If you're reading this, then there is a good chance you are considering selling your Hilton Head Island home. Deciding to put your home on the real estate market is a big decision. From getting it ready to sell, setting the price, then reaching buyers, it's a massive undertaking, and one today that you just can't do without a Realtor. This is even more true if you are selling a luxury property that requires marketing to an out of the ordinary buyer. If your home has expansive views, thirty foot ceilings and top of the line appliances, then this guide is for you. Read on for our top tips to sell your luxury home.
1. Price:
Pricing a home correctly can be challenging. Inexperienced real estate agents will use the old “price per square foot” rule, but that model truly doesn't work anymore. Knowing how to evaluate a home, taking into account its strengths and weaknesses, and comparing it to similar homes are skills a trusted Realtor can bring to the table. Mastering these skills is the mark of a professional Realtor. The price needs to be right the first time if you want to get top dollar. Also, if an agent prices it wrong and the house sits on the market for an extended period of time, other agents and buyers will notice. Since the high end market has limited inventory, a mispriced home will stand out.
High-end homes add another level of difficulty when it comes to pricing. Typically there are less comparables to evaluate, and luxury homes have unique features that may only appeal to a select group of buyers. Pricing the home correctly is one of the biggest reasons to hire an agent familiar with luxury properties.The neighborhood in which a property is located can have a huge influence on value. The agent should understand the difference that location plays in the comparable sales data and how one neighborhood differs from the next.
2. Staging:
Currently, your home is set up for your own life and usability. However, when selling your home, you want to appeal to a broader spectrum of potential buyers. What exactly does this mean? Perhaps your “sewing room” needs to become more of a sitting area. Perhaps the spare bedroom that you turned into a functional (but cluttered) home office space needs to be turned back into a spare bedroom. Perhaps the workout gym your husband set up in the garage needs to be removed so that buyers can see that their cars and golf cart will, indeed, fit into the garage. Your Realtor can advise you in any of these areas, and if a professional stager needs to be called in, your Realtor can give you the name of a trusted company. They can do single rooms or entire homes. Already moved out? A professional staging company can furnish every room to make your home look like “a perfect fit” for potential buyers.
3. Utilize aerial photos and drone videos:
Do not limit yourself to only still photography of your home. Today, high-end buyers do 90% of their property research before they even set foot in their first home to tour. Hilton Head is surrounded by breathtaking scenery — beautiful beaches, majestic dunes, and enchanting marshes. Professional aerial images of your luxury home are a must, whether it’s for your home’s architectural uniqueness or its beautiful setting of the Inter-Coastal waterway or the marsh flats of Palmetto Bay. Investing in amazing aerial pictures and impressive drone footage will entice many buyers to look more closely at a home.
4. Embrace 3 Dimensional Pictures and Virtual Tours:
Using high-end photography and video is a must. Luxury home buyers are the demographic least likely to have the time to tour a home in person. In addition, many of them are shopping for a luxury home as a second or third residence, so there is no urgency to their purchase. However, there can be urgency once they’ve fallen in love with a home, and falling in love is possible with a 3D home tour! Using this technology, buyers can “walk through” the home without leaving their computer monitor, and no other special equipment is needed.
5. Work With An Experienced Agent:
There are always new agents in the real estate world and this is not the time to do a neighbor a favor by using their godson who just got his real estate license. Even seasoned Realtors may not have the right skillset to get your luxury home sold. There is a vast difference in selling a $300-$400K home to one that is double or even triple that number. Your goal is to get the most money for your property in the shortest amount of time, and only a veteran of the market can do that for you.
6. Develop A Buyer Profile:
It may be difficult to understand that the potential buyer for your home isn’t in any way like you! Your Realtor can help you to create a buyer profile. This profile will be based on the types of buyers that your Realtor has been walking through the market in the past few weeks and months. While you may think that your home will be perfect for “someone just like us,” your Realtor will be able to better understand the “market of the moment.” Your agent will try to make your home appealing in today’s market, to today’s buyers, because, let’s face it, you want your home sold TODAY, if possible! As discussed in the staging section, some minor tweaks could really help to captivate the right buyer. Profiling your target buyer will make it easier to prepare your house to fit their needs and lifestyle.
7. Timing:
When is the best time to sell a high-end home on Hilton Head? The short answer is when inventory in that neighborhood is low, but it’s a much more complicated answer than that. Similar to setting the price, picking the time to sell has many factors. There are several things to consider. When does the property look the best? Does it have a pool or dock that is highlighted by summer activities? Is it an oceanfront rental? Do you want to gain the summer rental profits? Or will selling in spring bring a buyer sooner so they can gain the summer rental profits? Getting access and setting the home up for sale can be tough if it’s always occupied. This can cause the home to have excessive days on the market if it is unavailable to be shown. If you are considering selling your home any time in the next 12 month, get an experienced Realtor involved early so that the timing can be right for everyone!
8. Use Effective Marketing:
Finding the right luxury buyer requires getting the word out about the property for sale. Just listing a home in the MLS is not enough. An experienced agent will have a large sphere of influence that they can use to promote their listings. This includes: social media, offline connections, referral networks, out-of-state agent relationships, as well as high-end real estate relationships.
Today, it goes without saying that a strong digital presence is an outright necessity. Using the large listing platforms like Zillow is a must, but only just the start. The goal is to work with a Realtor that can get your property out to the broader market and outside of the immediate geographical area. The majority of luxury buyers will be out-of-state. This is where an agent that invests in “going digital” will be head and shoulders above the competition. Bottom line, work with someone who has the ability to reach buyers who will want what you are offering.
Selling high-end Hilton Head properties takes a much different approach than selling a $150,000 townhome in a starter neighborhood. In addition to getting the best price, you need an agent who will take the necessary steps to protect your security and privacy. Experience with upper-end homes is a must as well as working with an agent who is able to connect with other luxury agents, both in and out of market.