9 Tips for Selling a Luxury Home
Once you’ve listed your luxury home, you have to make sure the sale is successful. While this might seem like an easy process, there are things that can go wrong, from the potential buyer’s financing not going through to them unexpectedly changing their mind about purchasing your home at the last minute. Here are nine tips for selling a luxury home and making the sale happen smoothly and successfully.
1) What to Do First
Real estate agents and homeowners typically follow a step-by-step approach to luxury home sales. When you make initial contact with an interested buyer, ask them what their specific criteria are and whether they have an idea of how much they can spend. If not, give them some ballpark figures on your most recently sold homes (and what they cost).
Then, send over listings that match those requirements. Your buyers will likely be touring multiple properties before deciding which one is right for them—so don’t expect to close a deal quickly. Real estate agents and sellers should also be prepared to negotiate—especially if there’s more than one offer in play. Remember: Buyers will want things like closing costs or repairs covered by sellers; sellers will want things like moving expenses or price cuts covered by buyers. With these tips in mind, it shouldn’t be too hard to sell your dream home!
2) Consider Your Listing Price
When it comes to pricing, you have a few options. If you’re selling quickly (but below market value), then lowballing your listing price may be best, but if you want to make more money, then you might as well ask.
The truth is, luxury home sales are all about emotion and getting buyers emotionally invested in their purchase. So, when it comes to listing price—just do what feels right and keep in mind that you’ll likely still sell at or near asking price regardless of whether or not buyers think they’re getting an incredible deal.
After all, they can always walk away with no regrets! In the current market you should have no problem selling your luxury home for over asking price, especially in Southern California.
3) Be Ready To Show Off
Like it or not, today’s real estate market is all about show and tell. Many luxury homes have amenities (e.g., wine cellars, media rooms) that aren’t readily apparent from photos, so a professional real estate agent will always recommend staging to give potential buyers a feel for what it’s like to live in your home.
This can involve simple touch-ups (such as painting walls and switching out light fixtures) or going through every room of your house with an eye toward staging and creating buzz (e.g., adjusting window treatments to show off views). Either way, it means you might have to get creative with how you showcase your home—and that’s okay! For example, many agents suggest offering tours to prospective buyers who want to see more than pictures online.
When someone asks if they can visit your home: Make sure you’re ready for them by tidying up and cleaning beforehand.
If you don’t have time for a full deep clean, at least make sure there are no dirty dishes or laundry piled up in plain sight! You don’t want visitors thinking you didn’t take care of basic chores before welcoming them into your home.
4) Know the Demographics of Who Might Buy
When selling luxury homes, it’s important to know who might be in your target audience. For example, older couples who don’t have children are more likely to purchase smaller, luxury homes than younger families that are growing and need more space.
Those who have been married longer tend to prefer single-story floor plans with a master bedroom suite on one end of the house and secondary bedrooms (and bathrooms) on opposite ends of an open living area. They also favor two-car garages over three or four-car garages; they want proximity to entertainment options like restaurants, theaters, golf courses and recreation centers.
And, when it comes to luxury homes for sale, these buyers may not even live in your market—they may travel from afar just to buy their dream home.
5) What Are They Buying?
When you’re marketing your luxury home, it’s important to remember that prospective buyers are looking at their purchase through their own lens—not yours. More than likely, they have no idea what goes into properly maintaining your property; all they know is that it will cost them more than they had initially planned.
So, rather than focusing on how much time and effort you’ve put into maintaining your dream house, focus on what it offers them. For example: Your new backyard oasis offers extra space for hosting dinner parties with family and friends. Or: The open floor plan is perfect for creating life-long memories of watching holiday fireworks together every year. Remember, what matters most to people isn’t where you live—it’s who lives there.
6) Communicate with Buyers
Communication is essential, especially in a sale. The more honest you are with your buyer, they more likely they will be to come back to you if they have questions or concerns. If you know that one of your home’s rooms might present an issue (e.g., it’s too small or could use some serious updating), let your buyer know ahead of time.
You can even offer suggestions on how to change it without breaking their budget—that way, you come off as professional and helpful, not pushy and dismissive. Be honest about when things will get done: If you say something will get done by Friday, make sure it gets done by Friday. Don’t leave out details: Buyers want to know everything there is to know about a property before they decide whether or not they want to buy it. So if there are things like broken appliances or old furniture in storage that won’t be included in the sale, tell them!
7) Choose a Listing Agent who Understands Luxury Homes
Realtors who specialize in selling luxury homes know exactly what it takes to make a big sale. They know how to market homes, understand your target audience and can give you guidance on price points.
One of their biggest advantages is that they’ve worked with high-end clients before, meaning they have existing relationships and an existing list of contacts that other agents might not have. An agent who specializes in luxury homes has intimate knowledge of everything from decorating and landscaping tips to all things outdoors – pools, patios, water features, fireplaces and more. You’re looking for someone who really understands high-end marketing because at that level every detail matters.
Make sure you choose an agent who has experience selling luxury properties; if they don’t ask them why not?
8) Prepare to Stage, Stage, Stage!
Getting your home ready to sell takes more than just a quick dusting and mopping. A lot of preparation goes into ensuring that your property will get maximum value in a short amount of time.
Hire an interior designer to help you pick colors and furniture pieces that pop, then have all fixtures, countertops, appliances, walls, floors, etc., cleaned professionally before you show your property. This ensures potential buyers are as impressed with what’s inside as they are with its location or layout.
9) Play Nice with Neighbors and Landlords
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard of agents who fight with their clients, get into arguments with other agents, and generally act in an unprofessional manner.
While it might be tempting to have some fun at someone else’s expense or to showcase your power, that isn’t how you build relationships—and if that is your goal, then real estate might not be where you want to make your living.
In luxury sales especially, you need all of the support you can get and playing nice (even when no one else is) will help ensure that happens. Also? It just makes sense to treat people well; there are few things more annoying than dealing with a person who is overly aggressive or condescending.
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