In a volatile housing market, one niche segment has remained fairly strong—the ultraluxury segment.
While talking to realtors and industry insiders for our list of the most successful realtors of the past year (who we defined as making the biggest single-home sales in the last 12 months), we heard some great home-selling tales and got valuable tips about how to sell an astronomically-priced home.
It was all too good not to share.
JOSH ALTMAN: Experience is my best asset
Altman sold an 11-bedroom, 16-bathroom mansion on Beverly Park for $16.5 million.
The celebrity realtor, one of the stars of Bravo's hit Million Dollar Listings, scored the sixth-highest sale last year in Los Angeles County when this deal closed.
When pulling in such a mega-deal, Altman said his experience is his best asset.
"It's a strategy that you kind of just learn from doing lots of sales," he said, adding that realtors have to be on their "A-game" when dealing with high-end customers, because the customers are very smart and business-savvy and have lots of options.
Before joining the prestigious Hilton & Hyland firm, Altman invested in properties and began flipping homes about 10 years ago. From there he migrated to the finance side of real estate and eventually wound up on the agent side.
"The most important thing when showing these people houses is you've got to show them the value," he said.
EMILY BEARE: The luxury market is shifting from Wall Streeters to creative types
Beare sold a New York City cupola penthouse apartment for $13 million.
Beare got a once-in-a-career chance when she scored the opportunity to sell one of the five residential cupolas in the city.
"This was truly, truly a very unique property," she said.
That uniqueness of the apartment lent itself to an impressive sale. Beare never advertised the vacancy in the building, but people were still drawn to the listing because of how beautiful the building was.
Beare got her start in the industry after she was introduced to some South African developers who needed her help with a project. Through the project she met the CEO of CORE Group and her career took off.
During her time in the business, she has seen a shift in her clients.
"I think the luxury market is at least changing. It's changing with the times," she said, adding that more creative types are snapping up high-end real estate.
And one of those creative types brought her to tears. Beare had been trying to place an artist in a home for years but the right thing hadn't come along. So Beare started waking up earlier and earlier to check the latest listings and she finally found an apartment that had just hit the market.
It belonged to Elizabeth Murray, a woman her client greatly admired. Once Beare brought her client to the apartment, she said they both burst into tears because they knew they had finally found the right place.
RAYMOND BOLDUC: Use the property's strengths to entertain the crowd
Bolduc sold an eight-bedroom, nine-bathroom home on North Bay Road for $20 million.
When Bolduc wants to close a deal, he throws a party.
He hosts events at the homes he is selling as a way to advertise the properties and bring in potential buyers. In the case of the home on North Bay Road, he hosted a gala at the house for 500 people, complete with yachts and Rolls Royces.
At different properties, he has showcased artwork or other luxury commodities.
"It (the party) has to fit the profile of the house," he said.
After he earned his Master's in Boston, Bolduc said he bought a house and renovated it, giving him his first foray into the world of real estate.
He eventually moved to Florida to work with Sotheby's International Realty.
Throughout his career, he has worked with everyone from celebrities to international businessmen.
In particular, the sale on North Bay Road, which was ultimately bought by a Russian real estate developer, introduced him to clients from 10 different countries.
"So that was pretty exciting," he said of the sale.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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See Also:
- Meet The Most Successful Real Estate Agents Of The Year
- Dolce & Gabbana Officially Apologizes To Hong Kong For That Photo-Banning Incident
- 11 Facts About The World's Changing Appetite For Luxury Watches