GAZELLE MAGAZINE Volume 2, Issue 1 | Page 55

FAMILY & HOME experience these desires. They just don’t always factor them into the home-buying decisions (or maybe can’t afford to). Selling high-end homes is not about finding buyers. Here are a few tips on how to find THE buyer: High-end photography is a must. You must hire a professional photographer who uses a wide-angle lens. Yes, it could cost a lot of money. But if you are working with an agent that doesn’t invest a few hundred bucks into professional photos on a listing that may generate a potential commission of $25,000, you should probably find a new agent. In the property description, make sure your agent does NOT just describe the features of the home, but tells a story about the benefits of owning it, why the characteristics are desirable, and how the buyer’s life will improve once they purchase the home. Create targeted buzz so everyone is talking about your house. What should a real estate agent do to make that happen? she doesn’t just “hang out” for 1 Hopefully, he orpotential buyers show up. Turn atwo hours on a Sunday, hoping luxury-home open house into a premiere social event that gets people talking, like a “Charity Cocktail Party” with live music and food that also raises funds for a worthy cause. The more people that attend your “open house,” the better. Word-of-mouth is the goal. up interest. It 2 Creativeadirect mail drumsthe owners arecreates buzz, and can tell story about why selling, what a great opportunity it is, or why the home is unique. Don’t focus on boring things like price, number of bedrooms and so on. The goal is to create an exciting mailer that piques people’s interest, even if they aren’t currently looking for a new home. You want them to tell their friends at coffee about that “interesting letter” they received in the mail. photos, even aerial photos 3 Online marketing with beautiful reaches people far and wide. and video posted of your home, Include a professionally written description of the property, and a way for interested buyers to contact your agent to find out more information. There is a certain amount of prestige with the aerial images and video, and prestige is very important when it comes to high-end homes. based on a completely different set of factors. They think in terms of $25,000 to $50,000 increments the same way an “average” buyer thinks of $5,000 increments. Y can’t entice them with $10,000-off discounts. They are much more ou concerned about finding the perfect home than they are a home with the perfect price. is very important a luxury 4 International marketingbuyers don’t alwaysoncome fromlisting. In the luxury price range, the local market. It’s important to have a realtor that has a great network of realtors around the United States and abroad. If you’re listing your home with a realtor, make sure he or she has a web site that is current and up to date. Most buyers start looking online months before they reach out to an agent. 55 Luxury real estate has little to do with price. If an affluent buyer really wants a particular luxury home, they will pay almost anything for it. Affluent buyers won’t “overpay,” but they will pay more. Buyers of luxury homes (anything above $400,000) have a more nuanced understanding of “value.” Affluent buyers think of value not in terms of the cheapest price, but in return on investment. And when it comes to buying luxury homes, the “return” they are looking for is not necessarily financial. It is emotional. They want to feel good about their home. They want to be proud of it. Not that the average American doesn’t Tracy Ellis I RE/MAX EDGE Direct: 636-299-3702 Office: 636-720-3833 Fax: 636-300-3038 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.TracyEllis.com Tune into the Tracy Ellis show on FM News Talk 97.1 Sunday mornings at 10:00 AM SAVVY I SOPHISTICATED I SASSY