27. March 2019
Svoboda & Williams Expands to Slovakia
Svoboda & Williams, a renowned real estate agency with Czech roots that has been active on the domestic real estate market for almost two decades, started offering its services in Slovakia this spring. The agency is the exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate for Slovakia. This prestigious global network offers properties in the most sought-after locations worldwide.
Czech real estate agency Svoboda & Williams, founded by Marion Williams and Prokop Svoboda, early on established itself as the dominant player in the domestic premium real estate segment. Its reputation is founded on a progressive marketing philosophy and the high quality of its services and portfolio. In 2017, the agency became the exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. “The license we received from Christie’s was the immediate impulse for our expansion,” explains Prokop Svoboda, owner of Svoboda & Williams. Another important factor was the high level of interconnection between the Czech and Slovak markets. “In recent years, investors we cooperate with in the Czech Republic, many of them from Slovakia, have often encouraged us to extend our services to the Slovak market,” says Prokop Svoboda. Svoboda & Williams is expanding to Slovakia at a time when the country is undergoing an unprecedented real estate boom caused in part by low mortgage interest rates. Every quarter, the prices of Slovak properties set new records.
Alongside Svoboda & Williams, which focuses on premium properties, the agency is also expanding the Feelhome brand to Slovakia in order to offer high quality apartments and family houses in the mid and lower price ranges. Properties at the proverbial tip of the real estate iceberg will carry the prestigious Christie’s International Real Estate label. “Our cooperation with Christie’s International Real Estate, which is owned by the legendary auction house, offers Slovak premium property owners the opportunity to present their homes and apartments within the context of a brand with an esteemed international reputation and will therefore help them reach investors all over the world. Slovak buyers will have easy access to luxury properties in the most attractive locations worldwide,” adds Prokop Svoboda.
JUDr. David Martan RSc., who has over 15 years of experience on the Slovak market and has worked on a number of successful real estate projects, will head the Slovak branch of Svoboda & Williams. David Martan is a lawyer and holds the title of RSc. (Real Estate Consultant), which is the highest level of real estate education that one can achieve. “We offer Slovak clients the added value of distinguished brands and the know-how of an established real estate agency combined with our expert knowledge of the market. We have put together a team of real estate experts who will work in the Bratislava branch. Negotiations with property owners and local developers are under way,” stated David Martan. Svoboda & Williams will offer its services to those interested in selling, buying, or renting properties, as well as to developers. The agency’s own marketing team creates a comprehensive marketing strategy and the project’s visual identity, which it then communicates through Svoboda & Williams’ marketing channels and through the purchase of advertisements.
The Bratislava branch of Svoboda & Williams is located in Old Town on Ventúrska 12. You can find the Feelhome brand in the new Slnečnice neighborhood, which is being built on the right bank of the Danube River at the edge of Petržalka, on Zuzany Chalupovej 10B. The Feelhome office is also open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
13. February 2019
Svoboda & Williams Partner of the Art in Conversation Event
The Art in Conversation event took place on February 7th, 2019, at Galerie Cermak Eisenkraft in Prague. Participants had the opportunity to meet the art world’s leading appraisers and art collection experts. Galerie Cermak Eisenkraft organized the event together with Christie’s Auction House and the Svoboda & Williams real estate agency.
The founders of Galerie Cermak Eisenkraft, Tomáš Zapletal and David Železný, have been tirelessly working to cultivate the Czech art market and, in order to achieve this goal, communicating with their potential and current clients and having conversations about various aspects of the art world is essential. Thanks to this approach, the organizers elegantly connected the concept behind the gallery with the main topic of the event – Art in Conversation: art and collecting artworks in a wider context, with individual presentations devoted to various facets of this topic.
Lord Snowdon, the honorary chairman of Christie’s for Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and India, spoke at the event. Important speakers included other Christie’s members, such as Jason Carey, the Head of the Impressionist & Modern Art Department, and Anna Povejšilová, who is an Associate Specialist in the same department. In order to appraise a work of art, it is necessary to have deep expert knowledge, and professional experience can greatly speed up the process of selection. Christie’s offers the helping hand of an agent who can help you select the right investment, which the purchase of a valuable work of art undoubtedly is.
A highlight of the event was the viewing of František Kupka’s painting La cathédrale, which will be included in the coming auction, the Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale, which will take place on February 28th, 2019, in London. Kupka’s painting will be auctioned off together with works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, or Alberto Giacometti.
Christie’s global business includes the Christie’s International Real Estate network. Svoboda & Williams is an exclusive affiliate for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
16. January 2019
Augmented Reality - A New Way to Present Properties
Svoboda & Williams, in cooperation with the VR Musashi creative studio, is introducing an interactive mobile app for iOS that lets you view and explore properties in augmented reality.
The VR Musashi studio demonstrated its innovative approach during the preparations for the unique Czech Innovation Expo fair. Through virtual and augmented reality technology, it created a presentation on important 20th century Czech inventors, scientists, and innovators. During the fair, it developed Prague Histories, which guides you through an interactive walk around the city. VR Musashi used a similar approach when working with Svoboda & Williams on presentations of the Šárecký dvůr residential project. One result of this cooperation is the new Šárecký dvůr AR mobile app that uses augmented reality technology to allow you to browse through the model of the project on your phone or tablet. It is an interactive addition to our catalog, which will transport customers to the property they are considering to buy in an instant.
