In 2025, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices became one of the strongest-performing agencies on JamesEdition, ranking among the top 10 in both listing impressions and inquiries.
Founded and led by CEO Marina Rizzotto Yakovleva, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Palazzo Estate is based in Northern Italy and operates across Lake Como, Lake Maggiore, Milan, Piedmont (Turin), and Tuscany, including Versilia and Lucca.
The agency specializes in historic estates, waterfront villas, and prime lifestyle properties in one of Europe’s most competitive luxury real estate markets.
The success of the past year reflects broader shifts across luxury real estate. Buyers increasingly search globally for rare properties, conduct significant research before visiting a home, and expect detailed historical and architectural information from the very first conversation.
In this column, Alla Rulkova, Luxury Real Estate & Investment Advisor at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Palazzo Estate, explains how historic villas are marketed to international buyers today, and how global exposure combined with practical informational tools has helped the agency communicate complex properties more effectively.
Alla RulkovaLuxury Real Estate & Investment Advisor, BHHS Palazzo EstateHistoric villas are not simply properties. They carry architecture, history and cultural context that cannot be reproduced today. The buyer is rarely local — the buyer is somewhere in the world. Global platforms help us reach that audience. Our role as advisors is to explain the full value of these properties and guide buyers through the complexity behind them.
A Success Story in Global Luxury Real Estate
When agencies ask how we manage to sell historic villas internationally, the explanation is straightforward: heritage properties must be presented differently from modern luxury homes.
At Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Palazzo Estate, our work connects Italy’s architectural heritage with international capital.
For our agency, JamesEdition has become one of the most effective ways to reach that international audience.
BHHS Palazzo Estate x JamesEdition
4,200,000+ Impressions 350,000+ Listing views
The platform attracts buyers who are specifically searching for high-end and unique properties. Many conduct detailed research before ever visiting the location.
What we observe is not simply more inquiries but better prepared inquiries. Clients often contact us already understanding the market segment and the level of the property.
We receive inquiries from markets that are difficult to reach through local networks, including Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United States.
One characteristic of historic and the broader segment of luxury Italian villas is that their buyers are rarely local.
A residence on Lake Maggiore may ultimately be purchased by someone living in London, New York, or Dubai. For agencies working in this segment, global visibility is essential.
How We Implemented AI to Support the Early Buyer Journey
Global exposure brings the right audience, but historic properties still require a great deal of explanation. For buyers unfamiliar with Italian property regulations, the acquisition process can be challenging. A real estate advisor plays a much broader role than simply introducing the property.
International buyers often ask detailed questions about architecture, ownership history, restoration work and the cultural context around a property.
In one case, we were presenting a villa connected to Giuseppe Verdi, who spent time there and composed part of La Traviata. The residence dates back to the eighteenth century and sits between two well-known golf courses that host national tournaments.
Another example is Villa Ada Troubetzkoy on Lake Maggiore, a residence with a rich cultural history connected to European aristocratic and artistic circles. To help present this depth of history, the informational system allows buyers to explore the villa’s background, architecture and cultural significance before meeting with an advisor.
A buyer evaluating such a property might ask about the composer’s connection to the villa, the architectural history of the house, or even the reputation of the surrounding golf clubs.
Providing this depth of information is not always easy in day-to-day brokerage work. Conducting historical research, reviewing archival documents and preparing detailed explanations for every listing requires time that many brokers simply do not have.
In practice, our work involves coordinating architects, surveyors and legal advisors, reviewing cadastral documentation and explaining restoration restrictions that apply to historic buildings.
Due diligence may include verifying historical ownership records, confirming property boundaries and ensuring compliance with heritage protection rules.
This professional layer behind the transaction is often invisible at the beginning of the process, but it becomes critical as the acquisition moves forward.
This was the practical problem that led me to experiment with voice-based informational tools.
Building a Conversational Property Agent for Smarter Client Engagement
The system we use today is built on Voxdiscover, which allows us to create conversational agents trained on information about a specific property. The idea was simple: collect the knowledge about the villa once and make it accessible to clients whenever they need it.
To build the agent, we prepared a structured knowledge base that included archival information, architectural details, ownership history, restoration notes and location context. This information becomes the foundation from which the system answers client questions.
Conversational AI built on Voxdiscover supports the early buyer journey
From there the tool follows a simple logic. The agent provides information about the property in multiple languages and helps clients understand the history and context of the residence before they speak with a broker.
In practice, this changes the dynamic of the first conversation with a client. Buyers often arrive already familiar with the basics of the property and the surrounding area.
Instead of spending the first meeting explaining background information, we can focus immediately on the more practical aspects of the acquisition: investment goals, legal structure, due diligence and negotiation strategy.
Another useful feature is that the system can be configured depending on the objective. It can help explain the property, encourage a first contact with the agency, or support the early stage of the sales conversation. The logic behind it is adjustable and improves as new information is added.
From my perspective, the key point is that this approach is not limited to large agencies or technology teams. Any broker who works with complex properties can organize information in a similar way and use tools like this to make knowledge more accessible to clients.
The goal is not to replace the advisor, but to ensure that when a serious buyer arrives, they already understand the fundamentals of the property and the conversation can move directly to the decision process.
AI in Action Across Current Property Listings
This approach has been particularly useful for properties with significant cultural history.
Villa Troubetzkoy, for example, has strong connections with European cultural circles and contains extensive historical documentation.
Another residence, Villa Alpino, includes architectural features and artistic associations that buyers often want to understand before visiting.
Villa Troubetzkoy: AI agent helps explain the property’s rich heritage.
We have also worked with properties such as Villa Violetta, connected to the life of Giuseppe Verdi, and Castello di Lesa, where explaining the historical significance of the building is essential for positioning it correctly in the market.
In each case, the challenge is not simply marketing the property but explaining why the property matters historically and architecturally.
AI Tools for Explaining Location, Landscape, and Lifestyle
For historic villas, understanding the property itself is only part of the story. Buyers also want to understand the landscape, culture and lifestyle surrounding the estate.
Many historic residences around Lake Como and Lake Maggiore include traditional camellia gardens, which have long been part of the region’s horticultural heritage.
Buyers frequently ask about the design of these gardens, the significance of particular plants and how they relate to the broader landscape tradition of the region.
Vila Violetta enjoys a truly unique setting, now explained through AI
Location-specific lifestyle knowledge can also influence the buyer’s perception of a property.
For example, one villa we presented sits between two well-known golf courses that host national tournaments. For buyers who are passionate about golf, understanding the history and reputation of these courses becomes part of the property’s lifestyle value.
Lake Maggiore
Tools that organize and present this information allow buyers to explore the broader context of the property: not only the architecture of the villa but also the cultural and lifestyle environment around it.
For agencies working with historic residences, this contextual knowledge is often an important part of how a property is understood.
Selling Heritage Homes with Conversational AI
For agencies considering similar approaches, my main recommendation is to focus on clarity and professional expertise.
Technology can help organize complex information, but it does not replace the role of the advisor. Luxury real estate remains a relationship-driven business.
Buyers rely on brokers to interpret regulations, coordinate due diligence, structure transactions and guide them through unfamiliar markets.
For agencies working with heritage properties, the most effective strategy combines three elements:
- strong international exposure
- clear communication of historical and architectural value
- experienced advisors capable of managing complex transactions
When these elements work together, historic residences are no longer viewed simply as luxury homes. They are understood as cultural assets with architectural significance and long-term value.
Our responsibility is to guide buyers through these steps while also helping them understand the architectural and cultural value of the property they are considering.
