Tips from the pros: How to sell luxury real estate

Think you can’t compete with the area’s well-established and entrenched, number-one luxury real estate agent? Think again, oh aspiring high-end home sales superstar.

If you have the bucks, the marketing chops and a bit of tenacity, you, too, can be flogging luxury real estate and earning the big commissions they bring.

Does your website represent everything you offer to your clients? See how LeadSites can help your business grow.

Consider finding a luxury real estate mentor 

The luxury home listing and marketing process is so different from any other real estate niche that you simply cannot “fake it until you make it.”

You need to enter the niche with solid knowledge of how to price luxury property, the insight as to how to market unique properties and a robust marketing budget.

There’s only one way that I can think of to get all three of those requirements at once and that’s by working, at least for a time, under a luxury home specialist.

Even a seasoned agent should treat a change in niche as a brand-new business, so don’t discount this idea because you’ve been in the industry since the Jurassic period

We’ve talked a lot about hiring an assistant, but going about finding a mentor is an entirely different matter.

Realty Billings owner/broker Amber Uhren agrees. “By shadowing a mentor, they’ll not only learn this first-hand, but they’ll be able to see how a master deals with various situations.”

If you don’t have a “master” luxury listing specialist in your office, or he or she is stingy with time and knowledge, consider switching to the office in town where this paragon of high-end sales is located.

Then, be a sponge – soak up every nuance of the agent’s business, look over his or her shoulder as she comes up with market value for luxury listings (and ask questions), tag along on listing presentations and contract negotiations.

And do ask if you can view their business plan. Yes, you will need one of those.

Showcase your neighborhoods and drive traffic to your website with Instafarm – Learn more

Pricing the luxury home

Quick – what’s the difference between these two homes?

 

The problem – at least when it comes to determining a list price and a marketing plan — is that there isn’t one difference, but many, and they are vast.

The average agent is more familiar with pricing the home on the left, and that’s because there are tons of comparables. How many comps do you think you’ll find in the area surrounding home number two?

So, how will you come up with market value for the high-end home? Even a ball-park figure?

The first rule of pricing luxury property is: “Know everything there is to know about every home in the neighborhood,” according to luxury home specialist David Kean of Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Beverly Hills.

I interviewed Kean a few years ago and he said that he makes a point of touring every new luxury listing that comes on the market.

That way, when he gets a listing and he’s trying to price the home, “I’m not just looking at comps on paper. I have actually been through each house and I know the layout, I know if there’s a telephone pole blocking the view,” he concludes.

And, most important, he knows and makes note of each home’s amenities. Because, despite the fact that these homes aren’t identical, each home’s amenities factor into the formula for determining the market value of luxury property.

In the end, though, when comparing a home that features a $17-million hand-carved bathroom and a nanny’s quarters to one with two home theaters and a two-lane bowling alley, will you know how to value each amenity?

If you’ve been mentored by an expert, you will.

Finally, Laurie Moore-Moore, founder of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, and author of “Rich Buyer, Rich Seller” (a guide for luxury real estate agents), suggests that before you crunch one number for your CMA, find out what the client thinks the home is worth.

“As I begin my comparable research, is there a particular property sale you would like me to pay special attention to,” could be the question that saves your bacon when you sit down with the homeowner over your listing presentation.

 

Why?

“Chances are they have heard about a neighborhood sale which they are using as a benchmark for the value of their home,” she begins.

“The property they have in mind often sold for much less than the final sales price they heard through the neighborhood grapevine. What’s more, the home may not be a reasonable comparable,” Moore-Moore continues.

“If you don’t ask this question, you may go back to your office and do the best CMA in the history of the world, ignoring the property your seller has in mind because it is not a good comparable sale. However, your seller will look at your perfect CMA and think that you missed the most important comparable,” [in his estimation], she concludes

By the way, you can learn a lot about luxury home marketing on the ILHM website, especially on the Luxury Insights blog.

Real estate marketing requires knowing the audience

Marketing to the affluent homebuyer takes a lot more than a mere mention of a chef’s or gourmet kitchen. Understand the brands that ring their chimes, such as Crestron, Miele, Philippe, Downsview and Wolf.

