Luxury isn't a price point: 5 takeaways from BHS and FirstTeam's top marketers. When a listing has a great story, take it to your PR team weeks before it goes live. Reporters want exclusives, not leftovers. Reading Time: 5 mins read Above, left to right: Matthew Leone, Ashley Brennan and Lauren Henss Brown Harris Stevens and FirstTeam recently launched their first bicoastal networking event by hosting the third annual Luxury Real Estate and Design Summit in partnership with Luxury Marketer. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Matthew Leone, Chief Marketing Officer of Brown Harris Stevens, and Lauren Henss, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at First Team for a lively panel conversation about luxury marketing for agents in a constantly evolving landscape. Here are my top five takeaways that I believe any agent can lean into, regardless of a property's price tag or the size of their luxury portfolio: 1. Luxury is a level of detail, not a price point Leone suggested swapping "luxury" for a better word: bespoke. To him, it means obsessive attention to detail in everything an agent does, and storytelling is where that shows up most. You can present a home with the usual baseline facts, or you can dig in: Interview the architect or the interior designer, learn every material in the house, and help a buyer picture their life there. His example has stuck with me. Don't just list the outdoor space; describe it as the perfect spot for morning coffee with a view. He compared it to a five-star hotel or a Michelin-starred restaurant, where guests rarely remember the pillow or even the food, but they never forget how carefully every moment was considered. Henss built on that idea. Every listing is different, she said, and the goal is to create moments that matter across the entire client journey, staying 10 steps ahead of your client. And those moments don't have to be expensive, but they absolutely have to be meaningful. 2. The narrower your niche, the bigger your business Henss told the story of an agent at FirstTeam, a working fashion model who came into real estate just two years ago. He wanted to start in Turtle Rock, one of the wealthiest enclaves in Orange County. Then she pointed out that homes there change hands roughly once every 15 years. So they started over with a sharper question: Who, exactly, did he want to serve? The answer was tech executives at Fortune 500 companies shopping for second homes in Pelican Hill and Newport Coast. He committed to a 90-day content plan and a minimum monthly budget, tested what worked, and kept going for a year. Today he leads a team of 10 and ranks among FirstTeam's top 10 agents. Leone framed the same idea as differentiation. With an estimated 2.1 million agents in the U.S., many of them sharing your brokerage's brand, you need an identity of your own within it. If you can't explain why you're different in under 30 seconds, he said, you've already lost the room. Once you've earned that attention, keep it with the insights and service only you can offer. 3. Call your PR team before you post anything This is probably my favorite pro tip, but I'm admittedly biased. If there was one piece of advice Leone pressed hardest, it was this: When a listing has a great story, take it to your PR team weeks before it goes live. Reporters want exclusives, not leftovers. Post it on social media or your blog first, and a major outlet will likely pass because the story has already been told. Land the exclusive, though, and everything else follows. Other outlets pick it up, and the coverage feeds your social posts, a blog recap, your marketing materials and your listing page. He said he's lost count of the properties that went to contract the same weekend their press hit. Henss shared what great storytelling can do. FirstTeam took over a $32 million Newport Coast listing that had sat for two years. The house itself was unremarkable, but it had a 5,000-square-foot garage with turntables. So they rebranded it as a car collector's dream, invited wealthy collectors to an event, and partnered with Ferrari for test drives. The result was national press and an offer within two weeks. And when a listing isn't headline material? I chimed in that a well-crafted blog post with some ad spend behind it can still surprise you. One BHS blog post about a listing in the building where Only Murders in the Building is filmed landed in The Wall Street Journal three weeks later. Leone added a timely reason to keep publishing: AI search tools tend to surface recent content that isn't behind a paywall, which gives a fresh blog post outsized reach. 4. Let AI assist you, never author you Both panelists are enthusiastic AI users. Henss pointed to speed: She produced a property pitch video in about an hour, and it helped her team secure Mansion Global coverage for a major listing. Leone offered the phrase I've been repeating since: Assistance over authorship. Feed AI your own ideas, details and voice, and let it help shape them into a listing description, social posts and a press pitch. Hand it a vague 15-second prompt instead, and you'll get the same generic copy as everyone else who typed it. Worse, he said, fully AI-written content can rank lower in search and is increasingly flagged on social platforms. Henss had a practical safeguard. She tells her AI tools to write like a seasoned residential real estate advisor and to push back when she's wrong instead of agreeing with everything. 5. Depth beats reach When it comes to social media, agents are constantly told to be everywhere at once. Leone called that advice damaging: It leads to burnout, and burned-out agents quit posting. Instead, figure out where your clients actually spend time, look at your engagement numbers, and double down there. Henss's version was simple: Pick one platform and get really good at it. She's a fan of Substack for thought leadership. When you try to be everything to everyone, she said, you end up valuable to no one. To keep the workload manageable, Leone recommends creating one strong piece of content and sharing it across every platform rather than making something new for each. And when it comes to your audience, quality wins. If you're emailing 40,000 people, he said, you're doing something wrong. A few hundred real clients, each with their own network, can sustain an entire career. The Final Word Their parting advice for the next 90 days tied it all together. Leone's top priority was to share your expertise often, in whatever format feels natural, because the average New Yorker knows 20 to 25 agents. Henss suggested teaming up with about four professionals your clients already trust, such as trust attorneys or luxury travel advisors, and creating content together. And Leone closed with a reminder that no amount of posting replaces personal contact: the call, the text, the coffee, the small dinner. Every time you're in front of people, business happens. If you're interested in watching the full luxury marketing & PR discussion, see it here. Ashley Brennan is the senior vice president of Communications for Brown Harris Stevens.

