1) Talk to us about your early days in real estate: How did you get your start in Luxury real estate?
Chrysol Value was founded in 2016 after a long experience in Real Estate.
I came to Barcelona from La Rioja and Madrid in 2001. Before that, I worked as Director of a dried food and snacks company “Aspil” owned by Borges Group and at Continente/Carrefour (Promodes Group) purchase central.
When arriving in Barcelona after having my first baby, I met some influencing business people in order to assess me to reorient my career. That was when I met Luis Hernandez de Cabanyes CEO an owner of Renta Corporacion. After talking for a while, he convinced me to join his group. Renta was at that moment, a young real estate company, he wanted to grow and sure he did. I entered as Manager of a new division: Operations and Office. When I started there, we were 15 employees. We grew until being 140, we went public and I learnt a lot working there. We lived very good years and also very bad ones, the sad years of the crisis. In 2010 we reach an agreement and I left the company, at that moment I was the International, office and Land manager and member of the Management Committee but there was no much room from the banks to work so I decided to leave before the bankruptcy hit the company.
After that experience I went to work for Mango (Textile leading company) as Expansion Manager, a tough work travelling 4 days a week every week.
By that time, I had two children so one day I decided to quit because I hardly did not see them and even though what they say reconciling was almost impossible.
I remember it was July and my children where at Maine in a summer campus, I decided to go one month to Boston my birth city to think about my future.
And there walking by The Charles River is when Chrysol was borne.
2) Why Chrysol ?
In a melting pot (“crisol” in Spanish) are often mixed metals at high temperature to obtain a unique solution.
CHRYSOL VALUE REAL ESTATE, was created as an analogy to this idea to respond to the needs in the different areas of the real estate sector in order to maximize the value of the assets.
Our philosophy is to provide an efficient and customized service providing value and confidence. We work with effort in the search and acquisition of properties to meet the needs of our clients.
3) What was your first sale ever? And the most important (your breakthrough sale)?
I started selling luxury properties at Renta Corporacion, so I have had experience on this field for 20 years. We have sold many houses in Pedralbes, Tres Torres, Galvany and Paseo de Gracia.
The luxury residential market in Barcelona is discreet so we do not publish or talk about our major sales, but I can say that during my career I have participated on the selling of astonishing penthouses, villas and buildings.
Chrysol is specialized in the upper area and neighbourhoods of Barcelona but also in other areas where you can find luxury and special properties, in Barcelona you never know where you are going to find a real estate jewel. Our “boutique shop” is a catalogued space. It was built in 1936 and is one of the lasts “emblematic” retails on Barcelona. We wanted a unique and cozy space with a touch of personality that provides us and our clients comfort such as being at home.
4) Tell us more about your powerful and professional female team
Today Chrysol team is formed by 5 women: Belen, Adriana, Barbara, Laura and myself. I think that women have higher emotional intelligence for the real estate market, they can see through the eyes of the client and understand their needs. Chrysol team is able to give a personal touch to the properties we sell. The purchasing of a house it is a very emotional one so is good to understand the needs and be able to give the client what he’s looking for.
5) 3 things that differentiate you and your company ?
What differences Chrysol of others is:
Knowledge: when you talk with a Chrysol agent you are talking with somebody experienced and professional not just commercial but legal, fiscal and all the areas surrounding the selling of a house.
Service: Chrysol is service oriented. Filling the needs of the client whether is a purchaser or a seller is our goal, we give a very customized service.
Efficiency: in Chrysol we know and love our work, we understand the market and the clients so we can meet the client expectations. We have a 5 star google reviews and we work very hard to achieve this goal.
Ethics: when you talk to Chrysol you know that you are talking to an experience, licensed agent and with a company that gives 1% of its turnover to social causes. We put values in front of everything. This year we are helping financing an immunotherapy treatment for breast cancer with the Clinic Hospital
6) What’s the current state of the market in your area ?
My agency stands out for the name of the company, well known in the sector, for the history we have behind us, and for the high professionalism and experience acquired over the years.
We are also particularly known for having carved out a respectable space for ourselves in the luxury properties market, and in any case important properties.
We pay extreme care and attention to the selection of the properties whose sale we negotiate, analyzing in advance all the relative documentation, because we want that when a negotiation is opened, there are no hitches due to problems with the property.
We therefore prefer to work hard and well before setting a property up for sale, for the peace of mind of the seller and the buyer, and above all so as not to have to work unnecessarily afterwards.
Foreigners are generally very selective in their choice of home, and before embarking on a journey to come to Italy, they want all possible information, such as photos, videos, floor plans, exact location, etc. However, when they come later to view a property, if they like the property and the agency has worked well, having previously provided truthful information, they buy immediately as soon as the visit is over.
7) What’s the current state of the market in your area ?
From my point of view Barcelona has a great potential for luxury market but some of the last politic decisions do not benefit it. It is a pity that the townhall does not work together with the real estate decision makers in order to find ways to both meet social benefits but also impulse the real estate market, which one can’t ignore is one of the leading engines of the economy of a country. Taxes are huge and there’s a very restrictive policy when restoring or building new houses. That’s why Luxury market is growing in other parts of the country whilst it is more stagnant in Barcelona.
The luxury Barcelona market is divided between local and international clients, we must offer them not just quality but services. In Barcelona there’s not much room for new developments so most of them come from restoring of old ones. It is important to know the different areas, prices in order to asses both owners and clients.
From my point of view Barcelona has a great potential for luxury market but some of the last politic decisions do not benefit it. It is a pity that the townhall does not work together with the real estate decision makers in order to find ways to both meet social benefits but also impulse the real estate market, which one can’t ignore is one of the leading engines of the economy of a country. Taxes are huge and there’s a very restrictive policy when restoring or building new houses. That’s why Luxury market is growing in other parts of the country whilst it is more stagnant in Barcelona.
The luxury Barcelona market is divided between local and international clients, we must offer them not just quality but services. In Barcelona there’s not much room for new developments so most of them come from restoring of old ones. It is important to know the different areas, prices in order to asses both owners and clients. Barcelona is a beautiful city with a magnificent weather, culture of thousands of years, open minded and great food. If you melt all these aspects in a “crisol” you sure want to live here and Chrysol will help you make this happen.
8) What is your top tip for freshly licensed agents ?
For new agents I will say that being and remaining in the market is like a marathon, you must keep working because if you sow you reap.
Some young agents come to the real estate market to make easy and quick money, they stay for a while and after some disappointments they quit. This profession is hard because you only make profit when you sell, and in order to do that you must work hard.
My father who is a very wise man taught me that you come to this world to add value, to make a contribution so it’s not all about making money. Being a real estate agent it’s not just a challenge but a way of connecting sellers and buyers in one of the most important decisions of their life, their home. So I will tell the new agents, make sure that your are selling homes not just houses and enjoy the path while doing it try to add your little grain of sand.
