“There’s the buyer who wants to be seen, who’ll buy a property where most of the land is behind the setback of the house,” explains Turner. “Those who don’t want to be seen will put the home back behind winding driveways, so we have to do aerial shots to show the buyer where the house sits.”
But in the end, according to Erin Mathews, principal of the Dallas-based Mathews Nichols Group, the key to tapping into the luxury market is to determine the exact wants and needs of the buyer and seller.
“At the higher end, we want to make every showing count, so staging is especially important, and staging can cost tens of thousands,” she says. “Some people make the mistake of using less expensive furniture that would be appropriate for a lower-end home. This usually has disastrous results.
“As to the personality of the transaction, there’s no great difference between the high and the low end,” adds Mathews. “Only the names change…and the stakes.”
Joseph Dobrian is a business writer who specializes in commercial and residential real estate, and real estate finance. He’s CEO of Dobrian, Frances, Bowie & Long, an editorial services firm in Iowa City, Iowa.
