A guide to getting your home ready for sale

It’s never easy to sell your home, especially when you have invested so much into it and have so many fabulous memories. Over the years, you’ve made it your own by adding some specialized décor and custom amenities. But a luxury home typically appeals to a narrow pool of buyers. As you get ready to put your home on the market, there are expert tips to sell your luxury home for the price you ask and in less time.

Your first decision is to partner with a real estate broker who has the proven experience and expertise to successfully navigate the luxury real estate market with you. You’ll want to find someone like Julie Wells who understands the specific Houston and Galveston County market and can provide the knowledge about the ins and outs of selling your luxury home. Just as you would want to hire a specialist for a medical procedure or book an expensive vacation, you’ll want to find a real estate broker that specializes in luxury properties.

 

To find the best realtor to sell your home, begin by asking friends and family members within your personal network for advice and recommendations. These might come from members of your country club, your homeowner’s association, or business associates. If someone you know has recently sold a luxury home in your area, ask them for a referral. They can tell you what they liked and what they wished they had known. You’ll want to find someone who will give you “white glove service.” That is, you won’t be waiting days for a call back or feel like you are one of many clients. If your search comes up empty-handed, do your own research and look at local luxury real estate groups featuring Galveston Real Estate and Houston Heights Real Estate. Look at their previously-sold portfolios and learn about their team through customer reviews.

One of the first things to understand is to choose a competent agent like one from the Julie Wells Group of Houston. Selling a luxury home is not like selling any other home. It has to be priced correctly, staged and optimized for the correct buyers. The higher the price, the more you and your agent have to carefully choose moves that directly appeal to your specific buyer and their expectations.

One of the most important parts of selling a luxury home is staging the property so that buyers can picture themselves living there. To ensure that your home shines brightly for prospective customers, hire a professional stager. This person can expertly guide you through the entire process. They will make your home even more luxurious than it already is and show buyers its potential in it. Their job is to sell a lifestyle, not just a home. They’ll decorate your home with original artwork. They’ll assist you in finding ways to update the kitchen and highlight its other most exclusive features. But first, they’ll start with the most essential staging duties: a thorough cleaning, using neutral colors, and filling your rooms with universally appealing furniture and décor. They’ll know exactly how to customize the plan to the luxury class of buyers you want to attract. By paying for a professional stager, you’ll be able to convince prospective buyers that your home has the potential to fulfill their fantasies and high expectations. Don’t try to go cheap on this particular part of getting your home ready for sale. Potential buyers can distinguish between high-quality and cheap staging. It will lower the value of the property, which is the last thing you want when listing your home.

Since we’re living in a very visual environment, prospective buyers will want to see the best views of the interior and exterior of your home. Often, they skip the detailed descriptions and look first at the images. Top-notch photos will grab buyers’ attention and, data has proven, will help your house sell faster. Hire a professional real estate photographer for this important position. They have the experience to place the camera for the optimal shots with the correct lighting and time of day. They’ll show off your property at its best. This is especially important for foreign buyers who are prone to luxury buying but can’t always come to visit the property firsthand.

Buyers of luxury homes want to know everything about a prospective property. Has the home been designed to incorporate splashy additions such as the latest technological kitchen, bathroom, and outdoor appliances? What type of top-notch amenities and high-end finishes have been added? If your home is in an exclusive or gated community, your prospective buyers will want to know who their neighbors might be and what rules and regulations, if any, need to be followed. Is your home in a prize location where filmmakers often bring film crews to shoot interior or exterior scenes?

Prospective buyers want to feel part of their new community. They’re accustomed to high-end restaurants, shopping, and entertainment venues. You’ll want to distinguish your home from the competition by noting nearby points of interest. If your home is in a top-rated school district, make sure that prospective buyers are given sufficient information about that important distinction. Gather the data about the district and where recent high school alumni have attended college. Perhaps your home is near a number of private schools or academies that specialize in a certain curriculum. Is your home located where sports is an important contribution to the lifestyle of the community? What if you’ve put your beach house for sale in Galveston? You’ll want to set it apart from the other luxury Galveston homes for sale on the beachfront.

Selling luxury properties, such as in the Memorial Villages or West Memorial homes for sale, entails marketing to the finest prospective buyers. This group of high-end consumers are not going to find your home on your broker’s Facebook page or notice a “For Sale” yard sign. To reach them, you need to market wisely. Invest in top-quality printed brochures and marketing pieces displaying your home with professional photography.

 

High-end buyers want to feel like your home is being exclusively marketed to them. Public open houses are out. Instead, plan on appointment-only viewings. Your agent will be able to fixate all of their attention on this buyer, providing them with first-rate data, and customize the tour to their specific needs. Buyers will feel privileged to be escorted through your luxury home. You’ll also eliminate those who are there to gawk at your home and have no plans to purchase it.

Capturing the dramatic interior and exterior of your home gives prospective buyers a special taste of your luxury property. In today’s busy world, these videos are key to enticing a prospect to visit your home in person and see for themselves. To get the finest videos, hire an experienced videographer who has knowledge of drone footage. Prospective buyers like to see all angles of your luxury home, including how far away their neighbors will be and what type of exclusive shrubs and sculptures might be part of their property. If your home has views of the beach or ocean, you’ll want the videographer to grab exquisite sunsets and crashing waves.

If you’re living in the Houston or south Texas region, there are certain times of the year when the weather displays the best of the region. Since you want your luxury property to shine on the market, discuss with your broker when the best time of year would be to put your luxury property on the market. Experienced brokers will also know when the best time with the least amount of competition would be.

Luxury homes always sell faster and at a higher premium price if they can be connected to a well-known architect or a celebrity owner. Some of Houston’s elite have dwelled in expensive homes or luxe hideaways along Galveston’s outskirts. That’s an important piece of information that will certainly raise the price of your luxury home. Perhaps your home was once owned by a Houston baseball player? Did a well-known entertainer purchase your home previously for a family member? Your prospective buyer will want to know if an arena-sized indoor basketball court is part of the sale or if a celebrity chef added an outdoor kitchen. All of this adds cache to your luxury home.

As one of the leading real estate teams in the greater Houston area, Julie Wells Group serves a wide range of neighborhoods. From Houston real estate to Galveston County real estate, they have the highest level of experience to get your home ready for sale. If you need further help to sell your luxury property, contact Julie Wells Group today.