4 Ways to Attract Luxury Open House Attendees

Selling a truly unique luxury property is different from your typical sale. It requires a more focused approach and a more sophisticated touch. Clients whose homes are worth many millions expect that special measures will be taken to market their property.

Sometimes agents will need to take extraordinary measures. When there is competition in the luxury market, there is an increase in high-end open houses — elegant and expensive events that spare no expense in showing a listing’s best qualities. This is not a typical open house.In this blog you’ll learn some of the ways that you can host a unique event to showcase a special property.

Traditional Advertising

In many cases, traditional media is still very effective for the real estate business.  Agents may be getting great results from direct mail postcards and advertising in print and online. Using postcards to let neighbors know what you have just listed or just sold works because it offers market information, plus exposure for listings and for yourself. Make sure the photos look great, the message and the call to action is clear and that the brand is properly reflected.

Online Advertising

Advertising in print is effective in certain markets, though not in others. Online advertising allows potential clients to click through the ad to your website or email. And don’t forget to look into marketing opportunities on syndication sites like Zillow. These can help with lead generation as well. Ultimately, advertising works best when you know who your target market is and how to best reach them.

Social Media

With social media’s important role in marketing, most real estate agents maintain at least one social media account for their business. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Snapchat are among the most popular, but additional networks may emerge, and you’ll need to be ready. The idea is to keep your company relevant and useful. If you can find a specific angle that can bolster your brand, all the better.

Editorial Calendar

Create an editorial calendar that runs at least three months out so that you can map out a strategy and use any analytics that are available to optimize and refine your message. Social media holds a varying level of importance, depending on your target market, but no agent can afford to neglect it entirely.

Surveys, Testimonials and Reviews

A completed transaction is not the end of the relationship. There is still marketing work to do! Start with surveys, testimonials and reviews. It’s a good idea to send a survey to clients after a transaction is finished to let them share the pros and cons of their experience with you. This information can help you make improvements to systems and services.

Third-Party Services

It’s also a low-pressure tactic to ask for a testimonial and an online review. There are third-party survey services that are simple and inexpensive to put into practice. This should be part of your operating procedure at the close of every sale. And getting testimonials and reviews on sites like Yelp can really help you expose your brand to new clients and stand out from the competition.

Participate in the Neighborhood

Lastly, one of the best ways to market your business is by simply being top-of-mind when it comes to real estate in your neighborhood. The simplest and most effective way to do this is by actually spending time participating in local events. Have a presence at festivals and town meetings. Consider volunteering at the local school.

#1. Show Up at Neighborhood Events

Suggest that your brokerage sponsor neighborhood events, or simply make sure to get a table at them. You may want to keep track of event opportunities and attend yourself. Seek out opportunities to put yourself in front of the right target market.

#2. Offer Advice or Expertise

No one likes someone who only talks business, but there’s nothing wrong with being helpful and relevant. If you keep your ears open and participate with people, you will find organic ways to help market a company that truly is a part of the neighborhood.

#3. Manage Your Local Brand and Reputation

All in all, it’s important to remember that selling homes is just one part of your business. It’s just as imperative to ensure that your business has a future flow of potential customers and that your brand and reputation is being managed in the best way for you and your business.

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AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.

How to Connect with First Time Homebuyers

For the first time in over a decade, there seems to be an influx of first-time home buyers entering the marketplace. But is it more than just anecdotal? Are more first time buyers actually in a position to purchase, and if so, what does it mean for agents?

Best First-Time Homebuyer Market Since 2006

In 2017, more than 2 million new or existing homes were purchased by first-time homebuyers, according to the First-Time Homebuyer Market Report from Genworth Mortgage Insurance, an operating segment of Genworth Financial, Inc.

The report, which measured data from the fourth quarter of 2017, revealed the number of homes purchased by first-time buyers increased nearly 7 percent from the same time in 2016, making last year the best for the first-time homebuyer market since 2006.

“The first-time homebuyer segment had one of its strongest years on record, and we expect it to continue growing in market share and driving the purchase market in 2018,” says Tian Liu, chief economist at Genworth Mortgage Insurance. “Since 2014, the segment has accounted for 82 percent of home purchases, but is still facing many headwinds.”

Unique Group with Unique Needs

First-time homebuyers are a unique group — one  that has its own set of needs that you as an agent must be prepare to address. That’s why we created the two-part training course, How to Find the Perfect Home for Your Clients.

The most common complaint that buyers will about their agents is that they were shown homes that did not fit their needs. Knowing how to find the right home for each client’s situation is a core skill that every buyer’s agent must possess.

Whether your client is a first-time homebuyer or an empty nester who is looking to downsize, you need to be prepared to understand the market — as well as how to set expectations, how to interpret the clues your client is giving you and how to eventually close the deal.

By guiding a first-time homebuyer through the sales process successfully, not only have you completed a sale and earned your commission, you may have landed a lifelong client.

Don’t miss your opportunity. Sign up for AgentEDU and learn how to find the perfect home for your clients.


AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth.

AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.