I have been involved with the marketing, transactions, and
sales of about 40 properties ranging from $500,000 to $10,000,000. I won’t deem myself as an expert but I
certainly am very capable of marketing in this higher end realm. I wanted to share what my experience has
garnered.
What is considered a
luxury property?
I began selling higher-end properties when I was first
licensed in Baton Rouge, LA. I worked
with Burns & Co. Realtors. Our office was located at the gates of the
Country Club of Louisiana. Three of my
first transactions were all luxury homes with the highest being $850,000. These same transaction
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| Sold in Destin! |
types continued with
my move to Destin, FL and now even in
Abilene, TX.
Luxury, or higher-end, properties are often defined by their
location, size of the estate, and amenities offered within the home and the
community. Luxury is often a lifestyle
whether oceanfront, golf courses, or rural areas. It is usually the upper 10% of properties
sold and often a base of $500,000 is a good starting point. Some markets may be lower and some higher.
Facts First! Know
Your Market!
The first step in becoming a luxury marketing specialist is
knowing the history of your market and the absorption rate. Even though I am still licensed in Florida
and know the Destin resort market extremely well, I’m going to use the Abilene,
TX market to share statistics.
In our MLS in Taylor County:
2014, 12 homes sold with a median price of $577,000.
2013, 11 homes sold with a median price of $625,000.
2012, 12 homes sold with a median price of $727,500.
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| SOLD in Abilene! |
From historical data, it is safe to say that we sell about 1
property per month priced over $500,000.
We have 19 properties as of this writing on the market. Proper positioning and marketing is a must if
you want to be the home sold next month!
Proper
Positioning? What is that?
Pricing a luxury home can at times be challenging because
there are many factors involved. It is
often said that a professional’s opinion may not be the Seller’s thoughts of
value. That also works with Buyer’s who
want a ‘good deal.’ As a professional, I
can give both sides my opinion of value. It is ultimately up to them with what
one is willing to pay and what the other is willing to sell at.
The first step is pulling historical data of relevant
properties. With luxury real estate
there probably is not going to be an exact comparable, rather others with
adjustments that can be made to determine value. These are not volume or tract built
homes. Each luxury property is unique in
its features. Unfortunately some
features may not bring added value. It just makes the home more appealing to a
buyer and frequently quicker to sell. As
homeowners, we often put things in our home that appeal to us. It’s a
homeowners enjoyment of living, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you are going
to get dollar for dollar for that enjoyment when you sell.
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| Golf Course Community |
The old saying location, location, location is prevalent in
luxury home sales. Often you are selling
a lifestyle. Oceanfront, golf courses,
rural areas, views, beach accesses, and crops for example all play a role in
determining value. The community you
decided to build or buy in could either support or lower its worth to a buyer.
An appraisal can be beneficial when pricing higher end
homes. Not an appraisal that is 3 years
old but a current one that reflects todays buying ability. It is very rare to find two identical homes
in this category, but even though different, the other homes sold could be
relevant. An appraisal brings in many variables such as the intangibles,
upgrades, and land values.
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| View from Steamboat Mountain |
Compile a list of all the things you feel make your home
unique or bring value. It is also a good
idea to list the costs associated with these items. This does not mean you are going to regain
dollar for dollar but might help the appraiser in determining a value for your
property.
If you do not want to get an appraisal, as a REALTOR my job
would be to assist you in determining a listing price. The compiled list I just spoke of would be
helpful to substantiate the listed price and in educating the public about the
features and benefits of your home. If
possible, touring the homes that would be considered your competition would be
beneficial too. Your competition will be
similar homes that will probably be visited by potential buyers when your home
is shown.
Removing the emotion is crucial in selling your
property. Building the home, raising
your children in it, what you ‘put’ in to it, and the thought that your home is
superior to all others neither creates nor raises value for a Buyer.
Choosing an agent who is willing to overprice your home
could be costly to you. It is important
to weigh your monthly carrying costs and how much it will cost you for this
property to sit on the market longer. If
the property is priced appropriately to start with the homeowner may not be
faced with tens of thousands of dollars in extra costs associated with
ownership.
Once you decide at what price you want to list your home, I
would look at all of the homes on the market that will appeal to similar
buyers. Where will your home be in the
pricing position? Will it the highest,
the lowest or the middle? Remember, if
you are selling a home in Abilene, TX, your chance of selling is currently on
average once a month. Proper positioning
is a must if you need to sell your home quicker.
What will I do to
promote your property?
Marketing a luxury property isn’t just signing a piece of
paper and sticking a sign in the yard.
For
me, it’s an orchestrated event to hit the market.
I begin with assessing if staging is needed. I have witnessed some improperly staged homes
and it actually makes the home look inconsistent. Hire a professional stager if the home is
outdated or under-furnished. It will be
worth your money. I listed a newly
constructed home off of 30A in Walton County Florida that had already been on
the market for a year. It was just functionally obsolescent. We hired a professional stager and it sold
immediately. The money spent was well recouped in the sale of the home.
I hire a professional photographer to photograph all higher
end homes. Pictures help to sell
homes! There are times that I will tour
a home and think wow it’s still sitting here because the beauty and features of
the home have not been captured properly.
Remember it’s not just photos of the interior of the home but its
surroundings too that buyers want to see.
Full color HomeBooks are created with the professional
photos so that each buyer can leave the home with complete information of the
features, benefits, and disclosures.
These are not branded to promote me, they are created to sell the home.
About 85% of today’s buyers go to the internet first so
proper positioning on the web is a major asset in selling. I have a personal website. Better yet, I blog
to accompany the many places your home will appear on line. Enhancements on sites such as Realtor.com are
a must.
Planning a Broker Open House is next. While all Realtors are invited, invitations
will be mail to all of the Brokers who sell homes priced over $400,000. A public open house is usually not an
advantage for the homeowner in this category, however it really just depends on
the area. Open Houses can be used to
create the resemblance of what living there is like. If the home has a large pool area, hosting a
BBQ open house could be the ticket.
There are so many unique ideas that can be
done.
Professional videos now using Drones are another must. It is a fact that YouTube has over 1 billion
unique visitors per month. People use
YouTube to search for things just as they use Google. Not only will the property perhaps be found
on YouTube, but video is a vessel to promote the home and putting the buyer who
may be out of state right inside the home.
Now it’s time to put the home on the market and in our
MLS. The event has been orchestrated and
the home can be portrayed in its best light right out of the gate! Don’t hire a post and pray Realtor! Hire a Realtor who knows what it takes to
orchestrate the marketing properly. I
don’t just put homes in our MLS, I market homes!
Once in our MLS, the funneling and promoting begins on the
internet. Just like the 6 Degrees of
Separation, social networking can create this.
Someone knows someone who knows someone who may want this home. Getting it before as many potential buyers is
beneficial to procuring a sale.
If the home has many hidden benefits and unique features, it
is vital that I be present at all showings.
You can’t expect for the buyer’s agent to know the complete ins and outs
of the home. As your listing agent, it
is my job to be completely educated on your home, especially if the list price
needs to be substantiated based on what appears to be comparable properties.
Patience is Virtue
Selling a higher end home, even priced at value, can take
time. Your buyer is in a much smaller
income bracket and pool than buyers of the national home price average. There is a King for every castle and yours
will arrive if the above factors are properly considered.
For an in depth review of your specific property please give
me a call.
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Robbie Fenn
REALTOR/Sales Team Leader
Coldwell Banker Panian & Mash, Abilene, TX
Coldwell Banker United, REALTOR, Destin, FL |