The application is highly intuitive, and, thanks to the ARKit 2.0 technology, it can display a 3D model of an apartment or entire residential project on any surface. Prospective buyers can therefore imagine the property in much greater detail than they can simply on paper, and they can also look around individual rooms using 360° spherical visualizations. The presentation also includes the exterior, two show flats, and the current unit list.
Alongside the mobile app, a full-fledged VR model of Šárecký dvůr was also created in collaboration with VR Musashi. The model is available upon agreement with a real estate broker. In the future, Svoboda & Williams will use this type of presentation as part of its marketing services for all larger residential projects.
30. November 2018
Svoboda & Williams Wins in Two Categories at the CIJ Awards
Svoboda & Williams is the winner in two categories at this year’s CIJ Awards Czech Republic. Apart from – just like last year – winning in the Best Local Power Broker Team category, the company also won in the Best PR & Marketing Campaign category. The award ceremony took place on Thursday, November 29 at the Prague Marriott Hotel.
The prestigious CIJ Awards Czech Republic are annually presented by the Roberts Publishing Media Group, s.r.o., a publisher of printed and online news covering real estate business in the region of Central and Southeast Europe. In the segment of commercial real estate they are the longest running awards in the Czech Republic. The aim of the CIJ Awards is to draw attention to exceptional projects, companies, personalities, transactions and campaigns from the world of real estate. This year companies competed in 35 categories.
"I would like to thank the whole Svoboda & Williams team, our clients and everyone who voted for us. I am especially delighted that the jury awarded our marketing campaign for the Šárecký dvůr residential project which combines virtual and augmented reality presentations with more traditional forms of marketing,” says Prokop Svoboda, Managing Partner at Svoboda & Williams, about winning the prestigious awards.
25. November 2018
The SVOBODA & WILLIAMS CUP 2018 Has Raised CZK 252,832 in Support of the Tereza Maxová Foundation
On Saturday, November 24th, the 6th annual SVOBODA & WILLIAMS CUP charity futsal tournament took place in Aréna Sparta – Podvinný Mlýn. A total of 12 teams representing the leading companies from the world of real estate competed to win the the Svoboda & Williams challenge cup. The winner this year is the CPI Property Group's team. The tournament raised CZK 252,832 in support of the Tereza Maxová Foundation. The amount was symbolically handed over to Terezie Sverdlinová, director of the foundation, and Renata Lagmannová, ambassador of the TERIBEAR project.
The teams that participated in this year's SVOBODA & WILLIAMS CUP were from the Accolade, Albatros design, bpd development, CBRE, Colliers International, CPI Property Group, CRESTYL GROUP, CTP Invest, Československá obchodní banka, Jones Lang LaSalle, and Knight Frank companies, together with Svoboda & Williams, the tournament organizers. The Svoboda & Williams cup went to the CPI Property Group's team, who defeated ČSOB's team in the final game. CBRE's team took home the bronze medal. The best player of the tournament award was given to Vít Kala from CPI Property Group, and the best goalkeeper of the tournament award went to Petr Soukup from CRESTYL.
Thanks to the voluntary contributions from the participating companies and profits from the sale of tickets to the charity raffle, this year's SVOBODA & WILLIAMS CUP managed to raise a record CZK 252,832. The entire amount will go to the Tereza Maxová Foundation, which helps disadvantaged and abandoned children and enables them to lead healthy and safe lives in a family environment.
The Tereza Maxová Foundation used last year's proceeds to support the HoSt Home Start ČR non-profit organization, whose goal is to create a healthy home environment for children and families through regular visits by their team of volunteers and therapists.
Like last year, the SVOBODA & WILLIAMS CUP organizers managed to create a pleasant social event for the whole family. Tučňákov, a kindergarden working with a unique multisensory program for kids, created fun activities for children. Prague Catering prepared refreshments for the players and fans, who could take part in a charity raffle. Its main prizes were a voucher for renting a car for the weekend from the Invelt company, two vouchers for accommodation for two nights in an apartment in Masarykova30 in Brno, and a voucher for a romantic stay at the Dobříš Chateau.
Raffle prizes for the participating teams and individuals were kindly donated by the tournament's sponsors: deelive design store, Diamond Spot, BarberLand, BodyID, Luxury Dry Cleaning, Endorfin, Dobříš Chateau, Prosek Bobsleigh Track, Klenota, PRAGUE STAY – Masarykova30, TERIBEAR, INVELT, La Femme MiMi, Gordana Glass, Organics by Filip Gregor, Lázně Pramen, the National Gallery, YES Visage, the Tulip Skate Shop, and La Cave D'Adrien. The tournament's best forward player won a voucher for CZK 10,000 from the deelive design store, and the best goalkeeper won a voucher for the same amount from Diamond Spot.
CZech Sport Media helped organize the tournament.
08. January 2015
Michael Hynšt Joins Svoboda & Williams Real Estate Agency
January 2015 saw the Svoboda & Williams real estate agency being joined by Michael Hynšt, who became a new member of the recently founded SWIM (Svoboda & Williams Investment Management) team, which specializes in consultancy and management for private real estate investors. This team will surely benefit from Michael Hynšt's expert knowledge of the Czech commercial property market, gained, among others, during his eight years's experience as the Head of Asset Management at Erste Group Immorent ČR where he administered approximately 140 thousand sqm. of commercial space and during his four years's experience as a Senior Analyst at CB Richard Ellis.
Michael Hynšt graduated from the University of Economics in Prague with a Master's degree in business administration and the University of Northern Virginia in Prague with a Master's degree in finance. He speaks English and German fluently and among his interests are – apart from real estate – martial arts, reading, traveling, music and sports.
