Selling and buying upscale homes is not the same as the median home market. This market has fewer buyers and they are more discriminating in taste and amenities. The marketing and exposure of upscale properties has to match the buyers you are trying to attract. Since financing may involve a "jumbo" loan instead of a traditional loan with the finance portion of the mortgage above $332,000.00 as the limit on a traditional loan. (this number seems to float a bit but in that dollar range) It is nice to already have a lender prepared to offer the mortgage based on the homes value. I use this in conjunction with a lender with the down payment and monthly payment pre-calculated with a couple different down-payment options.
I tend to have an appraisal done at the time of listing. This does two things for me. It establishes the market value as of a date for the seller and it also establishes a value expectation for the buyer and lender.
The homes condition, location and amenities are extremely important and need to be well emphasized. Photos are another listing issue that has to be well thought out. Typically virtual tours are more desirable than stills. Digital photos are preferred if using stills because more people can quickly download digital photos via email and the Internet. The virtual tour adds elegance to the listings features along with matching the price range expectations better.
Buyers are going to want more information concerning the property than the typical buyer. The more information available the faster the buyer can decide if the property is on the "must see" list. This is an absolute must! This information requirement also holds true for lower price range properties. The number of photos is another consideration, more is better but the key is the be consistent with your written description of the property and photos. Complement your key features with a photo, especially if the feature is in your property description. Make sure this feature is being displayed in it's best view for detail. I recently seen a beautiful home where bath towels were dropped on the floor in the bathroom instead of on the towel bar. Whoever took the photos left them there too! Sounds picky right! Well the photos also showed shoes a mess in the master closet and many kitchen elements that were out of place. The buyer did not select this home on the "must see" list. They said the owners lack of attention to little details signified to them that the big ones like maintenance were probably also being disregarded.
Whether the buyer was right or wrong the seller missed a showing because of poor staging of the photo shoot. This little detail of taking time with the photos could mean the difference.
I wrote a recent article on curb appeal, nothing could be more important than having the drive-by stage set to look great. One, curb appeal is expected in higher price range homes and two why would a buyer spend high dollars for something that is not up to standards? This may not hold true if the value is in the land and not the home. Then we are talking a different marketing method and buyer targets.
The media marketing and where your advertising dollars are being spent will determine showings and frequency. In today's competitive market you want as many buyers and agents to know about your listing as possible. The more buyers targeted in the the proper price range will result in a faster sale and less marketing dollars spent, less (DOM) days on the market with less energy being wasted. This makes everyone happy.
High end home have just as much competition as lower priced homes with fewer buyers that can purchase. So it makes sense to use every marketing technique available to attract the buyers that are there.
I hope these tips helped both the seller and the listing agents. This is not that full story but gives you the idea.
Thanks for taking the time to read the article, if you have any questions or comments please send me an email.
Sincerely,
Gary White
Associate Broker
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