Ultra-luxury real estate—any single-family, condo, or townhome boasting a price tag of $10 million or more—was once a rarified marketplace in Sarasota. Few public listings ever cracked the eight-figure mark. Today, the city's $10M-plus housing is booming.
Thanks to rapid appreciation, boundary-pushing new construction, and demand for opulent homes overlooking Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, the area's lean supply of ultra-luxury properties is generating wide attention.
Unfortunately, for current owners seeking to capitalize on a lucrative and lively niche market, selling an ultra-luxury or so-called trophy home is not as simple as sticking a For Sale sign in the front yard.
One of the most challenging aspects of selling ultra-luxury residential homes is connecting with and engaging an extremely narrow audience of high-end buyers. While the marketing efforts with this buyer contingent follow the familiar territory of selling to a more modest price range, the approach requires personalization and persistence. And plenty of patience.
Your domestic buyer pool is not always enough when selling an ultra-luxury condo or house. Broadening your marketing reach to include international buyers will dramatically increase your odds of a sale. It will also add another unique and challenging aspect to your marketing efforts.
Below, we look at a few simple strategies that eliminate the hurdles around how to market ultra-luxury properties to international buyers.
Identify your target market
Foremost in attracting international buyers is understanding who they are and where they originate. Research is a crucial component that can reveal surprising data points or previously unseen opportunities.
For example, a large contingent of Florida's international buyers hail from South America. Buyers from Columbia, Argentina, and Brazil represented 22% of the state's foreign-based residential purchases, with a total dollar volume of $1.25 billion.
Further analysis reveals that Canadians are Florida's single biggest international buyer of residential real estate. They represent 21% of the purchases made and a dollar volume of $1.7 billion.
Recognizing who's buying what and where will narrow your marketing efforts sooner. You can then start tailoring your materials to those buyers most likely to respond to your efforts.
Look for lucrative outliers
From the example above, the research resulted in four viable buyer markets. Assume you want one more market to widen your reach. This is a good time to seek outliers in your data—markets or buyer groups that may present an under-the-radar opportunity to attract more buyers to your listing.
From the data provided, buyers from the United Kingdom don't crack the top five in the percentage of sales by country. They do boast the fifth-highest dollar volume at $265 million.
Yes, that's paltry compared to our original top four. However, the fact that U.K. buyers show a proclivity for investing in higher-priced properties is worth exploring. Connect with the right buyer at the right time, and you could close a deal far sooner than you imagined.
Leverage digital marketing tools
Arguably your most effective tactic for reaching an international audience is the one used to connect with your domestic audience—digital marketing. International buyers interested in Florida are accessing many of the same channels you know to market to local realtor websites, social media platforms, and listing aggregators.
But don't limit your property's presence to only the most basic listing sources. Broaden your reach and tap into national and international listing sites focusing solely on luxury and ultra-luxury properties. Ensure you infuse your online descriptions and property copy with appropriate keywords and invest in search engine optimization (SEO) to drive organic search results.
Build a strong and captivating brand
Regardless of the length of your marketing and sales process, one month or one year, build a strong brand around your ultra-luxury property. Start with professional, high-resolution photos that showcase your listing's top features—unique architectural features, coveted amenities, and the home's most vital rooms, including the kitchen, indoor and outdoor living spaces and the primary ensuite.
In prepping the property before taking photos or videos, stage the home per the image and lifestyle you want to portray (or what the property lends itself to). The staging should have a premium feel easily conveyed in your visual media but more impressive in person. Include virtual tours of the home and video of the house, immediate neighborhood and surrounding market.
As part of your marketing push, highlight the Sarasota lifestyle—sun-drenched beaches, warm gulf waters, thriving arts scene, world-class museums, a flourishing food and drink scene, high-end shopping and abundant outdoor activities. You can feature this both in copy and through your photos and videos. Give your presentation a subtle, personalized experience for overseas buyers by expanding foreign language options to include your property website and video narration.
Provide exceptional customer service.
When marketing such a high-profile home to distinct buyers introducing a customer service element can make a lasting impression. When a buyer first shows interest, tailor your communication to their individual needs. Keep legal experts close should the buyer require professional assistance for legal or financial concerns or have tax-related questions that could impact Florida in the home country.
Should a prospective buyer travel to Sarasota to tour the property and have the day's event well coordinated, including arranging transportation and making reservations at a well-regarded restaurant in the immediate area of the property, the property itself may indeed be impressive, but wealthy overseas buyers often respond well to extraordinary, memorable service.
Cultivate a network of partnerships
Finally, marketing real estate at any level is rarely a one-person show. Cultivate relationships locally and abroad to link potential international buyers to your multimillion-dollar luxury home in Sarasota.
Start with establishing a partnership with a local Sarasota real estate specializing in facilitating ultra-luxury home purchases and sales. Even better, should that same agent possess an established network that reaches international markets, specifically those countries where you've targeted most of your marketing efforts.
Develop additional relationships with international brokers and agents who coordinate deals for their clients in the U.S. Such associations raise your profile and help solidify your credibility as a viable overseas partner. It also places you closer to buyers actively seeking a home in the U.S.
A trusted real estate partner
Are you seeking a trusted team of real estate professionals to help position your ultra-luxury Southwest Florida home for a domestic or international market of high-end buyers? Or are you ready to make your own multi-million dollar investment and want guidance on where to find Sarasota's top luxury markets and trophy homes, including those properties for sale in Lido Key or luxury estates in Lakewood Ranch?
Contact The Fox Leiter Team today to start your home-selling or buying journey. Allow the team's experience and expertise to be your guide to Southwest Florida's stellar real estate market.
