Are you considering buying or selling your Park City luxury property but don't know where to start? You don't see what realtor or broker is good at their job, if they'll work hard for you, or if they even sell much real estate. Every website you see online has agents ranked with five stars, and all the agents are self-touting #1 in their market.
We've built HigmanRealEstateTeam.com entirely around attracting new clients by providing vital information. Below we offer advice on Tips to Find the Best Realtor to work on your behalf to get your property sold!
If you can buy or sell luxury real estate, your privacy, time, and property are extremely valuable. Yet, buying and selling luxury properties can be inefficient and time-consuming. No two real estate transactions are the same, and having experience on your side matters.
When selling a home in Park City or Deer Valley, you seek an agent who can ensure the property has appropriate marketing and the transaction is handled with care and expertise. In addition, this agent should advocate for you and help make a smooth and profitable transaction that delivers your needs.
If homes are selling quickly and there are enough buyers in the market, you may not want to sell your property off-market unless you have some privacy concerns. It could be argued that in a hot market, an agent that sells all their listings for over the asking price on the first day isn't doing their client the justice the service the seller deserves.
Finding any ol' agent is simple, but finding a great agent can be a bit more challenging. So while many agents are circling real estate social media posts like a starving shark that smells blood in the water, we take a different approach to be proactive to help Park City sellers and buyers get the best deal on their timeframe.
If you're considering buying a luxury property in Park City, is the agent willing to work hard for you to find those off-market deals? I think it's good for buyers to try to get an off-market property. If I work with a seller, that property will likely hit the Park City MLS. Still, suppose I'm working for a buyer. In that case, I send out letters, speak with other agents and brokers about what new listings they may have come to market, contact previous clients, and ensure you receive notifications of all the latest listings that meet your criteria. When looking over historical data, 20% of the buyers I worked with never had their property go on the MLS.
SIX TIPS FOR FINDING A GREAT LUXURY REALTOR IN PARK CITY
We'd love it if you spoke with us about being your Realtor in Park City. If not, here is a list of the TOP SIX items to research when selecting the right luxury Realtor.
1. Search Google, Bing, and other online real estate sites for reviews. Google Business pages offer the best-verified reviews, but other well-known real estate websites can have manufactured reviews. I've researched reviews in other markets where a particular site shows more reviews than the agent has sold.
2. Phone a friend. Even the online leads we work with have several friends in the area. For example, last year, we had a client's friend call their agent to ensure we were reputable; the buyers purchased a ski-in-ski-out condo in Deer Valley a week later. Call your friends and ask them if they know an agent with a track record with buyers and sellers.
3. Find a real estate specialist that knows your market. We refer clients to other agents if the property is out of our area of Summit and Wasatch county. I have a strong belief that other agents should do the same. If an agent is unfamiliar with the community, they are at an extreme disadvantage in negotiations and possibly marketing.
4. Interview the agent (this is where I would like you to call me). If you set an appointment and the agent is late, doesn't show up, or comes unprepared - DO NOT HIRE THEM.
5. Work with an agent that understands technology. In our Park City market, nearly 99% of buyers come from within the United States but from different areas of the country. You want an agent who understands where buyers come from and how to appropriately market the property to potential buyers. The most cost-effective way to do this is by using technology that has a laser focus on the most probable buyers.
6. Get past their fluff: Ask about how the agent manages their business and business values. Inquire about their marketing budget as well as where and how they market. How many properties have they listed for sale versus the number that did not sell? You can even ask what their biggest mistake was when selling real estate.
It's also important to know as a buyer or seller: What is the agent's escrow to the closing ratio? A seller's agent that doesn't sell their listings prices the properties too high to acquire the listing but then never sells it and underdelivers. The buyer's agent that doesn't close over 85% of the properties they put under contract pushes their client too hard in the sales process.
It is common for a seller to ask what an agent's sales price is compared to the listing price. As with other statics, this question can set the conversation up for half-truths as the sales price ratio can be manipulated. You'll want to ask how many price drops are typical before their listings sell.
You will want to find a Realtor that is respected and known by other Realtors. Typically agents knowing one another and trusting each other helps in negotiations. Agents work hard, but you want to find someone with the right mix of experience, hustle, and grit.
