Cape Coral, Fort Myers Area Joins The Growing Network Of Engel & Voelkers Florida Real Estate Franchises

New Office Slated To Open In September

CAPE CORAL, FL (Wednesday, June 06, 2007) - – A new Engel & Voelkers Florida franchise office will join the state's Southwest Florida real estate firms when it opens this fall in Cape Coral. Thomas Hopf, a licensed Florida REALTOR® for more than 10 years, is the franchisee owner of the newly announced addition to the Engel & Voelkers Florida network. The office will overlook one of the area's main thoroughfares, the Cape Coral Parkway.

The 900-square-foot site, currently under renovation at 1333-2 Cape Coral Parkway, will handle worldwide, upscale residential real estate transactions as well as specialize in representing properties and clients within the Cape Coral and Fort Myers areas. When fully staffed, the office will accommodate up to 20 real estate agents.

"I am very happy to be involved with Engel & Voelkers Florida because I believe it is a perfect fit for the Florida market," said Hopf. "Personally, I have made many investments in Florida real estate in addition to being involved with the real estate markets in Fort Myers and Cape Coral since 1990."
Hopf brings in-depth experience in financial markets as well as the banking industry to his latest business venture. After earning a business administration degree from the University of Heilbronn in Germany, he was awarded an MBA from the California Coast University in Santa Anna prior to completing the AMP Program at Harvard Business School.

Following his career as a marketing and credit manager for multinational companies with Citibank AG in Germany, Hopf joined Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc. first in Hannover, Germany and later in Indianapolis. From 1993 – 1996, Hopf was headquartered in Paris, serving as manager of financial services Europe for Thomson Multimedia S.A. As director of finance for a German-based investment company, he engaged in major real estate transactions, including one sale that was valued in excess of 1.4 billion euros. A former member of the executive board of RSE-AG, he served as its CEO until the company was sold last November.

"The additions of Thomas Hopf and the Cape Coral/Fort Myers markets to the Engel & Voelkers Florida network represent real assets that will provide strong leadership and a strategic foothold in the vital southwestern sector of the state," said Timo Khammash, managing partner of the Engel & Voelkers Florida headquarters office.



Engel & Voelkers Florida Opens Master Franchise Operation As Part Of An On-Going Global Expansion

Naples Site Serves as Headquarters for Statewide Franchises

Naples, Fl (April 27, 2007) - Engel & Voelkers Florida, one of the world's most respected names in upscale international real estate, announces the summer opening of a Naples office that will serve as statewide headquarters for a new master franchise operation.

The 3,000-square-foot office space, located at 720 5th Avenue South, is scheduled to open in June 2007. The nearly six-month, $150,000 renovation of the second-story site will provide support for franchise offices across the state. The headquarters office will oversee marketing and public relations programs for statewide operations as well as host seminars and provide services for an expanding network of Florida-based franchises specializing in exclusive residential real estate listings. The first of several franchise sites affiliated with Engel & Voelkers Florida will open throughout this year and will feature the distinctive boutique-style design sported by Engel & Völkers Group real estate offices found in strategic locations worldwide.

The opening of this new Southwest Florida headquarters site signals the addition of a new region to the Engel & Völkers Group's growing portfolio of global locations that includes the Hamptons, England, Ireland, Italy, Chile, Spain, Switzerland and South Africa. The Hamburg, Germany-based Engel & Völkers Group represents a worldwide brand with operations in 24 countries and four continents. Currently, a new franchise opens somewhere in the world every 100 hours.

"Our goal is to open 240 offices within Florida over the next eight to 10 years – all independently owned by our franchisees. We see great potential in Florida and believe the timing is perfect. Both the euro and the pound are strong and Engel & Voelkers is the only company in the market that provides upscale residential real estate locally, as well as worldwide," said Timo Khammash, managing partner and head of franchise distribution for the Engel & Voelkers Florida headquarters office.

The first franchise-owned shops will open in the Southwest and West Coast regions beginning in May. Plans include openings in Punta Gorda, Cape Coral, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Naples,
Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Celebration, Miamir and Tampa Bay during the next several months.

Franchisees are immediately aligned with a strong, upscale brand that is prominent throughout major cities and distinguishes itself with highly personalized service. Specially designed training and sales systems, access to a prestigious international property market that offers 24/7 contact worldwide and a standardized, distinctive "shop concept" define and differentiate this prestigious real estate company.

For nearly 30 years, the Engel & Völkers Group has held not only a leading position in the European market but also a prominent position in the global, luxury real estate market representing both buyers and sellers for commercial and residential real estate transactions.

"This high quality worldwide estate-selling network literally opens Naples up to a truly global market, unlike any other existing agency in this area," said Maury Dailey, broker and franchisee of the soon-to-open Engel & Voelkers Naples real estate office.

