Windermere Real Estate chief economist Matthew Gardner says that census data indicate the ultra-wealthy are on the rise — the number of households with incomes above $150,000 rose by 52 percent between 2010 and 2016, and it’s projected to grow by an additional 34.6 percent by the year 2021.
“The considerable growth in this income tier is a strong indication that there has been substantial growth in the ultra-high income levels in Seattle, as well,” said Gardner — and it’s why Winderemere president O.B. Jacobi is announcing the launch of a new ultra-luxury brand, W Collection.
“W Collection is a marketing program that is tailored to the specialized needs of clients with homes priced at $3 million and above in Western Washington,” said the company in a press release.
The W Collection mobile interface
“Over the past few years Seattle’s high-net-worth population has exploded thanks to our booming economy, growing tech sector, and increasing international appeal,” said Jacobi in the release. “This has created a need to provide premium level services and brand power to Seattle’s growing ultra-high-net-worth real estate market.”
What’s W Collection?
The company describes W Collection as a “standalone brand.” It has a separate website, WByWindermere.com, and its own signage, presentation materials and “specialized advertising opportunities,” said the release.
Windermere began developing the brand about a year ago alongside real estate branding and marketing agency 1000watt.
“Windermere already owned commanding market share in Seattle, so we approached this as an opportunity to help them consolidate that lead,” said Brian Boero, founding partner of 1000watt, in the Windermere statement. “Everything we created — the logo, the brand system, the website design — was designed to build on the strength of the Windermere brand, while opening up new territories aimed at the very top stratum of the market.”
Windermere’s W Collection logo.
W Collection will first be available in Western Washington state. Windermere also has brokerages in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Mexico.