By: CHRIS GRAEME
SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL Realty’s presence in Portugal was officially launched at the United States Embassy in Lisbon on Tuesday.
The world famous luxury real estate agent’s office for Portugal will be based in Estoril where Portugal Sotheby’s International Realty will be run by Managing Director Tiago Queiroga and will serve clients in Cascais, Estoril, Oeiras and Sintra.
“Portugal has a growing real estate market and we are very excited to expand to this beautiful and historic country,” said Michael R. Good, who is president and chief executive officer of Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. “We proudly welcome Tiago Queiroga and his team to our brand network.”
Queiroga believes his affiliation with the Sotheby’s International Realty network provides an immediate competitive advantage for his firm.
“The Sotheby’s International Realty brand is known throughout the world for its excellence and commitment to providing an unmatched level of client service,” said Tiago Queiroga.
Important industry
At the official launch attended by movers and shakers from the Lisbon real estate, construction and development business, the Ambassador for the United States, Alfred Hoffman Jr, said: “Real estate is something I happen to know a lot about because it was my profession in the US where I had a large property development company in Florida with around 5,000 employees and agents.
“There always used to be a battle between those who built property development and those who sold them as to which was more important and when I was with one group I told them they were the most important and vice-versa,” he joked.
“The truth is that money is made when you sell a product and it is important to produce a quality product, sell it at the right time and the right price,” he said, adding that he believed that property was the “most important industry in Portugal” and that the main driving force in the economy “would continue to be real estate”.
The 500 assembled guests were treated to a fascinating insight into some of the more historic sales of the world famous auctioneers Sotheby’s over the past two decades.
Lord Dalmeny, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s UK, highlighted
 Lord Dalmeny, deputy chairman, Sotheby’s UK |
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the famous auction of the Jacqueline Onassis’ estate for USwww.5 million in 1996 which attracted 660 bidders and sold the famous turned oak armchair belonging to J.F Kennedy for US$96,000.
Then there was Picasso’s Garçon à la Pipe, which in May 2004 went under the hammer for UShttp://www.04.1 million, and the famous Massacre of the Innocents found in a French convent and valued at 5,000 euros which turned out to be a Peter Paul Rubens and sold in 2001 for US$76.7 million. The Duchess of Windsor jewellery fetched 31 million pounds in 1987.
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