All right ladies and gentlemen welcome back to another SLG meetup today I have the absolute pleasure to be with one of the best real estate brokers in the nation Dora Puyck I mean she's being named by the Wall Street Journal as the number one real estate broker in Miami date number three in Florida And number five in the USA with over four billion dollars worth of real estate sold and almost one billion dollar sold last year alone I can say that it's a privilege to be sitting here with you Dora. Thank you for having me. Thank you for such kind words I'm honored. No, of course and we're sitting here in a beautiful penthouse in South Beach and I wanted to ask you is this Trent of amazing sales gonna keep going or what do you see the real estate heading?
It's never gonna end I think in South Florida if I had to be a broker in any part of the country I would pick to be a broker in Miami-Dade County So I'm thrilled to be here because I think we're in one of the best markets in the country And that's what I think is gonna be the game changer and the buffer to any downward motion that the rest of the country's experiencing Because of what the federal reserve is doing with interest rate hikes pretty much and with inflation Got it. So you think Miami-Dade is recession proof? No, I don't think anyone is immune from a deep bad recession I do think that we are buffered more than any other city in the country one because we are in a no-state income tax state of Florida which has been fantastic for us since 2018 when the tax reform occurred and The other reason is because of weather and lifestyle So we're traditionally a good market for Northeast and Chicago and Midwesterners Canadians coming from winter markets And the other part is for the international market which we enjoy much more than most cities in the country So I think between the three different sectors I think we're more resilient than more other cities in the country I couldn't agree more and about the lifestyle now We're gonna start heading towards the high season which is one of my favorite and as you said more people are gonna come in here Which is what's gonna create that demand now? My question is how do you prepare yourself for this time of the year?
Well, the first thing I did was take a vacation and take it in three years That's good I think all the top brokers did that this summer because we were working eight days a week for about two years since the pandemic The pandemic which we thought was going to be the end of the world turned out to be a perfect storm for South Florida as a benefit to Florida What we do is in the summer we build up all of our marketing capabilities We clean up our digital programs We start booking any print for the winter season and we start getting we are accumulating listings And we've been sort of on a listing rampage in the last two three weeks We also try to close up all the deals that we worked on last winter to get that out of the way and then we try to build up our buyer Our buyer database as well Right now we're really on a big listing program because if you have listings you control the market That's totally right now Tell me about that because you were mentioning about the marketing and how you prepare for it What's the I will say strategy to acquire those listings? Well one of the strategic moves that we made and I said this at the real deal panel for all the young agents to learn The whole world is going towards digital, but certain print initiatives are still very relevant We ramped up our direct mail program to at least one a week and that was a direct product of the pandemic Why people were working from home kids were virtual schools all of a sudden I was not junk mail I started getting phone calls from principals of properties people who owned them were working from home They were actually seeing them. We literally quadrupled our direct mail program and we're still on it. We're not backing down from that The print advertising we scaled down, but we're still doing our winter programs and we hardcore clean up all of our digital programs from realtor.com to going through every listing We have on Zillow to truly all of the auxiliary online websites that feature our listings automatically We audited them all because there were so many mistakes these algorithms sometimes pick up your listing wrong I see a big lesson agents is check on especially if you don't have a lot of listings You don't want to comment in the wrong place and it's six hundred ninety five thousand when it's really six point nine five We found a lot of it So we clean up all that we build up our Pipeline for e-flyers for all of our social media.
