Eastern Suburbs expert, Cristian De Nigris has joined Sotheby’s Woollahra as he looks to move into the prestige market.
Mr De Nigris has been in real estate since he left school and has established a name for himself across a number of Sydney’s blue-chip Eastern Suburbs locations.
He said he wanted to join Sotheby’s as they have a big share of the upper end of the market and were a strong brand.
“My thinking behind the move was to get into that prestige market,” Mr De Nigris said.
“I wanted to get access to the higher-end properties, and a lot of the higher ends at the moment are being sold by Sotheby’s.
“The office that I’m going into owns the Woollahra Paddington market.
“They’ve got a massive market share around there, which was a big push for me.”
Mr De Nigris said that both Sotheby’s Double Bay and Sotheby’s Woollahra attract many of the biggest listings in Sydney.
“Between the two offices, just having the stock and access to the buyers from anywhere in the beaches and up into the Woollahra Paddington area, that’s a big thing for me too,” he said.
“They also have access to the international database which is how they get a lot in that higher price point.
“A lot of the time, the people that buy those massive properties are expats or just overseas clients in general.
“They also have a lot of pretty top notch agents already working there.”
Mr De Nigris said he had a strong relationship with the Sotheby’s team and he was impressed by how they operate.
“I know both of the directors quite well, Nicholas and James, at the Double Bay office, and Maclay, I’ve met a few times in the past,” he said.
Mr De Nigris said he was bringing his team of three across Sotheby’s Woollahra.
He said it would take some time to settle into the new office, but he would take a long-term approach.
“It’ll definitely be disruptive, which is what I’m expecting, but obviously the goal is then to have a long-term game on it,” he said.
He said he was still hoping to hit his goals this year.
“The goal was 50 sales this year, but given that we are going to move, I’m expecting it to be disruptive for the first six months,” he said.
“We’ll put together what we can deals-wise and then look to have a pretty big 2025.”
Sotheby’s Woollahra Director, Maclay Longhurst, said he was excited to have Cristian join the team.
“Our brand expanded and we are the market leaders in multiple suburbs around the eastern suburbs,” he said.
“Christian will add an extra layer to our agents and help us create more market share, which in turn will help us meet more buyers and help our vendors get better prices.”
Mr Longhurst said Mr De Nigris was a perfect fit for their brand.
“We’re not intentionally looking to grow the business,” he said.
“If the right agent comes across our desk that we feel will fit in within our culture and add value to the future buyers and sellers in the marketplace, then we’ll always open the door to have a discussion.
“But our intention isn’t growth.”