Galleria in Edina, with its longstanding "shops of distinction" slogan, now wants to help you find a home of distinction, too. The mall has just inked a deal with Lakes Sotheby's International Realty, which is scheduled to open a 5,000-square-foot office in the lower level near Barnes & Noble early next year.

The luxury real estate company, currently at 44th Street and France Avenue in Minneapolis, said in a statement that Galleria is a "perfect fit" because of the assortment of retail and eateries.

"We chose this location with our brokers, staff and clients in mind," Jacob Smith, broker-sales manager at Lakes Sotheby's, said in the statement.

While real estate offices aren't the traffic-drivers that malls traditionally try to attract, Galleria's vice president and general manager, Jill Noack, said with 45 agents "using the center for their needs" and meeting with clients, the Sotheby's office will make an impact on the high-end mall.

Just as important, she said, is being associated with the Sotheby's name and the kind of customers it attracts.

"It is somewhat unusual," Noack said of placing a real estate office in a mall. "But with the cross-marketing in events ... and awareness in the market, it puts us on a different radar with people that might not otherwise think of us."

JACKIE CROSBY