We start building content We on our social media as you know, we not only post on our properties But we try to balance it out with lifestyle with anything having to do with Miami restaurants because I am an ambassador for Miami I believe that I have to sell the city first and once I convince you that this is the best place in the world to live Then I get to sell you home Well, we're lucky enough to be one of the most amazing places in the country Which I will say that that's why showcasing the lifestyle is guaranteed success when it comes to selling properties Also, I've been hearing more and more from clients from Europe and from Latin America Which they've been virtually non-existing in the super luxury market because the dollar's been so strong abroad But even so because of what's going on with the war in Europe. They're a little bit nervous I believe the super luxury market is gonna see a lot more Europeans coming in to Miami And when I was in Spain for six weeks this summer if I told anyone that I was from Miami Immediately all eyes are on you at a dinner table or or at a gathering everybody wants to hear what's going on Miami It's probably one of the most exciting cities in the world right now I'm internationally or in the US and you were talking about how to acquire listings But what in terms of the buyers because that was just a great point right there when you are outside of Miami You're talking about Miami people want to know about it So you position yourself as an authority when it comes to Miami But is there an approach that you can use it? I've been in the business for over 30 years So I'm a little bit of a meat and potatoes broker and I get referred a lot But that's I'm in a very fortunate position to have that because for young agents out there who are in their 2230s They may not have that so I still the major source of my business is referrals because I'm a relationship broker I have had to dive into the whole digital world because if not you can't keep up with all the young ones who are completely digital I we have a database of over half a million contacts from my whole career and we are very consistent with our e-campings Clean up all of our digital presence and we are now launching our new website Which you'll be seeing in the next two three weeks that we've been working on I can wait so that's gonna be a big draw I believe with a lot of SEO behind it and Calling back all of our successful sales and staying in touch with our successful sales clients are a huge source of getting referred buyers to us For our programs, right? Well, I mean we're in the people's business So at the end of the day it's about building those relationships and it is true that if you come from a more traditional approach throughout all those years Yes, you have that advantage But someone that is starting on needs to tap into the digital space otherwise you cannot keep up with the big players But once they've retrieved leads from the digital space one of my top producers of my company Lucas Lachuga was a blogger Okay, and he makes deep seven figures in real estate and he's completely digital this kid is I'm so proud of him It's all digital but what he does intelligently is once he converts to a sale He then becomes a relationship broker with that client and he maintains contact personal contact By text what's up phone calls with all of his successful sales.
I think people forget the same touch with your successful client sales That's your best source of referral. That's happy with what you did for him and his family It's about keeping water in the power base. You know, it's on keeping it growing cuz look at you $1 billion almost nissales only in 2021 I know what happened. I actually wasn't a billion a little bit over a billion plus But I had two cancellations at the end of you So we asked 30 million in business we were all bummed out that I wasn't exactly the billion It was nine hundred seventy million dollars in sales.
That's incredible I don't know if in my career I'll ever be able to do that again because I average between three and four hundred million dollars a year again The perfect storm post pandemic interest rates got dropped the fed helped us stock market was soaring and everyone was buying property in South Florida for tax purposes We ended up closing with 30 million in general That's good. That's good. That's fine. I would ask you something.
What is something that throughout your career? You said wow, this was the number one thing that really helped me progress in real estate I have to say the first thing I would say for that is and I tell this to young agents all the time answer your phone It's really simple pick up your phone your big clients your super luxury clients anything That's north of three million colors. Even the ones under they want accessibility to you You can't DM your life through a successful People think that the positive is not gonna get you your whole career. It helps What's up?
We use WhatsApp groups and text groups effectively with our clients text messaging that all helps and cushions you But you need to speak human beings need to speak you get more done in a five minute conversation You don't lose context of the negotiation and your client loves it So I think accessibility of your client to you and your team is the best advice I could give anyone and we are excellent communicators on my team My team knows on all of our client chats that if I'm busy somebody's responding to that client even if it's saying door I will be free in an hour. I love it So I think that's been really effective throughout my career I think I'm a really good communicator with my clients and I'm proactive on keeping them informed I don't wait till they call me a month later and say hey, what's going on with my listing? That's the worst thing you can do to lose trust and confidence from the seller and at the end of the day They are giving you their most precious asset for you to manage and sell which is their home. I couldn't say it any better You know communication is key and I do believe that whenever you are always communicating You're letting them know ahead of what's happening and they don't need to come back That's reactively, you know First they understand you're working on your property Yeah, exactly that may affect commissions later because they won't cut your commissions because they know how much work you put into it And they appreciate being informed that their properties be marketed and what's going on in the economy feedback from clients So that they know what path they're in and it also helps you to get price reductions If you can't sell it or if it's overpriced or if the market's changing.
So I think communication is key. The other Thing I would tell young agents is the informed I mean if we live in a global world right now macro economics Understand politics in other countries because we are an international city I understand what's going on in New York I understand what's going on the 50 states with taxes because Florida is a non-state and context state We're so fortunate to be in that kind of state for the luxury residential market and be informed on all the market comparables You have to know your inventory. There's no free lunch. No, let's just power How about you know if you were talking about knowing your product?
