Good news for luxury towns such as Greenwich, according to researchers at DataQuick– the number of homes sold at more than $1 million rose nationally by 37% in the first half of 2013. Last Friday, the Wall St. Journal headed its Mansion section with “the recovery in high-end real estate,” and Bloomberg reports that luxury home prices in the biggest four cities that had fallen nearly 46% during the downturn have now more than doubled.
If the formerly-missing luxury home buyers have been buoyed by record-breaking Wall St. returns, it’s not surprising that they’re now ready to come out of hiding. For some owners of luxury homes in Greenwich, that’s what they’ve been waiting for.
Of course, marketing a luxury home in our town takes a deft hand. Selling any product in the luxury category requires some familiar skills: since the price tags are top-tier, the buyers require service and goods to match. The buyer is someone whose time is at a premium; they are likely well-schooled in discerning quality that goes beneath the surface and who won’t hesitate when it comes to making important decisions. In short, selling high-end properties requires highly focused, top tier marketing. Three insights into my marketing approach for these sorts of properties:
Our marketing efforts are targeted, focusing ona very narrow segment of the population. We go where the buyers are, centering on websites and in luxury publications that they frequent. Placement in elite publications enhances a property’s perceived value by association.
When people purchase a luxury property in Greenwich, they aren’t just buying a house, they are reinforcing a lifestyle choice. That means the community should be a prime selling point. Knowing Greenwich intimately for over 20 years, allows me to speak to it with buyers, which helps more confidently picture life in their new community.
Successful people usually regard themselves as standouts because, well…they are! It’s hard to find the luxury home buyer who wouldn’t choose a distinctive property over one that, even though luxurious, isn’t special in some way. That’s why positioning a property, telling a story about it and creating a feeling is important.
If you are preparing to sell your Greenwich property, having a realtor who is keyed to the community, has strong relationships within the realtor network and is marketing-driven is critical. Doing your homework on the front end will make life easier down the road. If you would like a market assessment of your home, please contact me.
