Appealing to the High-End Seller

Submitted by Katrina Dodson of Connect Realty San Diego

The luxury housing market has always had its own type of real estate agents. You know what I’m talking about: the ones in the luxury cars, the agents with teams of assistants, the office on the swanky part of the main street. At least the luxury housing market had its own type of real estate agents. Things have changed.

The luxury market has been stung as painfully as the mainstream. Although the lower end of the market is starting to see some price increases, the high end market continues to struggle against bloated inventory and financing challenges. As a result, the high-end seller has changed and so has their choice in Realtors.  These sellers have become no different than their mid range counterparts – they are looking for good value, cutting-edge marketing technology, and personal service from their agent.

A couple weeks ago, my partner Seth Surnamer and I went into a listing appointment for a $1.749 million home. The top three agents in the area from a few of the top brokerages in the area (need they be named?) had already been through the doors. However, Seth and I could offer something that the other brokerages simply couldn’t compete with. 

Turns out, the couple who are listing the house met on the internet and were married. The husband works in a law firm of four attorneys but works at home from his firm’s virtual office. Talk about a modern couple!

They loved that we were an independent firm with a focus on internet marketing and promotion rather than print advertising and open houses. They recognized that our real estate firm is two years ahead of the competition in planning and sourcing when it comes to marketing and our virtual office.

My firm’s focus on low overhead and low fees for their agents allows their agents to spend more on their luxury listings. More than that, our technology platform is compatible with all market ranges, as the high-end buyer is starting their search in the same place as the low-end buyer: on the internet.

Guess who got the listing? That’s right. We did.

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Katrina Dodson is a Connect Realty Realtor in San Diego, CA and is a member of the Surnamer & Dodson Team.
Get Connected with Katrina:
Email: Katrina@connectrealty.com
Cell: 858-518-1670
www.SDHomesAndEstates.com