There's a lot of new developments here in Miami Any particular that you were like wow, this is like amazing products coming up in Miami? Well, I'm gonna be a little bit biased with my project Launched friends and family this summer for the Linksest States in Fisher Island. It's a collection of 12 single family mansions They're all different the lots go from 13,000 swir feet to over 23,000 swir feet Which is a little bit more than half an acre and these are gonna average about 10,000 swir feet and they're all between 25 and 35 million dollars Well, we've already from the 12 have four that went under contract quietly off market and we just put one in contract as well So we have seven very individualistic mansions that are gonna come on to Fisher Island Which is great. That's amazing because they're all different everyone thinks that they're cookie cutter homes and they're not completely offices to that And so I think it's gonna be a game changer for the island And then I just want to visit a beautiful project that will go Columbus doing in brick in the coconut growth in Grovile called Vita Vitaya, which is a boutique project and I really liked it more than I thought I would I'm a big fan of boutique buildings.
I sell a lot of Apogee. I sell a lot here at 300 Collins I think in the super luxury market boutique buildings really are successful every building official island has been boutique that I've sold so I'm a big fan of that one and Bentley residences was another one that we went to check out yesterday and we were really impressed with the quality And there's a couple of new projects coming out of brickel that I think are really raising the bar for brickel Avenue One is St. Regis residences, which I've heard they're doing fantastic as it is and there's a new project that just came out 1428 that the finishes are really outstanding There's a couple also in the background that are launching that I'm not going to talk about yet But we'll find out with a big name and I also like the mr. C Right now I mean at the end of the day the branded buildings have like taken off here in Miami and a lot of people that come from overseas Especially they just automatically trust because they trust the brand so they will look into it But I agree with you about the boutique style that's something very unique and that's not so you know I will say popular but it will be marketed like the way you're doing it in a way that people want to get hands on the product But I want to ask you about luxury because the world luxury it's so different for everybody But what is it for you luxury for me the devil's and the details and I tell this to you Look at that all of the time.
I think when you go to a four seasons hotel in an international city Everyone looked at the bulgary soaks and about as menial and trivial as that sounds I think the way the bed sheets are pressed in the bed and made Fresh flowers candles the smell of a property. We are sticklers I call it the smell of luxury I Especially residential when you walk in the way the house feels the energy and the smell is really important You can't smell food in a kitchen I've had that happen with single family and I'm showing and I smell fried chicken so I think the way the properties are Merchandise and kept and puffed pillows and fresh flowers and the smell for residential I think it's really important when you show I think the developers are really good at that because they have models and all the model units They make sure that they're always perfectly set they smell nicely and are always well well appointed with flowers and candles I love that now. What's your favorite thing about Miami that you like to do? I love the water.
We have a boat so being in the water in the bay. We tie up with friends on weekends We got with my kids on the boat. I think we're so lucky to live on tropical waters and live on islands Where you can have your boat behind I tell friends of mine from Europe all the time We live on vacation with a job attached to it. That's a good one working in a big city and taking a vacation Yeah, that's true.
My favorite thing here is the water. I would agree with you It's actually a book that it's called Blue Night and it talks about the benefits of living facing the water and being on the water And it's so true. You know mental wise that you just feel so energized. So it's unbelievable.
Well look I would like to thank you once again for sharing all this amazing information And I would like to say is like are we gonna see another year like the one that we saw in 2021? I think the frenzy is over I do think the crazy frenzy of some three properties a week by picking up the phone and having multiple offers over asking I think that frenzy is over because the fed has taken care of that by raising interest rates so aggressively I do believe we're gonna have a great winter season a traditional winter season This summer was slower because everybody traveled. COVID was over and the travel bans were over and no more masks So I tell my team that all the adults went on spring break Yeah, I think we're gonna have a traditional good winter We're still low on inventory in the luxury market. So I think we're in for a good winter I don't know if it's the mayhem we had in 2021.
I wish but I don't believe it's gonna be that crazy But I still think we're gonna be in a good position. I'm so bullish on my own wonderful Well, we look forward to seeing you keep on succeeding and thank you again for your time I hope everybody enjoyed the conversation and if you have any questions about this superlox really high end real estate here Miami, please reach out because he's amazing. I appreciate it. Thank you.
Thank you for having me. I'm honored And thanks again for everybody tuning in today. We hope you enjoyed it And remember embrace it's beautiful success in life. My name is Alvaro and I'll see you next time