Have you ever noticed that some real estate brokers are more specialized than others? They may not be as specialized as doctors or lawyers, but they still focus on specific market segments. Luxury properties are an excellent example. Brokers specializing in the luxury market also specialize in serving a unique clientele.
Salt Lake City’s CityHome Collective is an example of a brokerage that offers both. Though many of their agents work the lower-priced market, some find that luxury homes are where their true interest lies. CityHome Collective agents bend over backwards to help buyers find their dream homes throughout the SLC area.
A Different Way to Buy and Sell
There is a running joke among real estate agents in the general market that the best way to succeed is to practice the 3P’s: put up a sign, post a listing, and pray. All kidding aside, the standard market works well for the clientele it serves. The luxury market requires a bit more. It requires a different way to buy and sell properties.
For example, luxury buyers are more likely to come into a deal with cash on hand. They don’t want the hassles of viewing a home, making an offer, dealing with a counter offer, and all the rest of the back-and-forth required to close a deal. They would rather write a check and begin making plans to move.
To facilitate such transactions, luxury real estate professionals around the country offer special programs for cash buyers. They have a limited number of luxury properties that are not listed on the MLS. The homes are known only to sellers and their agents. The agents then match the homes with prospective buyers already prepared to go.
Of course, cash buyer programs represent just one of the many tools that agents specializing in luxury homes have at their disposal. But more important than the tools is an agent’s mindset. Representing buyers in the luxury market requires a different way of thinking.
What Truly Makes Them Happy
Money is usually less of an issue in the luxury market. By contrast, buyers in the standard market are constantly having to walk that fine line between what they truly want and what the budget allows for. Most buyers in the standard market have to compromise. This is not so in the luxury market.
When money is not an issue, real estate agents have to home in on what will make clients truly happy. For example, if a CityHome Collective client has her heart set on a particular neighborhood, the agent might be forced to begin calling homeowners and asking if they are looking to sell. Not finding a property in the neighborhood could mean the buyer walks away until something comes up.
Amenities are another consideration. A luxury buyer may want things that none of the homes currently listed in SLC offer. The estate agent is left with the task of finding luxury homes to which the amenities could be added after the purchase. Whatever it takes to make the client truly happy needs to be done.
Satisfied Clients and High Commissions
Focusing on luxury properties is not easy. Brokers and agents do so because it is a lucrative market. Higher-priced homes obviously pay higher commissions. And when a luxury client is truly satisfied with the transaction, the door is opened to repeat business in the future.
If you are in the market for a luxury home, have you considered working with a real estate brokerage that specializes in that particular market? It might cost you little more, but a luxury specialist is well worth it.
