As a REALTOR® in Los Altos, CA who is a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist, I am excited to have just returned from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing’s Leaders In Luxury conference in Austin, Texas where I learned new strategies for better serving my luxury seller and buyer clients. Under written permission from John C. Allen of Sarasota, Florida, I wanted to share with you his informative article regarding how to select the best agent in your luxury real estate purchase.
“Real estate has long been a key component on the affluent’s long term wealth building strategy. Many savvy luxury home buyers are taking advantage to the real estate meltdown by buying properties at a fraction of the prices from several years ago. However, the affluent are different, especially when buying and selling real estate. It is crucial that luxury home buyers align themselves with experienced real estate professionals that specialize in the luxury home market place. Knowledge, experience, education, connections, and negotiating skills are just a few characteristics of a true expert in the high-end real estate market.
The needs and expectations of many wealthy home buyers are sometimes overwhelming and should only be handled by a trained and seasoned expert. As all real estate agents perform and conduct business differently, it is critical to search for those real estate professionals recognized for exceptional customer service, impressive standards and a proficient savant in the field.
Below are a few recommendations for evaluating a quality luxury agent in the search for a luxury home:
Market Knowledge – As simple as it seems, it is vital to select an agent that is highly knowledgeable in the local luxury real estate market. It is all too common to see buyers just randomly selecting agents without knowing their track record or credentials. With knowledge comes power, and having a true luxury home specialist facilitating the transaction will inevitably increase the buyers command of the process and their service will become an essential asset.
Experience – Recognizing and calculating accurate home values in the luxury market requires lot of experience. Referrals and quality recommendations along with a proven track record of closed sales are the true mark of a luxury real estate market expert. Luxury home buyers should carefully review the agent’s track record of sales. It is crucial that upper-tier home buyers only use specialized luxury agents to find the most suitable properties and negotiate on their behalf.
Education and Professional Designations – The best luxury agents continually strive to perfect their craft. Many top agents attain additional education and luxury certifications to increase their knowledge of the dynamic luxury real estate market and enhance their credentials. As the luxury real estate market is constantly changing, it is important that that top agents stay on the cutting edge of all of the issues important to the luxury home buyer. Specialized designations such as the benchmark, “Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist,” are indications that you are working with the rights agent.
Contacts – Within the luxury home market, a variety of important resources are often necessary to meet the demand of the wealthy. Successful luxury agents develop relationships with these many of these resources and can refer services of competent professionals. Examples of additional contacts that are often important to luxury home buyers include: Interior Designers, Quality Craftsmen, High-end Contractors, Architects, Real Estate and Tax Law Attorneys, Jumbo Mortgage Bankers, among others.
Communication – Working with any type of sales professional requires good communication, but when working with a luxury real estate professional on a home purchase, it is critical. Successful upper-tier agents listen carefully to the buyer’s needs, wants. The buyer’s expectations are listened to carefully so than no small detail is missed.
Negotiation Skills – The best luxury real estate agent are masters in the art of negotiation. As larger residential real estate transactions can often become very complex, a skilled luxury agent is necessary to resolve issues between the buyer and seller on items such as the price and terms of the contract.
Once you have made the decision to buy a luxury home, it is critical to select the best agent to assist you. Not all agents are qualified to operate effectively in the upper-tier real estate market. Use the guidelines above to help you choose an effective luxury marketplace specialist. In short, knowledge plus experience plus clear communication equals a luxury real estate professional that can deliver the results you demand.”
by John C. Allen
Allen Real Estate Services, Inc.
7131 Curtiss Ave. Suite 1
Sarasota, FL 34231
941-544-6467 – Phone
John C. Allen sells Sarasota luxury homes. Visit the Sarasota luxury homes for sale section of his website to view current MLS listings. Thank you for allowing us to post your article on Silicon Valley and Beyond!
To view luxury listings in the Los Altos, Palo Alto, Mountain View and other areas of the Silicon Valley, visit The Dawn Thomas Team’s Luxury Property Search.
This blog is courtesy of The Dawn Thomas Team who is an award-winning Real Estate Agent team at Intero Real Estate Services in Los Altos 650-701-7822. We help nice people with selling and buying homes from Palo Alto to West San Jose!
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