Selling a luxury home is unlike any other real estate transaction. The marketing is different, the potential buyers are different and the entire sales process can be too.
I’ve heard from some of our luxury home clients that they found locating the right real estate agent to handle the sale one of the most challenging part of the process.
So, we came up with four qualities you should look for when choosing an agent to assist you in the sale of your luxury home.
1. Experience:
Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus nailed it when he said that “You cannot create experience, you must undergo it.”
Agents experienced in the luxury home market are the only ones who understand the nuances of this market
Everyone else guesses and sadly, often miss the mark. That’s something no homeowner can afford.
When shopping for an agent, whether you plan on buying, selling or doing both, look for one that has experience with luxury homes and with high-end clients. There are many agents in Truckee, but agents who are qualified to sell your luxury house in Truckee – that could mean doing a few interviews to make a match.
2. Marketing expertise
Cookie-cutter marketing plans don’t work with expensive real estate – online advertising is critical.
Beautiful, full-color brochures and placing ads in certain magazines where they’ll be seen by the affluent are sometimes called for.
When selling an expensive home, look for an agent that has many marketing tools at her disposal. To sell your luxury house in Truckee, my brokerage employs a couple of really talented Marketing admins – who our agents take abundant advantage of with luxury listings in Truckee and North Lake Tahoe.
3. Marketing budget
Regardless of experience, if the agent you’re interviewing runs his business on a shoestring, it’s highly unlikely that he/she will be able to afford the extensive and expensive marketing strategies required to sell a luxury home. It takes a certain marketing finesse to speak to high-end buyers.
Remember, attracting the affluent buyer requires more than a listing in the MLS
Would you like your property to be e-blasted to affluent Bay Area Buyers? That’s one of the marketing services that my brokerage will offer to sell your luxury home in Truckee. Perhaps you’d benefit from walk-by foot traffic for exposure to people skiing at Northstar. Check out our new windows at Tahoe Mountain Realty, located in the Village at Northstar, and you’ll see featured listings prominently displayed on LED mounts.
Are you a seller? Read ‘Top Tips for getting your Home Ready to Sell.’
4. Local experience
Another challenging aspect of listing a luxury home is setting the appropriate price. Since prices are based on the sales price of homes in the same general area, it’s vital that your agent is familiar with the market.
A good luxury home listing agent not only knows what has sold recently, but has seen the interiors of the homes personally. He/She is also familiar with homes currently on the market which will be your direct competition.
This familiarity is the agent’s best tool when determining a list price for your home
Don’t trust the sale of your luxury home to any agent that can’t provide details of his or her experience, marketing know-how, budget and local market familiarity.
I have over 15 years of selling real estate – 9 of those in the luxury market. Would you consider me to sell your luxury house in Truckee? Let’s Chat. Learn more about me here.