Tula Residences tops off in North Bay Village as first new condo in over a decade. October 9, 2026 Bayshore Grove Capital, a Miami-based real estate and private equity firm, which is leading the project's development and construction, with Pacific & Orient Properties serving as the project developer, today announced the top off of Tula Residences, the boutique residential address nestled in the heart of North Bay Village, one of Miami's most exclusive waterfront island communities. Introducing a collection of just 54 private residences, the 21-story development pairs panoramic views of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline with approximately 18,000 square feet of highly curated amenities. With completion expected in Q3 2027, the project is set to become the first new condominium to open in North Bay Village in more than a decade. The construction milestone also represents a new chapter for Tula Residences and follows the development's recent $67 million construction loan from S3 Capital. As the building makes significant progress toward completion, the development team has engaged Compass Development Marketing Group to join Brown Harris Stevens as co-listing broker for marketing and sales efforts. Compass joins Tula Residences in a co-listing arrangement with Brown Harris Stevens. "Reaching the top of Tula is an exciting moment for us and for North Bay Village," said Vivian Dimond, Founder and CEO of Bayshore Grove Capital. "We have believed in the potential of this community from the beginning, and it is rewarding to see Tula take its rightful place as an anchor of the neighborhood. As construction moves closer to completion, the character of the building and the lifestyle we envisioned are coming to life right in front of us." With convenient access to both sides of Biscayne Bay, Tula is designed as a private residential retreat offering expansive residences and a collection of wellness and social amenities. Designed by architecture firm M77R ('matter') with interiors by Shannon Farrell Design, whose portfolio includes acclaimed residential and hospitality projects across Miami, New York and Los Angeles, Tula features a limited collection of two- to five-bedroom residences, including six penthouses spanning the upper three floors. The residences range from approximately 1,590 to 2,440 square feet, while the penthouses offer approximately 3,700 to 4,140 square feet. Prices start below $2 million. Every residence is a corner residence, offering exceptional views of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline. "Tula offers something truly compelling for North Bay Village, as buyers increasingly recognize the appeal of waterfront living in a location that offers both privacy and immediate access to Miami and Miami Beach," said Philip Freedman, Senior Managing Director of Sales. "Now that the building has topped off, buyers can see firsthand the progress taking shape and better understand what sets Tula apart within Miami's condominium market." As the new development division of Compass, one of the nation's leading residential real estate brokerages with a strong presence in South Florida and major luxury markets across the U.S., Compass Development Marketing Group specializes in the launch, positioning and sellout of high-end condominium and mixed-use projects. At Tula, Compass Development Marketing Group will work alongside Brown Harris Stevens as co-listing broker, supporting the project's sales strategy and broker outreach as the development advances toward completion. Complementing the residences, Tula will offer amenities designed around wellness, relaxation and gathering. A sixth-floor amenity level will feature a resort-style pool surrounded by a landscaped deck, poolside lounges and private cabanas overlooking Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline. Indoors, residents will have access to a 2,400-square-foot fitness center outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment, a great room with a marble fireplace, a private dining room for 12, and the Skyline Club Room, which will be available for private gatherings. Additional amenities include a surround-sound theater for private screenings, 24-hour concierge service and secure package storage. At the waterfront, the Vista Lounge will offer an additional setting for residents to relax and gather, with floor-to-ceiling windows and direct views of the bay. Located at the midpoint between Miami and Miami Beach, North Bay Village is undergoing a period of significant investment and growth across its residential, hospitality and commercial landscape. The community offers immediate access to some of the region's most important destinations, including the Miami Design District, the Wynwood Arts District, Downtown Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Pérez Art Museum Miami, and the Frost Science Museum, as well as Miami International Airport and the beaches of Miami Beach. Tula's topping off brings the project one step closer to delivering a new residential offering within this evolving waterfront community. Tula Residences