How easily you can sell your home depends on a varieties of factors, not the least of which being the current real estate market. But even in the hottest real estate market, the owner of a custom or luxury home may find themselves facing a few extra challenges.
Custom or luxury homes often have a smaller pool of prospective buyers, and therefore must be marketed and presented correctly. Here are some insider tips for selling your custom home, designed to give you the best chance at getting a great price.
Selling Your Custom Home
By its very nature, your custom-built home is different than many on the market. This can be both help you, and hurt you – depending on how you market the property.
Price it Correctly: It is more difficult to price a custom home – the more unique and different it is, the less comparable the pricing is likely to be. But homeowners must resist the urge to overprice a custom home, as most home buyers are looking for a deal and may be willing to forego “bells and whistles” if they have to pay too much more than market price. No matter the home, sellers often try to fully recoup the price of their custom upgrades, but that often is not feasible. Be realistic in your pricing, in line with the market, and your prospects will come.
Market it to the Right People: Not everyone can buy a custom home, so marketing through normal channels may not be the efficient way to use your promotion dollars. Working with a luxury home seller is one way to guarantee that higher end buyers are seeing your home, and these agents may also have the contacts that average realtors do not.
Highlight the Differences: Make sure that you outline the custom differences clearly. Some may be very visible and evident, but you may have added features and benefits that are unseen yet make the home more durable or more efficient. Highlight any green features, and include monthly or annual cost savings if applicable. A beautiful home is one thing, but a responsibly built, efficient home which is also luxurious may be irresistible.
Be Willing to Change Things: Some custom changes are aesthetic. For instance, you may absolutely love that your entire home is in shades of yellow, but that may not be everyone’s style. You may be very proud of your collections of artifacts from your travels, but others may not appreciate the “clutter”. Your idea of a dream home may not be everyone’s – so be open to professional advice as to changing your aesthetic to a more neutral look in order to better market your home.
Keep it Custom: The temptation when selling your custom home is to bring many of the custom features with you when you move – such as high end appliances, or unique lighting fixtures. But prospective homebuyers will love your home because of those features, so don’t plan on excluding them from the sale. You may even offer to leave your furniture if the total look will get you an acceptable sales price.
Let’s face it – the reason you chose to build a custom home was to create a living space that was uniquely you. While selling your custom home requires finding just the right buyer, highlighting the features which you love will communicate just how special the home is.
If you are ready to build your custom Sarasota or Longboat Key home, call the professionals at Lindahl Construction. We are committed to designing and building a home that you will be proud to call your own.