"At Engel & Voelkers Naples, our goal is to provide the best in service to all of our clients – both buyers and sellers," Dailey added. "We are committed to opening Naples and Southwest Florida to the international market. We know that it's a market on par with some of the finest addresses in the world."

A real estate professional whose career spans more than 30 years, Dailey's achievements include serving as past president of the Marco Island Area Association of Realtors, former board member of the board of directors for the Marco Board of Realtors, vice president of the Florida Association of Realtors and being named Realtor of the Year.

For information about franchise opportunities, contact Timo Khammash at (941) 544-2829 – Timo.Khammash@engelvoelkers.com - or go to www.engelvoelkers.com/florida.


The Engel & Völkers Group

The Engel & Völkers Group provides real estate brokerage services for both buyers and sellers, focusing on upscale residential and commercial properties in top locations worldwide. Engel & Völkers provides a proprietary buyer and seller system, advanced technology that connects property shops throughout the world and an academy that offers extensive training and support for their franchises.

Engel & Völkers Group also publishes its own lifestyle and real estate magazine, known as GG Global Guide to Lifestyle, People & Real Estate. The glossy, quarterly publication focuses on luxury living, exclusive destinations and famous artists, designers and business leaders plus features magnificent Engel & Völkers listings from around the world.

Engel & Voelkers Florida serves as the master franchise headquarters for Florida, providing statewide support to franchisees to ensure they have all of the necessary tools and services they require to develop, manage and grow successful real estate agencies within a clearly defined sub-market.


German Real Estate Firm Is Site-Seeing In Florida
By MICHAEL POLLICK, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Published: August 6, 2007
One of the hottest real estate outfits in Europe is moving into Florida, cherry-picking choice U.S. sites, including Southwest Florida, to ensure an unending supply of high-end properties to Europeans flush with euros and pounds.
After making a name for itself on the Continent, the Hamburg, Germany-based Engel & Völkers plans to open hundreds of its 'property shops' aimed at well-heeled clients.
It is going into the Hamptons on Long Island and into Hyde Park, the upscale neighborhood in Tampa. A store on Main Street in Sarasota also is in the works, adding to the company's 270 residential property 'shops' worldwide.
Within the next decade, Engel & Völkers aims to open at least 200 offices in Florida.
That goal is in stark contrast to today's general view of the state and national real estate market, but speaks volumes about the long-term potential for Florida property.
Keen to satisfy wealthy European clients whose euros and pounds give them immense purchasing power in the struggling U.S. market, Engel & Völkers is pushing forward while other firms are retrenching. The company is moving in despite all of the talk of the crisis in subprime mortgages, high foreclosure rates and sagging home sales.
Timo Khammash, the Engel & Völkers executive driving the push into Florida, has worked for the company for more than a decade. His headquarters are in Naples but he has relatives in Sarasota; he even attended Sarasota High School for a few months. He's one of three managers on the road six days a week courting potential franchisees.
Khammash shrugs off the current state of the market.
'We had more and more of our clientele asking us, 'Why aren't you here?'' he said.
When they opened the doors to their Punta Gorda property shop in October, Martin and Hilde Block, along with partner Greg Loomis, became the first Florida franchisee of Engel & Völkers.
They also are setting up a storefront on Main Street in Sarasota.
Like the Engel & Völkers shops from Argentina to Dubai, the downtown Punta Gorda store is decked out with white wood trim on the outside, giving it somewhat of an old-world look. Inside, the store is modern and uncluttered, with furniture that is predominately white.
Engel & Völkers executives think they can train customers to be brand-conscious in picking a real estate firm.
All of their agents receive the same training and use identical software, both for keeping track of clients and for making and getting referrals from the other shops.
'If we sell the house to someone referred to us by the property shop in Prague, a percentage of our earnings goes to that shop,' Martin Block said.
The U.S. dollar has been in a gradual decline since the beginning of the decade, especially compared with the euro and the British pound.
While that is bad for Americans, eroding their global purchasing power, it makes U.S. properties look juicy to a European.
The primary competition for a piece of Florida beachfront might be coastal Spain. There, real estate has appreciated strongly and 'there are no currency discounts' for European buyers, said Lawrence Yun, senior economist of the National Association of Realtors.
In July, the dollar hit a 26-year low as measured against the British pound, and an all-time low against the euro. It takes roughly $1.37 to buy a euro and $2.05 to buy a British pound.
'From a British point of view, Florida real estate is selling at a 40 percent discount,' Yun said during a recent trip to Southwest Florida.
Maury Dailey, a broker and Engel & Völkers franchisee in Naples, knows the impact of the currency factor.
'In many cases, people from Europe or Great Britain can buy a million-dollar beachfront property for, in essence $500,000, when you consider the exchange rate discrepancies and the soft market,' Dailey said.
'They are more bullish on us than we are.'

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