Buyers and sellers in a luxury market should understand that you will work with them during the process. Some of the larger real estate teams will do the dog-and-pony show, but you might never see the lead agent again because a junior agent or assistant will handle the transaction. This process creates an opportunity for a lower level of service than expected. You may be handed off during the process, and your transaction details may not be transferred to the next agent.
Luxury Tip for Buyers and Sellers: Know what you want from an agent and be prepared to discuss past experiences that went exceptionally well or didn't go well. Every luxury client we've ever worked with has bought and sold multiple properties and had different experiences with agents; we want to ensure you have the best experience.
LUXURY BUYER TIPS
With current market conditions, you will want to choose a buyer's agent that can honestly describe a property and not try to sell you on every luxury listing that hits the MLS. Make sure they have a way to video on the phone if you need to view a property virtually. Read The 8 Important Tips When Buying Luxury Properties.
You are searching for an agent in the market every day. This way, the agent is talking to sellers and other agents about potential listings that may be coming to market. If you're ready, willing, and able to buy a property, you want someone who is trying to find you the right fit before it hits the Park City MLS. This agent needs to be able to stay cool and calm under pressure to help you navigate in high stake negotiations.
LUXURY SELLER TIPS
Park City sellers should be supplied with a package that illustrates the home will be marketed. I'm a person who truly believes in marketing homes with online marketing, but it is also important to have tangible marketing. There is something to be said about the importance of having marketing you can touch, feel, and take with you. Do their luxury home marketing materials stand out from the rest, or will the sale of your property hang on the effectiveness of open houses?
Choose an agent with whom you feel a connection. For example, the person who buys your home is probably similar to you in taste, and you will want an agent that can highlight your property on showings excellently.
You want an agent with an extensive database of potential buyers for your luxury property. This database should have new buyers added daily and continually work. An agent with a database of potential buyers and sellers from ten years ago adds a fraction of the value of eager buyers looking for real estate in Park City.
Continually adding to a database allows the agent to showcase your property to people interested in buying real estate.
In the past year, we have added 1,772 people to our database, and your listing agent should be doing the same. This is how we have sold millions of dollars of real estate to different buyers in new developments before construction starts. It helped sell every Park City home and the condo we've listed for sale since 2015.
Most brokers will tell you they have a global reach and will be marketing your property worldwide. Not to say that global reach isn't necessary, but as I mentioned above, nearly 99% of the buyers in Park City come from within The United States. Ensure the Realtor focuses on the "feeder markets," an agent can't effectively market a single property to the entire world.
Coldwell Banker GlobalLuxury is a nationally well-known company with offices near The Canyons, Main Street, and Deer Valley. I believe the top three or four brokerages in town provide similar tools to their agents. In the meeting, ask what other means their brokerage doesn't supply are used to help get listings sold. You want an agent that separates themselves from the rest of the Realtors in your area.
LUXURY INVESTOR TIPS:
Park City luxury investors can find unique challenges if they don't find a good fit with an agent quickly. The luxury investor's representation needs to be discrete about their client's identity, or words of the client's identity will travel around town at the speed of light. Buying multiple properties can put the investor at an extreme disadvantage where the buyer will be left with the "take it or leave it" too early in the negotiation.
It would help if you found an agent that understands the economics of owning investment properties in Park City. In addition, look for an agent that can facilitate multiple transactions simultaneously and bring value to the transaction. This is why we have built a Park City Home Builder Service for Buyers that works well for real estate investments. You will quickly access a tried and tested luxury contractor and designer.
Tip for Any Park City Buyer or Seller:
Don't walk into a real estate transaction by yourself. You want to be represented by a Realtor with local knowledge. I work with the brightest people that frequently manage multimillion-dollar deals in their profession, but when it comes to real estate in Park City, they call us to market and negotiate on their behalf. This is what we do every week of the year.
We know what properties to compare to a specific property for values, how to implement extreme marketing for listings, how to keep the appropriate pace during negotiations, and even how other agents are likely to negotiate.
Park City Luxury Realtor Derrik Carlson has provided the advice above. Derrik specializes in luxury resort real estate and second homes in the neighborhoods of Park City and the Deer Valley Resort area.
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