Highlighting a home’s branded features speaks to the homebuyer who identifies with the lifestyle. And, if you aren’t familiar with that lifestyle, warns Boca Raton’s Senada Adzem, “Florida Power Broker to the Super Rich,” marketing their homes will be almost impossible. She suggests that the budding high-end property lister should immerse him or herself in the peer group.

The best way to do this? We asked Senada and, it all comes back to finding a mentor. “They need to offer to work for someone who is already working in the luxury industry,” she replied.

Just as not all tract-home buyers are the same, most luxury home buyers are different. In fact, you might consider them an entirely different breed, that come in a number of different … for lack of a better word …  “species.”

• Working with young affluent buyers is quite different from working with wealthy retirees.
• International and domestic buyers are entirely different, from culture to, possibly, language and distinct sets of desires in a new home.
• The first-time high-end property buyer will present different needs and wants than the seasoned buyer.
• Some luxury buyers come with an entourage of decision makers, from lawyers to accountants, while others may be flying solo.

A few characteristics, however, seem universal. For instance, while they may or may not be prey for paparazzi, most luxury real estate homebuyers commonly crave privacy.

Knowing all the possible audiences for luxury home marketing is one thing. Knowing which to target for a particular listing is something that takes experience.

Then, there’s the money thing

Let’s assume you have the marketing prowess to market a high-end home in the appropriate venues, with laser-focused materials. Whether this includes drone footage, a snappy Hollywood-esque short marketing film, extravagant soirees or color ads in luxury lifestyle publications, you’ll need money.

And, what if the homeowners have moved out? Do you have the budget to hire an interior decorator and stager?

No more snapping listing photos with your iPhone, no more hoping that a lockbox and sign will bring in a buyer.Luxury real estate marketing requires a luxury-sized marketing budget.

And, it’s not just your clients’ marketing needs you’ll need to finance. Your business’ marketing will cost a bundle as well, at least if you hope to attract affluent clients.

From your internet presence (an appealing website, stuffed with QUALITY real estate content and focused social media exposure) to nurturing a large and varied network of contacts (cocktails with lawyers, dinner with public relations folks, treating a reporter to lunch and entertaining fellow luxury home agents), the old “it-takes-money-to-make-money” adage means more than ever.

Breaking into the luxury real estate market niche takes time, money and someone to help walk you through it. Start with a mentor and the rest will fall into place.

Marketing luxury homes requires a professional online presence – see how LeadSites can help.

Need creative ways to market your listings? We’ve got 200 tips to help you dominate your market.

Want to target luxury buyers and sellers? Here how:

The post Tips from the pros: How to sell luxury real estate appeared first on Easy Agent Pro.

from theokbrowne digest https://www.easyagentpro.com/blog/luxury-real-estate-tips/

Keeping Fit in Austin: 13 Complete Workouts That Will Get You Addicted to an Active Lifestyle

City life and the daily back-and-forth can be overwhelming, especially if you’re living in a bustling city like Austin. The constant background noise and continuous running will make you feel tired and drained of energy sooner than you’d expect. So what can you do to make sure you have plenty of energy for all your […]

The post Keeping Fit in Austin: 13 Complete Workouts That Will Get You Addicted to an Active Lifestyle appeared first on RENTCafé rental blog.

from theokbrowne digest https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/apartmentliving/lifestyle-apartmentliving/keeping-fit-austin-13-complete-workouts-for-active-lifestyle/

Podcast of the Week: Robyn Beavers, Co-Founder and CEO of Blueprint Power

[Note from editor: we’ve started a new regular series here on Geek Estate Blog — the “Podcast of the Week”. On Wednesdays, we’ll highlight a podcast we feel is relevant to tech savvy real estate professionals.]

Blueprint Power unlocks new revenue for real-estate owners by transforming their buildings into power plants and connecting them to new energy markets and customers. I’ve mentioned them before in the More on the Future of Cities recap post I wrote after attending Fifth Wall’s event last year. In addition to Fifth Wall, Fred and Joanne Wilson are investors in the company. I found the GothamGal’s podcast with their CEO Robyn Beavers via AVC.

Enjoy.

