“An apartment isn’t a pain au chocolat,” says Sandrine Kretz, family matriarch, in a monologue that will go on to define the essence of Netflix’s newest trending reality show, The Parisian Agency. She is talking, of course, about purchasing luxury real estate. “When I take a client’s request, I don’t write or check boxes. They don’t fill in a form…it’s a journey together.” And so it begins: a binge-worthy five episode season that manages to combine the over-the-top indulgence of the Real Housewives with the wholesomeness of a family sit-com. The Kretz’s are a family of seven: Olivier and Sandrine, their four sons Martin, Valentin, Louis and Raphaël, and the children’s grandmother, Majo. The family—with the exception of Majo and Raphaël, who is still in school—also run Kretz and Partners, a luxury real estate agency that deals in some of the most stunning properties that France has to offer.
It's In the Family
“We always thought that it's pretty rare to work as a family, especially five of us,” says Valentin, the second of the four Kretz sons, over a Zoom call from the Kretz’s now-iconic home-office. “We have an amazing story to tell, our work and personal life is all mixed up, and so we always had the idea that we should find a way to share it.” The life of the Kretz family was first briefly dramatised in 2016 in the documentary for the channel France 5. A few years later, the family was approached by the director of production studio Mediawan, Hugo Jaguenau, with the idea of developing a TV series. “He was a visionary,” says Olivier, “When he saw us, he knew there was a story: it is a concept that nobody has done before.” After a few years of developing and pitching the show, “L’Agence,” as it is titled in French, premiered on the channel TF1 in 2020, and was exceptionally well received. Netflix, who had previously been wary of how audiences might respond to a show about such excessive luxury, was then convinced to bring the show to their platform, anglicised as “The Parisian Agency.” In collaboration with TF1, Netflix will also co-produce Season 2.
Fabulous Lives
The mass appeal of shows that depict extreme luxury—luxury that borders on the fantastical—isn’t a new phenomenon. Selling Sunset, a similar show about high-end properties in Los Angeles, is now in its third season. Even outside the real-estate reality genre, shows like Keeping up with the Kardashians and the Real Housewives series have seen a religious following of tens of millions of viewers, all around the world. The Parisian Agency is an evolution of the concept: it brings us to a new geography, introduces us to a wholesome family, and allows us to see how the wealthiest people in the world decide how they want to live. Most prominently, it offers us an inside look into some of the most riveting works of architecture in the country.
“With the luxury real estate business, each day is incredible,” says Olivier, “From medieval castles to contemporary homes, we have an incredible range of different types of architecture. In France we are lucky to have kept it all because not much was destroyed during the wars.” France also has a slew of urbanisation laws that stringently protect old properties from modifications or enhancements that might disrupt their authenticity. The Kretz’s themselves are particularly fond of the Art Deco movement. One of their favourite buildings is the Lavirotte in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. “It was built right after the first world war,” explains Valentin, “It was a period of craziness, of happiness, and open-mindedness. You can feel it when you can see the building—the volumes are huge, the shapes are mostly round, and the quality of the materials would be very hard to find today.”
New Avenues
Their listings, however, are as varied as the history of France itself. Most recently, the Kretz’s acquired a listing for a chapel that has been converted into a residence. They’re also looking at a promising upturn in the “castle market” after Covid—and more significantly, due to exorbitant urban real estate prices. “The castle market was off for a few years,” admits Valentin, “But now people realise that for the price of a hundred square metre apartment in Paris, they can buy a castle that is two hours from Paris, that also offers a change of life.”The Kretz’s own family home in Boulogne is a 1930s Art Deco mansion, built by architect Jean-Léon Courrèges. Between 1945 and 1962, it was the home of renowned novelist, art theorist and cultural affairs minister André Malraux. “This is where he wrote most of his novels,” beams Olivier. The Kretz’s are used to seeing their home appear in old French documentaries, watching grainy footage of politicians and scholars of the time convene in what is now the Kretz’s living room. “We are sitting in his Malroux’s office right now,” laughs Valentin, “And what's amazing is, if you look at the closet, you can see the bullet holes from when he was attacked one day.” In the spirit of sharing their story with the world, the Kretz family opens their house to tourists once a year, so they can witness the evolution of the building’s history for themselves.
As The Parisian Agency gains popularity around the world, and Kretz and Partners begins to grow, their iconic house is less a home and more an office space for film crews and property negotiators. The family has even had to convert an at-home spa into an additional office unit. “But we are trying to keep the house vibes,” says Valentin, “When we receive clients, they shouldn’t feel like they're in a real estate agency where there is no soul. They come here and they feel that this is a family who is going to find a property for their family.”
