For Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty, their 10-year anniversary is not the only thing worth celebrating this year. The company now takes pride in setting the highest residential sale ever recorded in Northern Arizona.
Realtor Ed Pennington was already named the number one realtor in the Sedona market, and thanks to his $4.5 million luxury home sale this year, he is a shoo-in for the title again. After two years on the market, Pennington found a buyer for the 9,000-square-foot home on eight acres in the gorgeous heart of Sedona.
“Normally, a buyer would seek me out through the Internet or through another realtor,” Pennington said. “However, the people who ended up buying that house have bought numerous investment properties from me. I knew they were looking for a house, but I didn’t know if they would step up to that price range. As soon as they walked into the house, they knew it was what they were looking for.”
The house has many amenities and sits on a premier lot, but according to Pennington, the value was in the details.
“First of all, it’s on eight acres backing up to the National Forest in the heart of Sedona,” Pennington explained. “Secondly, the detailed finishes on this house are over the top. Just incredible finishes. And of course, the views are incredible as well. So the combination of the three made it an outstanding house.”
After 13 years in the real estate industry, Pennington still enjoys seeing buyers fall in love with a house.
“It really was a great experience because the people who bought it are just the kindest, most gentle, unassuming, beautiful people,” Pennington said. “And to watch their faces – especially hers – just light up when they walked in the front door was really special.”
After the buyers visited the house they immediately fell in love with it and submitted an offer. The sale was a cash transaction and closed within three weeks.
For Russ Lyon Sotheby’s, the sale confirms what they’ve always believed: they have the best realtors and reach in Sedona, and possibly Northern Arizona. Tod Christensen, the managing broker for the Sedona office, is proud of the company’s growth over the last 10 years.
“What it does for us is it solidifies the fact that we are the premier real estate company in Sedona for luxury homes,” Christensen said. “And when sellers are faced with the number of choices that they have for real estate companies, this sale exemplifies the fact that we have the largest reach with the influential buyer.”
The sale is also a feather in Pennington’s cap. Christensen always believed Pennington could sell a house of that capacity and attributes this success to a variety of qualities.
“First of all, Ed’s business background is pretty extensive and so he’s able to converse with a lot of different high-end buyers and sellers because he’s had a lot of different experience before he got into real estate,” Christensen said. “The other thing I am always very impressed with about Ed is he’s always able to put things in perspective and keep calm. He’s not going to get real excited and ruffled when he doesn’t have to be. When you have a high dollar transaction there are a lot of things that could go wrong. Ed is very good at keeping everything in perspective. You can’t force anyone to buy or sell anything in real estate and Ed recognizes that.”
While a luxury home sale and transaction is no different than any other home sale, Pennington says the hardest part about selling high end homes is finding interested buyers who can afford them.
“If you go above $2.5 million, the hardest part is finding a buyer,” Pennington said. “If you’re just talking about the luxury home market in Sedona – which is above $1 million – I don’t think there’s anything more or less difficult about it than houses in lower price ranges; it’s just that there are less of them.”
He believes luxury home sellers are looking for extreme professionalism in their realtor, as well as good exposure. Successful luxury home salesmen and women need extensive experience and a good reputation in the market.
“If they’re listed with a really good company that has great exposure in the luxury market – which Russ Lyon Sotheby’s does – and they have a knowledgeable realtor representing their interest in the luxury market, I think that’s all that a seller can ask for. But that’s a lot,” Pennington said.
Russ Lyon Sr. opened Russ Lyon Realty for business in the Phoenix market in 1947. Since then, the company has been passed down through three generations of Lyons. A decade ago, Todd Gillenwater started the Northern Arizona offices. In 2008, Russ Lyon Realty merged with Equitable Sotheby’s International Realty, becoming Sotheby’s International Realty’s largest network member and their number one affiliate in the world for both sales volume and units for sale.
“[Gillenwater] started the company 10 years ago, and where we are now, as far as successes, in just a short period of 10 years, I think it really phenomenal,” Christensen said. “We are consistently the second best overall real estate company in Sedona and many times we are on the verge of number one. In fact, with this sale this year, it’s going to be a race to the finish, and I have no doubt in my mind that soon this will be the company that not only leads this industry, but does the lion share of business in Sedona. We really thank all of the people in Sedona and the surrounding areas for trusting us with that business and recognizing what we always believed, which is that the people we hire are a cut above and the services we provide are superior to anyone else out there.” FBN
By Maria DiCosola
Flagstaff Business News