The post Podcast of the Week: Robyn Beavers, Co-Founder and CEO of Blueprint Power appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

from theokbrowne digest https://geekestateblog.com/podcast-of-the-week-robyn-beavers-co-founder-and-ceo-of-blueprint-power/

Tenant Reps Give You Advantages When Leasing Office Space

When leasing commercial office space on your own, it’s important to consider hiring a tenant rep to help you, especially in landlord friendly Austin office space markets. Building owners have highly experienced agents representing their best interests which puts you at a disadvantage during negotiations. Having a tenant rep in your corner will ensure that the playing field is level and you have the same tools, experience, and resources to negotiate the best deal for your company. 

Benefits of a Tenant Rep

1. No More Having to Sift Through Outdated Property Listings

There are over ten office space listing websites (e.g., loopnet) that post “available” office spaces for rent. I put quotes around “available” because what you will find is that all of these have incomplete or outdated information. In many cases what you see listed has already been leased. Also other sites just post generic information about available offices making it difficult for you to decipher what is actually available and what spaces will meet your needs.

Your tenant rep will be able to research and identify only those spaces that meet your exact needs. They pay for the best databases & have relationships will all the brokers in town which means you will know what is available now or in the future including office market spaces that are not yet known to the public.

2. Landlords Are More Likely to Respond to Tenant Rep Calls

Unfortunately, most landlord agents take on more listings than they can handle. When this happens they cherry pick the phone calls to return because they get so many calls from tenants who are just kicking tires, they don’t want to waste any time. They know that when a Tenant rep calls there is a high probability that the tenant is already qualified, which means calls get answered quickly. Also, tenant reps with good reputations and relationships with local landlords are more likely to get returned phone calls.

3. Tenant Reps Will Negotiate on Your Behalf

As mentioned above building owners have landlord agents with years of experience in negotiating office leases. Listing agents do not represent you. They serve the owner, and their fiduciary duty is to help the owner get the best deal possible. If you are doing this alone, you are at a considerable disadvantage and more likely to leave money on the table.

Introducing Vrolio, and Meet the RE Tech Founder with Erica Muller

I’d like to introduce you to a new online real estate marketplace for the vacation rental segment of the industry: Vrolio.

I’ve spent the majority of my career in three core areas: real estate, travel (Oh Hey World & Horizon), and community. That’s why I was so excited to meet Vrolio’s founder, Erica Muller. Her startup is mixing two of those three areas together. We originally connected on a FB group thread about vacation rentals — and after we got acquainted over a long phone call, Erica Muller signed up as one of the 130+ Geek Estate Mastermind members (at the time she joined, I believe there were only 100 members). We’ve been in touch since, and had the chance to meet in person during Inman in San Francisco this past summer.

I had the chance to ask Erica a few questions to elaborate on the Vrolio journey, and was happy she obliged amidst her busy schedule launching the product.

Without further ado…

What do you do?

We’re an online real estate marketplace for the vacation rental investing niche that features curated data on properties specific to the vacation rental niche. Our main customers are the investors, the property owners and industry professionals that service the vacation rentals niche.

What problem does your product/service solve?

Investors currently don’t have one simple place to locate and research active real estate inventory that would be approved for this type of usage. VR Property owners are dependent on MLS systems to sell this unique type of property, however, the MLS doesn’t offer real estate agents or owners the ability to showcase the data pertinent to this type of investment. Vrolio solves this problem by combining data from over 4 sources on each property and presenting it to the investor, saving them weeks and sometimes months of research time. Investors are then able to quickly make a purchasing decision as well as get connected with their future service providers which, in some cases, can lead to a premium selling price to the owner. It’s a win-win for both the investor and the owner.

What are you most excited about right now?

I have been working on Vrolio for almost 2 years!! And I’ve poured over 10 years of my vacation rental real estate experience into it so I’m just beyond excited to finally take this to the market and help fill a gaping hole in both the real estate and vacation rental industries. We’ve had a few setbacks over the year and it hasn’t been easy not having a tech background and having to learn as I go, but I’m so excited to finally see how users get value from Vrolio and how we can continuously improve to create an even better experience for the customers. Beyond that, it’s just exciting to know that vacation rentals finally have a place to call home and gaining traction really validates the industry a the key player in the world of real estate investing. So that’s pretty exciting for me as a real estate investor/agent first and foremost.

What’s next for you?

