SkillSET Blog
Advice For Pros · June 06, 2022 · AUTHOR: Darwin Pelea

How to Find Million Dollar Home Buyers

Selling Sunset. Million Dollar House Hunters. Find Me a Luxury Home. Selling Mega Mansions. Million Dollar Listing. The glamor, lifestyle, and - maybe most importantly - paycheck from working in luxury real estate is undoubtedly appealing to agents across the country. It may even be one of the main reasons some agents got into the business. While these TV shows may show the luxury real estate market as an unattainable niche market, there are some steps you can take as an agent to find these million-dollar clients.

Most of the time, people who spend a lot of money on homes are looking for someone like you - an experienced real estate professional - to help them through their buying process. They're not looking for someone who will take their money and then disappear into thin air. They want someone who has worked with other high-end clients before and has experience successfully closing deals on multi-million dollar homes.

What does this mean for you? If you want to work with these clients, you need to build a reputation as a skilled negotiator and communicator who knows how to get deals done quickly without hiccups along the way. If you're able to do this, then there's no doubt that your chances of finding million-dollar home buyers will increase significantly over time!

What is a million-dollar home?

A million-dollar home is a house that costs $1 million or more. It's also called a luxury home, high-end home, or ultra-luxury home. It's not just the price tag that makes a house "high end" — it's also the materials used to build it and the amenities offered inside.

The average cost of a new single-family home in the United States will be about $374,900 in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). To put that in perspective, it costs about $15,000, more than twice as much as the average cost of an existing single-family home.

Million-dollar homes are built with higher quality materials like marble countertops and stainless steel appliances. They're also more significant than other homes — often with at least three bedrooms and three baths — giving buyers more space for added comfort and privacy. Plus, many luxury homes feature extra amenities like pools or spas, media rooms, and gourmet kitchens.

Know your Market

As a real estate agent, you should know your market like the back of your hand to provide the best service to your clients. When working your way into the luxury real estate market, this knowledge becomes critical to help you get started. Make sure you have a complete, deep understanding of neighborhoods and trends, especially in the higher-income neighborhoods.

Some areas may seriously differ when defining "luxury real estate" - for example, in California, luxury real estate may include homes over $2 million, while in Louisiana, luxury homes may be in the upper $800k range. Even varying neighborhoods within the same zip code could have different definitions of luxury, so be sure to do extensive research to grasp your local market well.

Know your Buyer

Just as "luxury" may have a different definition in different areas, each client may also have their definition of what luxury means to them. Get to know your real estate buyer. Consider demographics like age, background, interests, and locations when determining what type of luxury real estate client you're looking to work with. For older buyers, you need to become familiar with their home priorities like accessible floor plans and comfortable entertainment areas.

On the other hand, younger buyers may be more interested in smart homes, technology solutions, and other features that appeal to a younger demographic. Get to know what's popular in the luxury market and what attracts the buyers you're looking for specifically. Ask these questions to get to know your million-dollar buyer better:

  • What are their hobbies and interests?

  • Do they have kids? What age?

  • What professions do these buyers work in?

  • What type of location is most appealing to each demographic (i.e., urban, suburban, or rural)?

  • What price range can I consider as a "luxury" buyer?

  • Have Luxury Listings?

Why is it essential to find million-dollar home buyers?

If you are a homeowner who wants to sell your property, you will probably know that there are many different options for selling your house. However, if you're going to get the best price possible, you should consider hiring an agent who specializes in selling homes for over a million dollars.

If you want to sell your home for over a million dollars, you need to choose an agent with the experience and knowledge necessary to sell homes of this value. It is so important because the agents who work with these types of homes have more experience and expertise than other agents when selling high-end homes. They know how much you can sell these types of properties for, what kind of marketing strategies are best used when selling them, and how much time it will take before they get several offers from interested buyers.

That is why they are more likely to get more money when they sell their home than those who do not have any experience working with this type of property.

What type of buyers are looking for million-dollar homes?

