Island real estate brokerage firm Tea Lane Associates is aiming to expand its reach in the global luxury market by partnering with Forbes’s Global Properties, a network of international brokers.

Tea Lane co-owner and principal broker Abby Rabinovitz said the new partnership will help the firm get their listings in front of a global audience while continuing to be locally based.

She said the merger was undertaken in response to requests from their customers.

“People who wanted to sell their higher-end and more luxury properties, they would say, ‘Well, we really like you guys, but how do I know that my property is going to get all the exposure that it needs?” she said, in an interview this week with the Gazette.

Tea Lane Associates was founded in 1967 by Julia Sturges and Eleanor Pearlson. Ms. Rabinovitz and co-owner Leslie Pearlson are both nieces of Eleanor Pearlson.

Ms. Rabinovitz said Tea Lane Associates will remain independently owned and operated, while increasing its off-Island reach.

“We want to be able to give people the maximum exposure that they’re looking for,” she said.

Tea Lane is not the first on-Island firm to partner with a larger off-Island network. Wallace & Co. partners with Sotheby’s International Realty and LandVest with Christie’s International Real Estate.

Forbes Global Properties CEO Michael Jalbert said the aim is to broaden the company’s reach in the Vineyard’s luxury real estate market.

“When you partner Forbes Media with Forbes Global properties, you have a real powerhouse in terms of consumer awareness,” Mr. Jalbert said. “We really help steer the affluent or high net worth buyers and sellers to our member locations.”

The Martha’s Vineyard real estate market, Mr. Jalbert, said, is an area the company has considered for awhile.

“We have always kept our eyes open for what we would call the right destinations for the strata of where we operate,” he said. “Many of the clients that we have, that are property clients for us in other markets, really enjoy the opportunity to visit and buy or rent in Martha’s Vineyard.”

For Ms. Rabinovitz, the partnership represents a major step for Tea Lane Associates.

“We feel really thrilled and honored to be invited to join this network,” she said. “It’s something that we could join and feel like we’re still independent. We make our own decisions. We can basically do what we’ve always done, only more so.”