Even though we’ve finally launched, there’s still a tremendous amount of work to be done with Vrolio and I’m fully prepared and ready for the journey. We’re in in the fundraising process right now so that is definitely where my focus will be over the next 6 months alongside marketing, planning and rolling out new features. We have a pretty small team at the moment and it’s mostly tech, so little by little I am trying to fill the hats I’m wearing with the right people so that I can focus even more time on growth and improving upon the product’s data.

What excites you about the intersection of real estate and travel?

These are two powerhouse industries we’re talking about. There’s just so much opportunity for growth and innovation when you combine the two. It’s a wide-open space right now prime and ready for outside the box ideas to come along and shape it. The amount of spending on travel by millennials is enormous so we’ve already validated the travel industry as a worthy contender of an investor’s money. The baby boomers and Xennials really drive the real estate investment scene on the vacation rental side so knowing they have a built-in demand for their product really makes the investment a no-brainer for most real estate investors. What REALLY excites me is all the millennial investors that we hope will start jumping into the real estate investment scene over the next decade. Millennials are perfectly positioned to dominate the world of vacation rental investments because they know their client base better than anyone. I think it still might be premature for that demographic to start adopting this investment strategy but they aren’t too far off. The Xennials really are laying the groundwork strategies and formulas for how to invest in this scene. What I love about the Xennial investors and real estate agents is they are teaching both the baby boomers and eventually the millennials, from a tech and marketing perspective, how this whole VR investment thing works and we really want to support those that are innovating this industry. That’s what excites me, giving them a platform and a place to do business.

What’s been the hardest, or most unexpected, aspect of launching your product to the world?

I think whenever anyone is launching anything new to the world there’s some sense of vulnerability. You work so hard on something, pour your soul and money into it, you know it’s good and you believe it will be welcomed with open arms (and hopefully you did your market research too!!) but there’s still that feeling of butterflies in your stomach when you first launch. It’s a mix of excitement and curiosity. I really believe it’s hard for some people to feel vulnerable but it’s so important. I don’t mean in a weak way, I mean being ready and willing to take on the criticism and feedback without allowing it to feel personal. Like anything we create in life (even our kids), we want other people to like it. It’s natural to want and seek validation for what we’ve created. The reality is, there will always be people who don’t see the vision, understand it or even like it. I look at products like Zillow and how much heavy criticism they get. As a real estate agent, I understand the perspective of agents and why they might feel the way they do. As a tech founder, I really appreciate and remain in awe of the amount of time and code that goes into bringing something like that to fruition and growing it to the level it was grown to. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that I didn’t expect to feel so vulnerable and excited at the same time about launching this product. I wouldn’t say it’s hard but it’s definitely unexpected. When I was knee deep in work with my dev team every day for over a year I had a one-track goal and that was to create an innovative and cool product. I knew I would come up for air later and deal with the “easy” stuff later. It turns out that easy stuff is actually the hard stuff. Facing the opinions of the masses. But I’m ready for it. We’ve already received a ton of positive and valuable feedback from our beta users and were able to tweak things and even enhance quite a bit. That validation was great for me because it validated what I already believed about the product but also created a craving for more feedback, whether positive or negative.

What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?

I’m a HUGE animal advocate. I’m an active PETA supporter, vegetarian and I spend as much of my free time as I can spare (which lately there hasn’t been much) helping out causes that work with animals. There are so many causes out there that are absolutely worth spending time and money on but for me, in my heart, it’s the animal kingdom that I feel I have a mission and purpose to help in my lifetime. I don’t go around with signs shaming people for eating meat or anything like that, I would never take that approach. I needed to clarify that because a lot of people hear PETA and that’s the first thing they think of. I support them because of the work they do with helping animals in horrific circumstances and helping to get cruel situations stopped and shut down. Most people live their day to day lives and don’t even know what is going on behind the scenes in many industries such as factory farming, fabric, cosmetics etc. I don’t think anyone supports animal cruelty on purpose and the more educated people are and the more compassion we, as humans, can have for the animal kingdom, the more we can find innovative ways to live alongside them peacefully without exploiting and hurting them. That’s the place I would love for us to get to as a human race. <3

Thanks to Erica for sharing her story. If you’d like to connect, find her on LinkedIn here.

