He is no stranger to fans of the American TV show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Mauricio Umansky, husband of actress Kyle Richards. His luxury brokerage The Agency recently set foot on European soil for the first time with a branch in Amsterdam.
The expansion to Europe was by no means planned, say Umansky and Karina Nippérus, managing director and partner of the Amsterdam franchise during a press meeting in Amsterdam. Nippérus has been a real estate agent for twenty years and has worked for Voorma & Millenaar in the Amsterdam region, among others.
Just because she’s heading up an agency of The Agency doesn’t mean she’s always been glued to the screen for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH), which first aired in 2010 and is now available to binge on Netflix.
She discovered the reality series about the highs and lows in the lives of wealthy ‘housewives’ through her daughter, who was in her home during the lockdowns.
While many RHOBH fans feasted on the happy and less happy events in Mauricio’s personal life, it was mainly his business that Nippérus found interesting.
“I had sold my shares in the brokerage business and hadn’t yet figured out what my next step would be. In any case, I no longer wanted to go into the traditional real estate business, where the offer is displayed in a shop window on the corner of the street. Who sees it there? The buyer is not there. The buyer will come on the internet and social media,” says the Amsterdam broker during a cruise through the Amsterdam canals in honor of the launch of the Dutch branch.
“When I saw Mauricio and The Agency in The Real Housewives, I wondered why they weren’t in Europe yet. I just sent an email to the company.”
Europe was not in sight
However, Umansky had not yet set his sights on Europe. “And I have been open about that too. I said to Karina, “We’re not ready for this yet. But at the same time I saw her drive and the deals she made, always based on people.”
Nippérus says it guides its customers intuitively and honestly. They come to her because of her “sharp negotiating skills, market knowledge and high-quality service”, reads the press release.
“She is a wonderful person,” said Umansky, who traveled to Amsterdam for the occasion. In 2011, the celebrity agent co-founded The Agency with Billy Rose , with the idea of changing the real estate market from the luxury segment. “Because it’s easier to bring about change on a micro level, from a small market,” he says during the cruise.
“We don’t sell a 400 square meter mansion, but a lifestyle,” says Umansky. “We show what it’s like to live there. That you can drink coffee at the Pulitzer Hotel and take a walk in the park. We show this in our marketing, for example with a video on social media.”
Those who pay enough can even have their lifestyle shaped by The Agency with curated lifestyle , where the full-service broker selects the best restaurants, shops or wine for you. “We take care of our customers as if we were a hotel and therefore we need to know them well. If we have to, we know your wife likes Chardonnay,” he explains.
According to him, technology and data ensure that market information is used optimally and that customers can be served at their beck and call. “Our agents worldwide work in one CRM system where they can take care of our customers in collaboration.”
This approach has paid off for The Agency. The company has now grown to almost forty branches in the United States, Canada and now also Europe. Famous properties were sold, such as The Playboy Mansion, and big names were clients, including Prince and Michael Jackson.
The Dutch also know where to find The Agency, says Umansky. “We have a good relationship with some great brands and I was once involved in the sale of Ruud Gullit’s first home in the US after he left LA Galaxy.”
‘Also a house worth 500k’
The Agency is in line with the way Nippérus works. With more social media, more service and the dots on the i. “Beds are usually not nicely made. We are looking for a linen service and I would like to enter into a partnership with a bedding manufacturer,” the Amsterdam broker gives as an example.
Her office will initially operate from the Van Eeghenstraat in Amsterdam South, but Nippérus also sees expansion to Het Gooi in the future.
Although the Dutch housing market may currently be at a tipping point due to the rise in mortgage interest rates, inflation and the war in Ukraine, of disappearing target groups, for example wealthy Russians, Nippérus has not yet noticed anything.
It is mainly expats who can afford the more expensive owner-occupied homes. Nippérus: “The rise in interest rates could have an effect on first-time buyers, because it could mean a doubling of monthly costs. That is less of an issue for transferees.”
Starters and those moving on without millions in the bank may also be able to turn to The Agency: “Currently, the price in the range varies from 400,000 euros to 6 million euros,” says Nippérus.
“I do not only sell in the luxury segment, but also fun and beautiful. It’s not just houses worth 2.3 million euros. It may also be a studio of 5 tons that gives a good feeling. I just get on my bike, as long as I can make a nice deal for great customers that I can work with,” she says. Or as Umansky puts it: “Luxury is a service, not a price.”