Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, the real estate network of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway group, today announced Berlin's Rubina Real Estate as its first franchisee outside the United States. From April, the firm will operate as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Rubina Real Estate.
Founded in 2011 and led by its co-founder Carsten Heinrich, Rubina helps international investors, mostly from China, India and the Middle East, buy high-end property in Berlin. The firm was named among Bellevue's Best Property Agents 2015 and, in 2017, won the European Property Awards in the Europe-wide marketing categories for real estate agency and property consultancy. The same year, Forbes profiled it as the firm guiding international investors through Berlin's property market.
In January 2016, we rebranded Rubina, establishing the brand as the gateway to Berlin. The identity draws on the not-so-famous Berlin key (Berliner Schlüssel), designed around 1912 for the city's apartment buildings. It has a bit at each end and only comes out of the lock once it has been pushed through to the other side and the door locked again: an ingenious way of making sure the building's front door stayed locked at night. For buyers on another continent, the key sums up Rubina's role: opening the city's door safely.
Rubina is the network's first international step, and it has announced plans to take the model to other countries in Europe, Asia and North America.