We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop me a line (drew @ geekestatelabs dot com). And if you’d like to apply to the mastermind, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply Now

The post Introducing Vrolio, and Meet the RE Tech Founder with Erica Muller appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

from theokbrowne digest https://geekestateblog.com/introducing-vrolio-and-meet-the-re-tech-founder-with-erica-muller/

Amazon’s Move to Millennial Hubs Long Island City and Crystal City Expected to Spark an Apartment Boom

Following Amazon’s recent announcement to equally split its second headquarters between Long Island City of Queens and Crystal City in Arlington, VA, it’s worth taking a closer look at how this will ultimately impact those living in or moving to the two areas in terms of rents and apartment supply. With about 50,000 new employees, are the two […]

The post Amazon’s Move to Millennial Hubs Long Island City and Crystal City Expected to Spark an Apartment Boom appeared first on RENTCafé rental blog.

from theokbrowne digest https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/long-island-city-and-crystal-city-expecting-an-apartment-boom/

New Agent University: Real estate home pages, landing pages and squeeze pages

I’ll have to admit, there was a time when I used the term “landing page” when referring to a real estate home page and “squeeze page” for landing page. But, let’s not go there.

Let’s, instead, ensure you don’t make the same mistake by bringing you up to speed on some common terminology you’ll be hearing in your real estate marketing planning. Specifically, we’re defining real estate home page, landing page and squeeze page.

Since a real estate website is your most important tool (ok, so we’re a bit biased … doesn’t make it any less true), we’ll start there.

Looking for a faster, easier to use website? See how a LeadSite can save your business time and money.

Real estate home page

Your website is full of pages, from your buyer and seller sections to your about and contact me pages. They are all meant for general consumption, meaning that anyone who finds your site can look at all the pages published.

In a perfect SEO world, visitors land most often on your real estate home pagee. In reality, they can land on any of your real estate website pages. Not too great for lead capture, right?

While there’s no standard layout to a real estate home page, most contain, at minimum, the site’s name and a navigation bar to get visitors to the site’s other pages.

Smart agents will include, at minimum, their contact information and a testimonial or two. Here’s our home page, if you’re still unclear on the concept.

Showcase your brand with a stunning homepage that you control – part of your LeadSite. Learn More

 

Real estate landing page

A landing page, on the other hand, is a marketing vehicle, which serves as a standalone page, “separate from your real estate website … designed with a specific goal in mind,” according to Easy Agent Pro’s Tyler Zey.

That goal, Tyler continues, is either real estate lead generation or capture

You’ll need to determine your goal before choosing your lead page.

So, how do people get to this lead gen/capture machine? Typically, from a Google ad, or something similar.

When they click on the ad, the visitors end up on the landing page and, if executed well (which our EAP landing pages are), they will go “in exactly the direction you want them to take,” according to SEO wizard, Neil Patel.

Landing pages can be long, short or in-between, but the most vital element of a real estate landing page is a clear call-to-action (CTA). Tyler offers up a few examples of what he refers to as “strong, action-driving CTAs”

• Download Now
• Click to Read
• Try It Free

Easy Agent Pro offers hundreds of landing page templates from which to choose, but, to give you a better idea of what a real estate landing page should contain, check out these examples:

 

 

Real estate squeeze page

A squeeze page is a type of landing page, that has only one goal: to get the visitor’s email address. To that end, there are only two choices a visitor can make on this page: take the offer or leave.

The offer can be similar to what you offer on your landing page, such as an ebook, list or other content, but the singular goal is lead capture.

The squeeze page design typically consists of a headline, a short description of the offer, a short form for the email address and a clear, concise call-to-action.

It’s short, it’s concise and it forces the visitor to either act or leave

The main differences between the real estate landing page and squeeze page, then, is that the former might have several goals while the latter has a singular goal.

Landing pages can be long or short whereas real estate squeeze pages are primarily short. The squeeze page isn’t necessarily a standalone page whereas the landing page is always a standalone page. Here’s an example of a squeeze page:

 

Still confused? Reach out to the pros at Easy Agent Pro and we’ll help clear it up. (800) 327-6623.

Ready for a better real estate website? Make the switch to a LeadSite – Learn more

Drive more leads and listings to your website with these 16 hacks.

Get the most out of your squeeze pages – Check out these 3 templates that get results:

 

The post New Agent University: Real estate home pages, landing pages and squeeze pages appeared first on Easy Agent Pro.

from theokbrowne digest https://www.easyagentpro.com/blog/real-estate-home-page-squeeze-page/