Premier Estate Properties Takes Over Vero Beach Brokerage

Premier Estate Properties, Inc., a leading high-end real estate brokerage in Palm Beach and Broward counties, has taken over the office of Vero Beach brokerage French & Company and announced an alliance with Norris & Company whereby Kay Brown of Norris will head up Premier's new Vero boutique office.

The announcement represents the first move by a major Palm Beach real estate company into the Vero Beach luxury market. With offices in Delray Beach, Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, Premier currently has more than $1.5 billion in multi-million-dollar listings.

“We are especially pleased to become a part of the Vero Beach real estate community and forge a new alliance with our colleagues and longtime friends at Norris & Company” said Joseph Liguori, a principal with Premier Estate Properties.

“We look forward to combining our expertise in ultra luxury properties with Norris’ sterling reputation, local knowledge and agent base," he said.

While the announcement made no mention of French & Co., which in recent years has been involved in some of the higher-priced real estate transactions in Vero Beach, new Premier Estate Properties signs went up outside of the French office and on the front of the building.

The Premier Estate Properties web site also listed French & Co. broker Clark French and Vice President Cindy O'Dare as estate specialists in its new Vero Beach office. The sign on the street, however, suggested that French -- working out of the second-floor of the building -- would refocus on real estate development.

While Kay Brown, one of three owners of Norris, will move to the new Premier office on Beachland Boulevard, the other two owners, Gena Grove and Jane Schwiering will remain at the Norris office on Ocean Drive together with the Norris sales associates and staff.

"We look forward to combining our expertise in ultra luxury properties with Norris’ sterling reputation, local knowledge and agent base," said Ligouri. "We think that the two companies, working together, will offer an unprecedented marketing approach for properties across the range of price points.”

Both Norris & Company and Premier Estate Properties are affiliates of Christie’s Great Estates and the Board of Regents, the governing board of Luxury Real Estate.

The Premier Estate Properties Vero Beach office will specialize exclusively in properties in excess of one million dollars; Norris will focus on broader range of property options while continuing to market higher-end properties as appropriate.