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March 4th 2006
March Forth!
Once again, I cordially encourage you
to March Forth in all that you do. Here’s
to a very fulfilling 2006 and the realization of your goals. And
here’s to the wonderful accomplishments and extraordinary opportunities
of the past year. Most importantly, here’s to you, with
sincere thanks, for your friendship and support. Many of you
are familiar with the professional activities at WEBSTER
ENTERPRISES (WE). For those who
are not fully up to speed, I want to share 2005’s exciting
highlights.
WE grew. Much
to our delight, our son, Christopher, recently expressed his wish
to join Patti and me in the family business. He’s well
into a crash course in our real estate, venture capital, art, and
investment activities and recently received his New Mexico real estate
broker’s license. Here’s to sharing with you, son,
the vision, that guides us down life’s path,
and the passion, that makes the journey always exciting
and resoundingly fulfilling.
WE celebrated. According
to MLS statistics from the Santa Fe Association of Realtors market
wide for Santa Fe in 2005, we produced the number 1, 3, and 5 most
expensive home sales and the number 1 most expensive commercial sale. Additionally,
Santa Fe experienced 150 residential sales at $1 million plus (up
almost 50% from the 102 in 2004 and double the 75 in 2003). Of
these sales, 8 were at $3 million plus (up from 7 in 2004 and 3 in
2003). As a result, inventory and absorption outlooks for
the present and foreseeable future look as strong as we have seen
in years as the robust pace of residential sales in Santa Fe continues. The ten year report card shows a quadrupling of homes sold - from $350 million in 1995 to $1.4 billion last year. For those interested in a more detailed analysis
of the Santa Fe market, please see the content of our semi-annual Christopher
Webster Reports – Santa Fe Real Estate Sales Analysis,
widely acknowledged as the premier real estate report on Santa Fe;
portions are published online at Webster-Enterprises.com/CWREP. Elsewhere,
we participated in listing referrals and sales involving extraordinary
properties in key urban and boutique markets in the U.S. and around
the globe. Numerous examples can be seen online - VIEW
THE EXTRAORDINARY - at ChrisWebster.com.
WE simplified. Many
people have not fully understood the history and transition of our
company. To recap, Christopher Webster Real Estate, founded
in 1976, was acquired by Sotheby’s International Realty (SIR)
in 1998 as its first acquisition of an affiliate company world wide. The
Santa Fe SIR office became a franchise in 2004 due to a merger yielding
a powerful sales force of 160 agents in 9 offices county wide. SIR
again became a wholly owned and operated corporate office in 2005
with a clearly defined direction: Sotheby’s International
Realty - Artfully Combining Extraordinary Lives with Extraordinary
Properties - and currently commands the largest Santa Fe
market share by a substantial margin. We always welcome the
opportunity to be of service to you … and those you know … when
buying or selling real estate, by bringing to you the strength and
resources of this dynamic, market-leading company.
WE synthesized. For
the past few years I have worked increasingly with Robert Burnett
and Matt Shanaberger, founders of Synthesis Realty Group,
a real estate advisory, marketing, and sales company providing expertise
to developers of ultra-luxury resort projects world wide. I
recently accepted their invitation to become an equity partner in
this unique, dynamic, and growing company. A partial list of
present and past clients and projects speaks volumes about Synthesis’s
abilities and respect in the real estate industry: Aman Resorts,
Jack Nicklaus Golf, Starwood’s St. Regis Hotels, the Forbes
family, St. Andrews Bay Resort and Golf Club (Scotland), Sea Horse
Ranch (Dominican Republic), Tamarindo Preserve (Costa Rica), Tamarack
(Idaho), Princeville (Hawaii), The World of ResidenSea, Sotheby’s
International Realty, Christie’s Great Estates, Hart-Howerton,
Tricia Wilson and Associates, and my long-time colleagues at The
Lyle Anderson Company.
WE ventured. WEBSTER
ENTERPRISES has invested in venture capital activities
in an array of diverse companies. I‘m an early round
investor in Eclipse Aviation located in Albuquerque,
New Mexico; WE and the world will see its technologically
innovative and less expensive 6 person jet airplanes delivered
to customers in 2006. I maintain an equity position and
director’s seat at Boulder, Colorado based Patriot
Wind, a wind energy development and delivery company focused
initially on securing contracts with and within the states of New
Mexico, Texas, and California. And, the opportunity to serve
as a founder, investor, and director in the creation of Genebiology,
a Research Triangle Park, North Carolina based generic pharmaceutical
development company, materialized due to the lifelong personal
relationship with its creator, Dr. Walker Long. In conjunction
with Dr. Albert Waxman, founder of Psilos, America’s leading
healthcare venture company, and past founder and CEO of Diosonics,
the inventor of real time ultrasound and MRI technology, we formed W2
Investments, a venture capital and investment company
analyzing non-healthcare related investment opportunities. American
Clay Enterprises and its American Clay product line, recognized
as Product of the Year by several construction industry organizations
for its green, natural, cost attractive, installation efficient
clay wall plaster, was W2’s first investment. At the
beginning of 2006, I accepted an advisory board position with Flywheel
Ventures, a New Mexico and California technology venture
fund.
WE traveled. Our
business and philanthropic interests took us to many exciting places
and venues in 2005 including Sydney, Australia and New Zealand’s
South Island for an inspection of WE’s luxury
guest resort listing, Kahikatea; Mexico’s Costalegre where
long standing brokerage and consulting activities continue in Careyes
and Punta Mita, bookends to one of the most beautiful sections of
coastline in the world; Hawaii (Spring) and Washington, D.C. (Fall)
for the semi-annual meetings of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens
(NTBG) of which Patti and I are Fellows; Athens, Greece for the annual
International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) World Congress; The
Scottish Open at Loch Lomond Golf Club in Dumbartonshire, Scotland
with additional travel to Dublin and Edinburgh as well as the Irish
and Scottish countryside for property inspections; and under the
Southern Cross once again to Buenos Aires and Pilar, Argentina and Lima, Cusco,
and Machu Picchu, Peru for cultural enrichment and ethno-botanical
research for the NTBG.
We, at WE, invite you
to visit us at our downtown Santa Fe Plaza location or online at
Webster-Enterprises.com 24/7/365, to drop us a line, or to call us
from the closest land, cell or internet phone. We will always
be glad to hear from you, to see you, and to know how we may help
you fulfill your dream for tomorrow – today.
Lastly, and most importantly, in all
humility, we give sincere heartfelt thanks to you - our family, friends,
partners, professional colleagues, business associates, and acquaintances
- for your support and energy, without which we could not begin to
set out to attempt, let alone accomplish, all the things we do and
love. We recognize that the only limitations in life are those
that are self-imposed. As a result, we know that anything,
moreover everything, done successfully requires a properly balanced
integration of mind, heart and spirit. On behalf of the Webster
family and everyone associated with WEBSTER ENTERPRISES,
I extend our best wishes and thanks, as we all look forward to hearing
from you and seeing you soon.
March Forth indeed!
Sincerely,
Chris Webster
WEBSTER ENTERPRISES
54½ Lincoln Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501
USA
Telephone: 505-954-9500 Facsimile: 505-954-9501
E-mail: info@Webster-Enterprises.com www.Webster-Enterprises.com
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