Many different types of home buyers have the means to purchase a million-dollar home. The most common buyer is someone who has sold their home and is looking for a larger property. Some buyers may be downsizing from a larger property and are looking for something more economical. Another segment of the market that purchases these types of homes is investors or flippers looking to make money on the house by reselling it or renting it out.

How to Find Million Dollar Home Buyers

Finding new clients in any niche is always a challenge, but finding million-dollar home buyers is a task that may feel a little more impossible. The truth is that finding these clients isn't as far-fetched as it may seem. There are a few ways to start finding these high-end clients and make your name as the go-to agent for luxury real estate.

Network and platform marketing

There's a reason why networking and platform marketing are listed first when finding new clients. It is by far the best way to get new clients and build your business. When you network with people who have access to your ideal clients and make a name for yourself in your area, you will find that you have many more high-end clients coming your way.

Agents with an exclusive luxury real estate niche

Finding agents with an exclusive luxury real estate niche isn't as easy as finding a few luxury agents and reaching out to them (although that is also a great option). Instead, if you work in a larger market, try reaching out to luxury agents in a smaller city within driving distance of where you work. The smaller the town, the more chance there is of a niche exclusive to luxury real estate.

Other ways to find these clients

Selling Sunset. Million Dollar House Hunters. Find Me a Luxury Home. Selling Mega Mansions. Million Dollar Listing. - These programs and other similar programs on television are a great way to show everyone that you are the go-to for luxury real estate. You have to tune in, see what these shows are doing, and start making a name for yourself.

How do real estate market research

You now have a better understanding of what type of information you need. The next step is to start doing your research. Use sites like bls.gov or https://www.car.org/marketdata/data to research your desired market. Use this data to develop a game plan to target a more specific audience with your marketing and ads. Signing up for the newsletter on these sites can also help you stay updated with the latest research release dates and other vital statistics to help you sell your next multimillion-dollar home.

A good research tip is to include the word "PDF" with your google search. This will start returning more direct links to PDF research documents that could be vital to your luxury home sale.  

For example, in the image below, you can see the results when we search google for "California association of realtors." This returns much more generic results dealing with the search term.

If we adjust our search to include the word "PDF" at the end, we are now shown results with a PDF icon to the right of the URL. This is what you are looking for.

Do not be afraid to get more specific with your searches. Say you are looking for information and statistics on home buyers, you could try searching google for "real estate buyer statistics pdf," which would return the results shown below.

Other Thoughts

Although you may be looking to work with million-dollar buyers, an excellent place to start is by putting effort into working with luxury sellers first. You have to know the market to sell it. When advertising a high-priced home, use luxury verbiage; sell the property by using storytelling to put images of grandeur into a potential buyer's mind.

The easiest way to find luxury buyers and sellers is to join a brokerage firm specializing in high-priced real estate. Joining a luxury brokerage firm or team may seem challenging, but the hard work and determination it takes to get there are well worth it in the long run. Another way to break through into this niche market is to gain credibility as an agent with knowledge in the luxury market. Start by growing your social media presence - present yourself as "luxury" by posting quality images and luxury real estate trends.

See how other million-dollar listing agents and brokerage firms present themselves online and put yourself into that position. As a real estate agent, most of your contact with clients is face-to-face. Be sure to brand yourself as professional, knowledgeable, experienced, and appealing to those in the market for a luxury home by matching your style to that of million-dollar clients.

Conclusion

Research is the key. Knowing your target market and a homebuyer is one of the essential steps to completing your next million-dollar home sale. Identify important aspects of your target buyer and do as much research as possible. Doing this can allow you to better target those luxury home buyers based on research and statistics. 

Using technology as a real estate agent is essential going into 2022. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Google are some of the most important sites to advertise on. If you are an aspiring real estate agent, SetSchedule also provides business development tools to network and collaborate with other professionals to find your Million Dollar home buyer. Using these tips to identify your target followed up with an intense ad campaign on one of these platforms can make the difference.

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