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    Real Estate Confab

    Houston's dominance of the luxury vacation home market lures Sotheby's high-dollar agents

    Shelby Hodge
    shelby hodge
    Feb 24, 2014 | 11:10 am

    Shortly after Martha Turner Properties was purchased by Sotheby's International Realty, the luxury real estate company brought in its top sellers from targeted vacation markets around the country to meet the Martha Turner team. And with good reason. Houstonians represent a whopping 20 percent of second-home buyers in markets such as Aspen, Santa Fe and Santa Barbara.

    Sotheby's International Realty president and CEO Kathy Korte and senior vice president Bradley Nelson led the two-day confab that included a reception at the Manor House at The Houstonian for Martha Turner top agents and the Sotheby's team.

    "It's a referral networking event for agents and our offices," Korte said at the cocktail reception. "Houston is a strong feeder market for buyer and seller activity in all of the mountain states, primarily in Colorado and throughout California."

    Houstonians represented 20 percent of all sales over $8 million in Telluride, Colo.

    Bringing that fact home, Nelson noted that in a recent survey of luxury vacation markets, Houstonians represented 20 percent of all sales over $8 million in Telluride, Colo.

    Among the agents that Sotheby's brought in for the meetings and socials was Suzanne Perkins of Santa Barbara. She was the nation's top selling agent in 2007, that status earned in no small part due to her sale that year of a $150 million ranch in her area. Korte noted that the annual sales volume of the visiting agents ranges between $50 million and $200 to $250 million, depending on the year.

    High on that list is Olympic snowboarder Chris Klug of Aspen (he won bronze in parallel giant slalom in the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002). He said that just last week he had put more than $25 million into contract. It doesn't take many properties to get to that level in Aspen where the average single family home price is $4 million, according to Klug, and where properties in the downtown core of Aspen are selling from $2,600 to $3,000 a square foot.

    Top-selling Telluride agent Bill Fandel pointed out that in the community of 2,300 full-time residents, 600 property owners come from Texas and that 40 percent of the vacation traffic comes from Houston. Just last year, pop singer Jewel purchased a vacation home from a Houston family.

    Martha Turner reports that her top agents manage sales typically from $30 to $40 million annually. Turner and Tom Anderson, operating as co-presidents of the new company, were on board with what Turner called the "cross-pollination" and a "synergy" between the Sotheby's agents around the country and the Houston team.

    "The company as we know it continues," Turner said. "But with the added value of the Sotheby's connection. We set the tone and make our decisions locally."

    Brad Nelson, from left, Martha Turner, Kathy Korte and Tom Anderson at the Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty reception.

    Brad Nelson, from left, Martha Turner, Kathy Korte and Tom Anderson at the Martha Turner Sotheby's Reception February 2014
      
    Photo by © Roswitha Vogler Photosbyrovo.com
    Brad Nelson, from left, Martha Turner, Kathy Korte and Tom Anderson at the Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty reception.
    unspecified
    news/real-estate
    series/htx-texas-traveler

    a sweeter future

    City of Sugar Land acquires historic 'Char House' for new development

    Jef Rouner
    Jun 19, 2025 | 2:30 pm
    The Char House in Sugar Land
    Photo provided by City of Sugar Land
    The Char House is one of the most iconic buildings in Southwest Houston

    The Imperial Sugar refinery complex has been gently rotting in the heart of Sugar Land, but a formal purchase of the land and building by the city government promises a chance at new life for the historic building.

    Built around 1869, the complex was once a state-of-the-art facility that refined sugar and produced molasses. The City of Sugar Land was named for the company, and the company's crown logo is part of the city's official seal. Thousands of workers manned the lines while Houston schoolchildren toured the floor of the factory until it shut its doors in 2002. Now, the only sugar in Sugar Land is found on grocery store shelves, where the Imperial brand is still sold today.

    The City of Sugar Land announced on Wednesday that it had finally completed the official purchase of the 40 acres that the refinery stands on, the first time the city has owned it. Previous plans to develop the property haven't come together.

    “Redeveloping the Imperial Historic District has been a longstanding priority for both the City Council and our residents,” Mayor Carol McCutcheon said in a statement. “We’re proud to now be in the driver’s seat — ready to preserve our namesake and create the kind of destination the Sugar Land community deserves. With this project, we hope to create a place that past and future generations are proud of for many years to come.”

    The $50 million land purchase and renovation plan includes the iconic Char House. The tall, red brick building looms over Sugar Land and is an iconic structure in Fort Bend County. The name comes from the charring process of adding burnt and powdered animal bones to the refining process. The building, completed in 1925, had to be tall as using gravity to filter the liquid sugar as it left the storage tanks on the eighth floor to the bottom.

    The City of Sugar Land is in the process of seeking a private development partner to repurpose and renovate the land and buildings. That process should be completed by first quarter of 2026. In the meantime, the sale will be finalized over the coming months, and the city will begin the process of maintenance to prevent further deterioration. Though it is still some ways in the future, it's possible generations of school children will once again have a chance to visit the industrial genesis of Sugar Land.

    sugar land
    news/real-estate
    series/htx-texas-traveler

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