The Beverly Hills, California-based luxury real estate firm of Hilton & Hyland has developed an innovative way to connect with homebuyers in China looking to purchase luxury real estate in the Los Angeles area.

The firm launched a streaming video on Youku – what some have dubbed the “Chinese version of YouTube” http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzQ0NDIwNTcy.html, to provide the country’s consumers with monthly market updates about ultra-luxury homes in the most desirable parts ofLos Angeles. The English Web site is http://lafivemillionplus.com/. An accompanying Chinese language site, LAHaozhai.com, is slated to launch in February 2012.

“Home prices in Los Angeles’ exclusive neighborhoods, such as Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Holmby Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Malibu and more are the lowest they’ve been in nearly a decade,” said veteran REALTOR® Rodrigo Iglesias, who is spearheading the project. “It’s a great window of opportunity for international buyers.”

The Youku streaming video is a marketing breakthrough, added Iglesias, considering China once banned consumers from the entire YouTube site. In an effort to stimulate the housing market, Congress is also considering legislation that would grant visas to international buyers who spend more than $500,000 on a residential property in the U.S.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services currently administers the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as “EB-5.” The program provides visas to foreigners who invest in approved real estate developments and other businesses that create at least 10 jobs in the U.S. Visas can eventually turn into green cards and permanent resident status.

The market reports have already gained popularity on a variety of social networking sites and Christie’s International Real Estate Network. Iglesias presented the updates for a week last summer at The Blue Marlin in Ibiza, Spain – one of the most sophisticated beach clubs in Europe.

Articles from:
Yahoo Finance:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hilton-hyland-marketing-los-angeles-113100397.html

Marketwatch/Wall Street Journal:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hilton-hyland-marketing-los-angeles-luxury-homes-via-youku-the-chinese-version-of-youtube-2012-01-31

The Daily News:
http://markets.financialcontent.com/mng-lang.dailynews/news/read?GUID=20513587&ChannelID=3191

Jeff Hyland Accepts Trophy at the Christie's International Real Estate Network’s 2011 Global Annual Leadership Conference in London

London, U.K. — Christie’s International Real Estate, the world’s leading network of luxury real estate specialists, presented the Affiliate-of-the-Year Award, Large Market Category to Hilton & Hyland Real Estate of Beverly Hills, California. The real estate brokerage—a member of the Christie’s International Real Estate network of 130 international Affiliates—was presented the trophy at the 2011 Global Annual Leadership Conference in London.

“Hilton & Hyland was one of the original affiliates in the Christie’s International Real Estate network,” says Neil Palmer, Chief Executive Officer. “The company had an unprecedented two closings last year from our highly-specialized Bespoke Marketing Program: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House in Los Angeles and Porcupine Creek in Rancho Mirage, California. Our winner then trumped those two sales by closing the network’s top sale of the year: Petra Ecclestone’s $85 million purchase of Candy Spelling’s Holmby Hills Estate. Rick Hilton and Jeff Hyland represented seller and Rick Hilton and David Kramer the buyer.”

The Affiliate-of-the-Year Awards recognizes excellence in branding and marketing throughout the Christie’s International Real Estate network. Top brokerages are selected in small (population less than 275,000), medium (population between 275,000 and 1,750,000), and large (population over 1,750,000) markets. The overall Affiliate-of-the-Year is chosen from the three winners in the market categories.

The recipient of the small-market award was Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates, while the winner of the medium-market award was Profusion Realty of Montreal, Canada. The other finalists across the three categories included Fenton Lang Bruner & Associates of Jupiter Island, Florida; Wetag Consulting Immobiliare inLocarno, Switzerland; Premier Estate Properties of Boca Raton, Florida; Residence Fastighetsmämaklerifrom Stockholm, Sweden; Long & Foster Real Estate of Chantilly, Virginia; and Harry Norman, Realtors, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Submissions were received from all corners of the international network, which is comprised of the world’s top luxury real estate brokerages. The Senior Vice Presidents of Christie’s International Real Estate—Kathy Coumou of Northeastern USA and Canada; Rick Moeser, who oversees the Southeast, Caribbean, Central and South America; Zack Wright, in Western North America and Western Mexico; and Joachim Wrang-Widèn, who manages the EMEA region—were also charged with nominating worthy brokerages from their regions.

The Senior Vice Presidents make the first cut and the finalists are then sent to the company’s Executive Management Committee. This is a group that includes Mr. Palmer; Jarvis Slade, Managing Director, Americas; and Mitch Lewis, Managing Director, Asia Pacific. This group decides on the finalist order.