Christie's International Sereno is closing a deal and returning to its roots

We had this great history of being kids and being a bit of a rebel. He was a skateboarder and I was a surfer. So when we were kids, it wasn't always the most constructive, but (we) channeled that kind of creative discontent into building Sereno,” Trapani said in a recent interview. HousingWire.

Sereno's path led to a partnership with @properties. Trapani and Iwanaga praised the company for providing them with valuable knowledge over the years. But it was time for both founders to bring Sereno back to its roots when Compass moved to buy Christie's and @properties for $150 million and 44.13 million shares of Class A stock.

Trapani and Iwanaga saw an opening, seizing the opportunity to bring Sereno back to her hyperlocal, community-centric mission.

“We learned a lot from those guys. Now we can go back to the hyperlocal inspirations for starting the company in the first place. The challenge and opportunity for us now is to see what we can achieve with all this knowledge and experience,” said Trapani.

“We could not have had a better relationship and experience with (@properties). They've taught us a lot about just their general business acumen and how they run a culture-based organization,” Iwanaga added. “But to have the opportunity to combine what we've learned and gained from them so far is something we've always done best when we've worked together and been independent of everything. was.”

Sereno's staff were also excited to regain their independence. According to the co-founders, most employees were uneasy when the Compass merger came about because they feared losing Sereno's spirit and purpose.

But the move to return Sereno to independence quelled those concerns and reignited the company's spark. Sereno even hired a new team of agents after the deal ended.

According to Trapani, the competition doesn't bother Sereno either, as the brand has a history of competing with household names. Founders have always focused on hiring a select number of productive people rather than mass hiring. In addition, he will now be the exclusive representative of Christie's International Real Estate in the Bay Area.

“The difference we offer is that you can have a hyperlocal, soulful organization that is both local and deeply embedded in the community. In addition, we have a first-class global luxury brand and network that has been in existence for 265 years,” said Trapani. “No one really has an offer at this level.”

But competition has never been Sereno's main focus. Trapani and Iwanaga intend to appeal to agents who want a more connected, quality experience than the corporate feel of a larger brokerage brand.

“You can provide exceptional customer service and care for each customer along the way, which leads to this compounding effect of referrals,” Trapani said. “We really took that approach as a broker. The term we like to use is 'We're out for meaning, not just money'.”

Christie's International Real Estate Sereno is now the brand's most prolific global affiliate. The brokerage also gave back with the Sereno 1% For Good Charitable Foundation, which raised $6.5 million for more than 550 organizations.