October is Luxury Month on Inman. Inman Handbooks offer deep dives on luxury marketing and agent branding, luxury staging, referrals, and more. We’re thinking about what luxury means now, examining how the pandemic is reshaping the needs of luxury buyers, and talking to top luxury agents, all month long.
Pulse is a recurring column where we ask for readers’ takes on varying topics in a weekly survey and report back with our findings.
The field of luxury real estate is rife with all sorts of misconceptions and falsehoods. This world of high-end living is often associated with glitzy cars, a uniform comprised of designer garb and, well, everything else you’d see on Netflix’s docu-soap Selling Sunset.
For those outside of the industry wanting to get in, luxury real estate can seem intimidating, albeit for the wrong reasons. So, last week, we asked you, our readers, to chime in with their thoughts on the biggest myths about this sector of the industry.
As always, you didn’t disappoint. From incorrect assumptions about what’s expected of the luxury agent to generalizations about high-end buyers and sellers, here’s every myth you debunked:
- That people buying expensive houses do not care how much they spend.
- That you can relate to their lives.
- That they know what they are looking for, when in reality, it can be something completely different.
- That it’s even remotely close to what you see on Selling Sunset.
- Great question! How about “it’s glamorous.” Yes, the houses might be bigger or more expensive, but they have issues just like any house. One of my favorite social media posts was of an agent I know, all decked out, looking like a million bucks, holding a toilet plunger.
- You need to be wealthy to sell in the luxury market.
- People are people regardless of the price of their property. Some sellers have big egos to accompany their big equities. Don’t compromise your boundaries. A mansion properly priced is half sold.
- That you have to wear designer labels and drive fancy cars in order to work with luxury clients.
- It’s a myth that you need to have years of experience in the business in order to break into luxury.
What did we miss? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Editor’s note: These responses were given anonymously and, therefore, are not attributed to anyone specifically. Responses were also edited for grammar and clarity. Inman doesn’t endorse any specific method and regulations may vary from state to state.
