When inventory is low, prices are high. And when the market is hot, what more could a luxury real estate professional ask for?
In hot markets like the one we’ve been experiencing since mid-2020, it’s tempting to let some of “the basics” slide — like marketing spend and high-quality staging — to enjoy the seemingly effortless influx of clients, sales, and higher-than-normal professional fees.
The truth?
The luxury real estate market is more competitive than ever. Basics are still key for getting ahead and staying ahead when the hot market inevitably cools off.
If you want to keep your momentum, here are three things to keep doing regardless of the market’s ups and downs:
Maintain your marketing spend
There are two occasions when luxury real estate professionals tend to pull back their marketing spend: When the market is great and not so great.
Often during a hot market, it can seem like clients are everywhere. Buyers are hungry to find an available listing, while sellers are eager to see how much they can get for their home when the market is in their favor. Even if you’re more likely to stumble upon new clientele without much marketing, it’s not wise to scale back unless your budget absolutely requires it.
Maintaining your marketing strategy at full capacity keeps you top of mind for your community. Scaling back allows other luxury real estate professionals an opportunity to encroach.
Similarly in a slow market, you may feel uncomfortable maintaining your marketing spend if business is slow. Limiting your marketing spend, however, may create an ongoing cycle of slow business growth.
To maintain a more consistent marketing budget, plan to put away the same amount of money each month to pay yourself out and to go to marketing. That way, your marketing budget won’t rely on ups and downs.
Go the extra mile to stage and style listings
There’s a school of thought in upper-tier real estate that at a certain level of luxury, staging and styling are optional because beautiful homes can practically sell themselves. This becomes an especially tempting concept in a hot market.
Although the idea may be true in some cases, a lack of staging and styling — or a bare minimum attempt — can seriously limit the quality and the amount of offers your seller receives.
Of course, you may have sellers who are happy to take less so the property sells quickly. It’s still wise to advise them that spending a little extra time and capital on proper staging can earn them offers closer to or beyond their asking price.
Continue networking with other real estate professionals
Just like marketing, it’s tempting to minimize networking when clients are easily found in a hot market. Still, continuing to seek out other local real estate professionals can ensure your pipeline stays full when the market slows down.
Additionally, networking with other local luxury real estate professionals can also lead to better marketing ideas, help you stay on top of trends, and boost your reputation so you and your clients can have a smoother time at closing.
Stay up to date with the latest luxury real estate marketing strategies
The Institute’s in-person Luxury Live events are back and — for the first time ever — we’ve introduced a Member Happy Hour to give you even more time to network with other luxury real estate professionals (or aspiring luxury real estate professionals).
The curriculum for these exciting two-day events is based on our proven 7-Step Luxury Marketing Blueprint to help you break into luxury real estate or reach the next level in your luxury real estate career.
To learn more and see when Luxury Live is coming to your city, click here.