“We are simply a family that helps other families find the home of their dreams, their home.” This is how Louis Kretz defines the philosophy of Kretz Family Real Estate, a real estate agency that has changed the concept of the residential and luxury housing market sector in France and that promises to change it in Spain, where it has also made a strong impact.
Kretz has become the most popular agency in France for the series L’Agence: l’immobilier de luxe en famille, broadcast by the TMC channel and Netflix and which has already reached its fourth season. In Spain, the series arrived on the streaming platform with the title Family Business. Luxury homes, with that fourth season premiering on May 20 in Spain.
This family adventure began almost by chance in 2007, as Louis, third son of Sandrine and Olivier Kretz, the patriarchs, told Lifestyle Magazine. It was then that they decided to launch an agency specializing in luxury real estate, different from the existing ones. A family business, humane and close to customers.
And, without any experience in the sector, they decided to move forward with a small portfolio of homes. “We didn’t know anything about the sector. Absolutely nothing,” says the agency’s creator in the trailer for the series. “I was a teacher, but I wanted to work as a family,” adds Sandrine. (As in any good formula for success, they don’t even reveal the secret by insisting).
The fact is that the formula worked perfectly and soon his three sons – Martin, Valentin and Louis – joined the business, one after the other, to create a true family business in an apartment on the outskirts of Paris that caught the attention of the media. In 2016, a documentary on the France 5 channel explained his adventure.
After several notable media appearances, the director of the Mediawan production studio, Hugo Jaguenau, seduced the family to star in a television series. Their personal story, the communication skills of all its members and the world of luxury became a perfect cocktail for this new real estate reality format that Netflix already distributes in 190 countries with subtitles in 35 languages.
If there is one thing that this family business stands out for, it is not in its portfolio of luxury homes – which, of course, leaves no one indifferent – ??nor in its proven management capacity in this demanding segment, but in its ways of doing things and relating to its customers. Your clients. “We sell houses to live in, not to invest; “We are a family that works for other families, and I think that is what makes us unique,” ??adds Louis Kretz, who has just moved to the center of Barcelona with his partner, Adriana Pinos, as recorded in one of the episodes of the latest season of the series.
“In France it is normal to be stopped on the street, but when we arrived in Barcelona we were surprised that many people here also knew us,” explains Adriana in perfect Spanish learned within the family, since her grandfather was a Barcelonan exiled in France. after the Civil War. It was she who gave Louis his love for the city and now all the Kretz declare themselves passionate about the Catalan and Spanish lifestyle.
“Many French people are also like us, they know Spain and are passionate about it. In fact, most high-end home buyers here are American or French. It is a fou at first sight that lasts a lifetime. We understand perfectly what it is, because we share it,” Louis emphasizes. That they mean it from the heart is attested to by the fact that they are already preparing his wedding and a grand celebration on the Costa Brava. The series will give a good account of this, as well as all the family celebrations – and crises – of this peculiar real estate reality show.
“The series also works because it is about ordinary people, with their desires and their problems, in search of a dream, a life project, in idyllic environments. We naturally go in search of that desire for security and luxury that everyone shares,” explains Louis Kretz, highlighting that the agency’s main objective is to maintain its current idiosyncrasy. “We do not want to be a multinational like there are so many in the market, especially in the segment in which we work. We would stop being us,” he adds.
Regarding the peculiarities of the Spanish market, Louis and Adriana highlight, logically, the climate. But especially human warmth. “I think it is the main value that Spain offers,” she says. All this in addition to unique idyllic environments and properties, generally, with a larger area than in other countries for the same price.
On the other hand, the sector indices point out the growing attraction of the Spanish market, to the point that Madrid already surpasses Paris, and Barcelona also appears in the top ten of most interesting cities to buy a home. Beyond the urban environment, the attractions of the Costa Brava, the Costa del Sol or the islands are undeniable. In this area, the Kretz have set their sights on Menorca.
Along with television, social networks are the other great lever for Kretz Family Real Estate. “Before the pandemic, we had already bet heavily on digitalization and we started with that advantage. At times when we could not show homes in person, we have carried out important operations thanks to channels such as Instagram,” explains Louis Kretz.
Its proximity, its naturalness and its daily television coverage are already here to change the image that many have of the sector in the country of the real estate bubble. To accompany us in the search for the home of our dreams, even if we cannot acquire it for now. “Who was going to tell us that we would make it this far,” concludes Louis.
