One Sotheby’s rolls out new website during pandemic

One Sotheby’s International Realty rolled out a redesigned website this week, as its agents shift their focus to working remotely and virtually.

The Miami-based brokerage said the website was over a year in the making and represents a $500,000-plus investment. Among the new features are a flexible home search – allowing for lifestyle searches – neighborhood guides, an interactive map search, and a rotating showcase of agents on the homepage, said Karina Lopez, vice president of product and technology at One Sotheby’s.

“We’re promoting agents more than we’ve ever done before,” Lopez said. The last redesign was about five years ago, she said.

One Sotheby’s is also incorporating live data on specific condo buildings, as other brokerages and teams have done in the Miami market. The firm is working on adding a live chat feature and a system that will automate targeted ads for specific listings, using data on who is viewing the listings. The new website also connects to the company’s One Vue suite of tools, which includes One Connect, a lead automation and tracking platform.

The launch comes as brokerages shift to closing deals virtually, with agents working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Sotheby’s franchise, led by Mayi de la Vega and her son Daniel de la Vega, has been expanding in South Florida. In November, it acquired the 100-agent Treasure Coast Sotheby’s, active in the Vero Beach and Melbourne markets. And in February, it closed on the 17-agent Duek Realty, a boutique firm that focused on Brazilian buyers.

Earlier this year, One Sotheby’s brought on Isadora Badi as senior vice president of marketing. She was previously Sotheby’s International Realty’s vice president of global marketing.