Winning in the Luxury Market: Do You Have What It Takes?

“You have to consider the international buyer now, for three reasons,” concurs Paul Boomsma, president of Luxury Portfolio International, a division of the Chicago-based Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, where Boomsma serves as COO. “First, people can do business anywhere. If you live in Europe, you can work into the evening and not miss a beat in New York. Second, business is more global, and top executives might be transferred anywhere. Third, the U.S.A. is a safe place to invest, compared with many other countries.”

Another difference between most real estate companies and those that specialize in the highest-priced properties, Boomsma says, is that the latter, whether their operation is large or small, offers better service, more products, better information and direction.

“Those firms constantly reinvest in their service and are always looking to attract the next wave of buyers,” he explains. “Buyers change, the houses change, the media changes. They can keep all those balls in the air, prioritize correctly, and create allegiances.”

“These clients want a broker who knows what’s coming on the market before it goes on the market,” says Betty Graham, president of Coldwell Banker Previews in Beverly Hills, Calif. “They want to know why the home is at the value that the seller has set. They expect their brokers to know the world, not just the market.”