Dubai, 9^th March 2022 – Sotheby's International Realty announces the opening of Sotheby's Kuwait International Realty, an Al Sabah family-owned office under the direction of Shaikha Paula Al Sabah and Mr. Michael Bolla. 

Sotheby's Kuwait International Realty will provide the services of Sotheby's International Realty with a strong emphasis on assisting Kuwait and Gulf residents to navigate investment in foreign markets.

The partnership is heavily influenced by the longstanding goal behind Shaikha Paula's work to promote understanding and respect between the East and West. 

In this effort, the Shaikha hopes to foster respect and good relations between international investors of residential properties by providing more in-depth knowledge of residential assets and their investment potential and risks within their respective markets. 

Sotheby's Kuwait International Realty is a new kind of Sotheby's office, an advisory service for Gulf residents specifically created to provide valuation standards for large residences & estates internationally.

Sotheby's Kuwait International Realty will provide a strong emphasis on assisting Kuwait and Gulf residents to navigate investment in foreign markets along with the services of Sotheby's International Realty.

The firm will not be hiring agents who show properties. The intention is to assemble an acquisitions team that will provide buyers of luxury real estate insight into the markets they seek to invest in and then work with local affiliates who can provide opportunities that meet these criteria.

Family offices in the Gulf represent a large percentage of the buying population of luxury city homes & country estates worldwide, and SIR Kuwait will assist in managing the aspects of the acquisitions and divestitures beyond what marketing firms provide. 

The principals of Sotheby's Kuwait have an in-depth personal relationship with the real estate markets in New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Morocco, Munich, and Spain and will coordinate with Sotheby's affiliate offices worldwide. 

They take a deeply analytical long-term view of properties, more akin to the approach taken on commercial assets. 

Sotheby's Kuwait will be a very active referral resource to SIR affiliates in markets of their interest.

Shaikha Paula Al Sabah was born in New York and has been living in Kuwait since 1974. Her continued works are all a labour of love. Her lifelong passion has been to create a genuine exchange between Eastern and Western culture and peoples, as these misunderstandings have profoundly affected her throughout her lifetime. 

Additionally, Shaikha has successfully built a vast global property portfolio for her Family Office.

Michael Bolla was retained as CEO after working internationally for the Family for many years. He proved a unique ability to recognize and evaluate properties investment potential and solve complicated investment concerns in markets worldwide.  

This is the fourth Sotheby's International Realty office in the region and will be a partner office of Sotheby's Dubai.

The Story of Sotheby's Kuwait

How it Began: Sotheby's Kuwait developed from the working relationship between Michael Bolla and the Kuwaiti Royal family. "We had been collaborating on family properties around the world," Said Mr. Bolla, "I've carried out tasks where the Al Sabah family owns properties, both making deals and solving issues. Eventually, there was a discussion within the Family, 'Well, why don't we have Michael just manage the properties?' From there, things evolved naturally." 

"Completely organic," Paula Al Sabah agrees, "We were working in Morocco, Dubai, New York, London, and Paris and ultimately needed to structure what we were doing. Spending time in Dubai, meeting people across the Gulf, we saw how others could benefit from the type of advisory and consulting services Michael Bolla provided us. We discussed purchasing the rights to Sotheby's Kuwait and now are officially partnered in this venture." 

We Offer: Our focus is to provide family offices and international investors with outstanding property advisory services. We will behave as investment counsellors for residential acquisitions, offering the same degree of detailed financial underwriting that is usually produced to evaluate commercial or multi-family assets. We will also provide sellers of properties that meet our valuation standards with direct access to clients in the Gulf. 

The Need:  Investing in urban centres, especially in this period of massive development, presents both opportunity and risk. There is so much money at work in the property market and an abundance of noise around where to buy. Getting caught up in the hype and overpaying for an asset is easy, particularly for international investors. Our goal is to make local market intelligence available to our clients, ensuring optimal performance and wealth preservation on their investments. We are very excited to make proper representation on residential acquisitions in New York and other cities accessible to overseas customers. Equally exciting is the opportunity to connect local sellers with a new crop of prospects for assets that we have vetted. 

"I say to investors all the time," continued Michael Bolla, "before you buy something, think of yourself as your landlord; decide how much you want to spend on that given asset. Just because it's personal and part of your discretionary budget doesn't mean you should find yourself paying twice what something is worth." 

The Sotheby's International Realty® network currently has nearly 24,000 affiliated independent sales associates in approximately 1,000 offices in 75 countries and territories worldwide. In addition to their other services Sotheby's Kuwait International Realty listings are marketed on the sothebysrealty.com global website. In addition to the referral opportunities and widened exposure generated from this source, the firm's brokers and clients will benefit from an association with Sotheby's auction house and worldwide Sotheby's International Realty marketing programs. Each office is independently owned and operated.

Sotheby's International Realty

Sotheby's International Realty® was founded in 1976 as a real estate service for discerning clients of Sotheby's auction house. Today, the company's global footprint spans approximately 1,000 offices located in 75 countries and territories worldwide, including 45 company-owned brokerage offices in key metropolitan and resort markets. In February 2004, Realogy entered into a long-term strategic alliance with Sotheby's, the auction house operator. The agreement provided for the licensing of the Sotheby's International Realty name and the development of a franchise system. The franchise system consists of an affiliate network, where each office is independently owned and operated. Sotheby's International Realty® supports its affiliates and agents with a host of operational, marketing, recruiting, educational and business development resources. Affiliates and agents also benefit from an association with the venerable Sotheby's auction house, established in 1744. For more information, visit www.sothebysrealty.com.

The affiliate network is operated by Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC, and the company-owned brokerages are operated by Sotheby's International Realty, Inc. Both entities are subsidiaries of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global leader in real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage, relocation and settlement services. Both Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC and Sotheby's International Realty, Inc. fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

 One thousand offices are located in 75 countries and territories worldwide, including 45 company-owned brokerage offices in key metropolitan and resort markets. In February 2004, Realogy entered into a long-term strategic alliance with Sotheby's, the auction house operator. The agreement provided for the licensing of the Sotheby's International Realty name and the development of a franchise system. The franchise system consists of an affiliate network, where each office is independently owned and operated. Sotheby's International Realty supports its affiliates and agents with a host of operational, marketing, recruiting, educational and business development resources. Affiliates and agents also benefit from an association with the venerable Sotheby's auction house, established in 1744. For more information, visit www.sothebysrealty.com.

The affiliate network is operated by Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC, and the company-owned brokerages are operated by Sotheby's International Realty, Inc. Both entities are subsidiaries of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global leader in real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage, relocation and settlement services. Both Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC and Sotheby's International Realty, Inc. fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

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CONTACT: Wol Balston, Director, Flint Culture ([email protected]/ +44 (0)7828 896 053)

This article was previously published on UAE Moments.To see the original article, click here