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Do you own a luxury high-end property?  Are you wondering how to go about selling your luxury home?  Who can you trust to sell your luxury home?  What are the main marketing tips when selling an expensive property?  What should a good agent offer?

If you are reading this article, I am guessing that you are perhaps the lucky owner of a high-end luxury property, or you know someone who is.

The more expensive the property, the better the marketing needs to be; just like everything else that is marketed.  Expensive perfumes have lavish TV adverts with top supermodels strutting their stuff.  Same with expensive cars.  Houses are just the same.

We have put together some marketing strategies and guidelines for selling a luxury home: - 

1.      Personal branding

Ensure that the estate agent you choose to market your property has an excellent reputation and an impeccable sales record.  Not all agents are geared to selling true high-end properties, but most will tell you they are, so be careful and do your homework.  Listen to personal recommendations from local clients and ask the agent for past references.  Check what their marketing package includes.

2.      Specially targeted marketing

Targeting the wrong audience wastes the agent’s time and your time.  Obviously, all property is advertised on Rightmove and other international website portals, but there should also be very specific targeted marketing in exactly the right places.  A good agent will know exactly where to market your property, for example, regional magazines and other luxury publications.  It’s no good just advertising it online and hoping for the best.  When marketing a high-end property, it’s not about how many people you reach, more about the right kind of people.

3.      Professional home staging and photography

This may seem obvious, buy you would be amazed at how many agents still attempt to cut corners by taking photographs themselves or using cheap photography.  We cannot stress enough how important it is to use a well-renowned professional photographer who understands the business.

Before the photos are taken, the property must be ‘staged’ for sale.  Depending on the value in question, this could be anything from advice on self-staging by your agent, to a full professional staging package.  Some people pay thousands just to prepare their property for sale.  There are companies out there that provide props such as art work for the walls, rugs, furniture, accessories and plants/flowers.  Every single photograph should look amazing, with correct lighting, positioning and finishing touches.  They should conjure up a ‘lifestyle’, for example, with coffee and croissants on the kitchen table, or glossy magazines and flowers on the coffee table.  Exterior shots should be taken on a beautiful day and should include attractive garden furniture, parasols, perhaps a bottle of champagne chilling on ice, and so on.

If you are selling a luxury property, don’t settle for anything less.

4.      Promote the local area and community

When selling a luxury property, you are not just selling the house itself, but also the local neighbourhood and way of life.  A good agent will do their homework and research the locality, the residents, neighbours, and local facilities.  The more information the better.  This should also be published in the brochure.  If there is an amazing, award-winning pub just down the road, this helps conjure up a lifestyle… ‘an evening stroll down to the fabulous Dog & Duck for an evening meal and a glass of wine’, for example.  The clients need to connect with the area and imagine themselves living there.  It’s also worth mentioning any outstanding local schools, golf clubs, health clubs, restaurants, attractions, community events, and so on.  If the client builds up a sense of belonging in the community, they have a motivation to purchase.

5.      Mention any unusual and attractive benefits to buying the property

Offering unusual ‘freebies’ as part of the sales package can help clients form an emotional connection with the property.  An example of this might be perhaps a historical connection or a connection with someone famous.  It could even be something quite quirky, such as the property being offered for sale including some resident swans, or perhaps a certain title is passed to the owner, ‘Count’ or ‘Lady’.

Either way, offering attractive and unusual benefits can help attract the right buyer and make them fall in love with your home.

These are just some of the pointers you should be looking out for when choosing your agent.

Do you have any of your own ideas for marketing luxury properties?  Have you ever sold a high-end home?  What was the outcome?  Do you have any further questions regarding this topic that we can help you with?  We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Send us an email at enquiries@alisongeorge.com  or give us a call on 01639 631706