In the ultra-competitive Silicon Valley, Calif. real estate market, there is a select group of professionals who are routinely sought out for their exemplary service and exceptional results. Christopher Fling and Karen Yang, who comprise the top-producing team of Fling Yang & Associates, certainly fit that criteria, with just shy of $50 million in production over the last 12 months and an ongoing reputation for excellence in the Silicon Valley. Now, the Fling Yang team will be triumphing from a new home base in Los Altos, Calif., as the newest members of the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® program.
“We could not be more excited to welcome Christopher and Karen to Coldwell Banker Global Luxury,” said Craig Hogan, vice president of luxury for Coldwell Banker® Real Estate LLC. “They are true power players in Silicon Valley whose distinctive partnership allows them to really connect with clients. We are absolutely thrilled they have joined the team not only because they are highly productive and intelligent agents, but also because they already embody the values of Coldwell Banker and CBGL.”
It was, in large part, the support and global resources provided by the Global Luxury program that drew Fling and Yang to their new brokerage. Since the initiation of their partnership, the pair has worked side by side as principals, managing clients together and without a support staff. They were not intentionally looking to move, but, having reached maximum calendar saturation, they knew something had to change.
“We were at an inflection point in the growth of our business where an important decision needed to be made” said Yang, who met Fling when he was coaching new real estate agents and she was mentoring existing agents. “Were we going to leverage our time and find a third person—perhaps a non-client facing professional to take on some operations, office, administrative support, and marketing tasks that were taking us out of the field, and out from in front of clients, and putting us behind the desk? We had been just dealing with the time situation as it came up, knowing that we needed to figure out how to relieve our calendars but not overtly looking for a change.”
Then came a kismet conversation with Greg Boudreau, manager of the Los Altos office of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. “We have known Greg for a number of years and, over a long-postponed cup of coffee, he introduced the Global Luxury platform to us,” said Yang. “It just resonated.”
Several weeks of discussions led up to the pair attending the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury training, and the decision was easy from there.
“We provide concierge-level service for our clients and what we learned over several weeks of visits and talks with the Global Luxury leaders and attending their luxury training is that there is this network of CBGL agents running their business at the same level and in the same kind of way in terms of professionalism,” said Fling. “It became clear that this was an organization that could support us in the same way we support our clients.”
That starts with marketing—an undertaking that previously fell exclusively to Fling and Yang—the pair have been honored for their standout marketing with awards from the Institute of Luxury Home Marketing—and who are now delighted to have access to the robust Coldwell Banker Global Luxury marketing program.
“No one can now outperform us in terms of where a listing will show up with Coldwell Banker’s online syndication platform and exclusive relationships. It’s really invaluable, said Fling. “The print publications we have access to and strategic media partners and media relations are also key. We come from a place of great self-sufficiency, where it was 100 percent about our personal brand; we now have these resources and brand recognition to fortify our position.”
Continued Yang: “With our experience and this robust platform, we believe the partnership will be just fantastic. We have fairly high expectations for what we can do now.”
The pair, both local to Los Altos, are also elated to be able to be even more responsive to the needs of their community—something that was encouraged on a limited basis at their prior brokerage but that is wholly embraced within the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury network.
“One of the things that struck me in our initial discussions was how deeply the Los Altos office is building and strengthening the local community,” said Yang; the partners were honored by the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing in 2017 for their Outstanding Community and Charitable Engagement. “Both of us have a personal interest in community and have made it part of our business lives as a matter of course as well. Communities are strengthened by ongoing, consistent support and vision. That’s how we build awesome communities, school districts, and places to live.”
She continued: “In our discussions with Greg Boudreau, he laid out what the local Los Altos office does in the community, and it’s real and substantive. It reinforces and enhances some of the singular efforts we are making in the community.”
That local engagement dovetails nicely with the global might of the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury platform, giving Fling and Yang an even greater depth that allows them to focus on the most important aspect of real estate: relationship building. “We’re big proponents of close client relationships,” said Fling. “We build that bond, and the value we bring backed by such a respected, established brand only further cements that relationship.”
