@properties Christie’s International Real Estate has acquired the Michigan brokerage Christie’s International Real Estate North Harbor, a boutique brokerage firm in the town of Petoskey. A popular vacation spot for Midwesterners, Petoskey is located on Little Traverse Bay at the northern tip of Lake Michigan.
Eric Walstrom and Alex Irrer, co-owners of Birmingham, Michigan-based @properties Christie’s International Real Estate, acquired the Petoskey location from another Christie’s International Real Estate broker, Jeff Wellman, who has been a REALTOR® in the area for over 30 years, according to a release. The North Harbor brand will sunset, but Wellman will stay on with the new firm as a sales agent. In addition, Wellman’s son Tyler will serve as @properties Christie’s International Real Estate’s Northern Michigan operations coordinator.
Walstrom and Irrer stated they plan to leverage their growing presence in the Detroit Metro area, as well as their close connection to the separately-owned @properties Christie’s International Real Estate in Chicago. Detroit and Chicago account for 75% of homebuyers in Petoskey and the other resort towns on Little Traverse Bay, including Charlevoix and Harbor Springs, where @properties Christie’s International Real Estate already has an office.
“We see a big opportunity to raise the bar for service in this market by bringing in the technology, marketing and other resources that have propelled our growth in Southeast Michigan. No other firm in the area has anything that comes close – especially for marketing luxury properties,” said Walstrom.
The new owners intend to quickly grow the office from its current size of 15 agents handling about $70 million in annual sales volume. “We will hire more agents and give existing agents the tools and network to grow their business. We want to triple our sales volume in Petoskey,” Walstrom said.
“Northern Michigan has a really strong pull even for people who have relocated out of state for work or retirement. They might sell the homestead in Detroit or Grand Rapids, but they still want to keep a place up here,” noted Irrer. “This is a magical place for so many of us, and we’re beyond excited to represent it while being able to really improve upon the product the market receives.”
For more information, visit https://www.christiesrealestate.com/.
