Christie’s announces affiliate in South Africa

Christie’s International Real Estate, the world’s largest luxury real estate network, has awarded affiliate status to Ennik Estates in Gauteng, South Africa.

Ennik Estates will exclusively represent the Christie’s brand in the top spectrum of the residential property market in Gauteng, including Johannesburg, Sandton, Midrand, Randburg, and Pretoria.

Wholly owned by Christie’s, the world’s leading art business, Christie’s International Real Estate is represented in more than 40 countries. Ennik Estates joins this carefully selected organization of brokerages with proven records of success in both high-end property sales and exemplary client service.

Joachim Wrang-Widén, director of Affiliate Services for Europe, Middle East, and Africa said;  “Christie's International Real Estate takes great pride in inviting the most qualified and expert brokerages around the world to join our exclusive network. We are very excited about becoming affiliated with Mr. Ronald Ennik, one of the most experienced and qualified brokers in the country.”

“The Ennik Estates affiliation with Christie’s puts an international stamp of distinction on the luxury home market in and around the greater Johannesburg and Pretoria area of Gauteng,” said chief executive officer Ronald Ennik.

“Through this partnership, Ennik Estates and Christie’s International Real Estate will satisfy the lifestyle requirements of discerning clientele. We will provide a bespoke experience and uniquely superior service to a sophisticated group of owners and buyers of fine luxury properties,’ he explained.

“Johannesburg is the commercial capital of South Africa, and the gateway to sub-Saharan Africa, while nearby Pretoria is South Africa’s administrative capital and the location of choice for foreign diplomatic missions and world agencies active in Africa,” he added.

Both cities played a key role in helping South Africa to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the first time this event was held on African soil.The increased world attention from last year’s World Cup, together with the diminishing prospects in some of the major debt burdened economies in other parts of the world, has led to an increasing investment interest in this region, with property prices recording an uptick in values according to ABSA, one of the leading banks in South Africa.

South Africa’s healthy economy is also underlined by its recent entry into the group of emerging countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, and China. In recent years, Greater Johannesburg has become the economic hub of South Africa and increasingly for the rest of Africa. Growth was largely based on the discovery of gold and the expanded gold and diamond trade, which also made the city known as Africa’s City of Gold.

Today the plethora of world class hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, a vibrant multicultural mix of friendly people, and a mild year round climate make the city a popular travel destination.

Ennik Estates is based in Sandton, Johannesburg, in the Province of Gauteng, and is headed by Ronald Ennik, who has a long standing reputation in South Africa as a specialist marketer of distinctive homes in the upper price range. The exclusive affiliation with Christie’s International Real Estate sets Ennik Estates aside as the only agency in the Gauteng market that focuses exclusively on the luxury sector.