dallas Cowboys’ Jason Witten’s Score Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the end of domestic violence. That’s an area that resonates with her heart. State Representative Vicki Truitt has recognized Taylor and her company — she has about 20 agents — for their considerable contributions to the community.

“We are not real estate agents,” says Roxann, ” we are advisors, and we need to give back to the community that has given us so much.

And so when it came time to find the perfect partner in Texas, E&V reached out to Roxann Taylor & Associates on Southlake Drive. The announcement and a five p.m. cocktail reception came the same day that Ebby Halliday christened its 12,000 square foot brand spanking new Southlake office.

Does that tell you something about the area?

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“Our brand continues to attract the very best in real estate as we continue to grow in North America,” said Anthony Hitt, CEO of Engel & Völkers North America and once the number one Sotheby’s real estate agent in Santa Monica.  “Roxann Taylor and her team were a clear choice for us in representing our brand in the Dallas Fort Worth market and we are extremely pleased to have them as part of the Engel & Völkers family.”

It started in Southlake, but don’t think it will stop in Southlake. Engel & Völkers is a franchise that Taylor now owns. As such, multiple expansions are in the works: an Engels & Volkers Flower Mound office opens in Flower Mound this January. Next on the list is   a location at the Shops of Lakeside, Frisco, Plano, McKinney & Prosper, Highland Village, Highland Park and Fort Worth. Right now Taylor has someone looking for a space in the new Crescent Real estate building across from the Ritz in Uptown Dallas. and her plans to open in other markets across the metroplex.

“Engel & Völkers most closely emulates the core values of my own real estate career in offering the best concierge style services in the world,” says Taylor. “I have one big passion — making a difference in people’s lives, whether it be exceeding the expectations of my clients or supporting shelters, children and the community. As part of Engel & Völkers’ worldwide network that spans 39 countries and six continents, we will be able to offer our clients access to a global audience and the systems and support will ensure they get the best of the best every single time.”

Taylor told me the company offers incredible tools for its agents to arm them in the competitive (and getting more competitive) luxury real estate market. Agents are handed a package  of website, social media, webpage, mobile apps, strategic partnerships with the big boys at Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com, advertising packages in the major media, professional designs for print and digital ads, and a true world-wide international network to pull in buyers from all over. The firm publishes its own glossy, haute luxury Architectural Digest clone magazine to showcase listings — Peggy Guggenheim is on the current cover. It’s published in six languages.

As we know — North Texas buyers are no longer just from California: Canadians and Chinese are buying in Florida, California, Arizona and Texas.  According to MLS data, Texas now accounts for about 11 percent of total international home purchases, a figure sure to only go up. Only Florida and California have more foreign buyers. And a whopping 30 percent of U.S. real estate agents now say they are working with offshore clients.

Combine this with our hot, thriving economy, while some parts of the country remain so-so, and it’s a no-brainer why Engel & Volkers chose North Texas for their first landing pad in Texas. That they chose us over Houston is huge. HUGE!

“We are looking for quality of agents.” said Tom Kunz, executive Vice President of Engel & Volkers North America. “the buyer of high end properties today has high expectations. Often they have homes in Europe or Asia. We looked at the whole marketplace in North Texas and we found Roxann Taylor. She has a great team in place, and we are going to be a great team together.”

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Candy Evans, founder and publisher of CandysDirt.com, is one of the nation’s leading real estate reporters.

7 Comments

  1. Ron on November 19, 2014 at 9:56 am

    You MUST learn the difference between it’s and its. You used the wrong word many times in this article. It’s is a contraction for it is. Its is the form you should have used.

    • Joanna England on November 19, 2014 at 10:59 am

      Hi Ron! I’ve edited all of the offending contractions for your reading pleasure. Of course, when you’re covering so much ground with a small staff like CandysDirt.com does, sometimes three-letter words get overlooked in the mix. Thanks for keeping a sharp eye out for us.

      • Candy Evans on November 19, 2014 at 3:44 pm

        Thank you Joanna. I need an editor Siamese twin!

    • Candy Evans on November 19, 2014 at 3:40 pm

      Oh I know. Sorry. Thanks for pointing IT out!

  2. Dan Holmes on November 29, 2014 at 5:37 am

    E and V didn’t do a very good background check. How many lawsuits and TREC violations has Roxann Taylor had? There’s something to write about.

  3. Real Truth on December 30, 2014 at 8:42 pm

    This is the same company that has 3 Lawsuits pending charging Fraud
    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/sickos-disgusted-hamptons-man-sentenced-child-porn-article-1.295648

    This is the same company that had the original partner jailed for Child Porn
    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/sickos-disgusted-hamptons-man-sentenced-child-porn-article-1.295648

    This is the same company where the CEO declared Bankruptcy

    This is the same company where dozens of franchise owners went bust

    Before you invest become educated about them

  4. Jonathan Lerner on February 21, 2015 at 4:55 pm

    Before investing you may wish to speak with former shop owners. Visit Facebook and search.
    Former Franchise Owners of Engel & Volkers

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