How to become a luxury real estate agent

Many newly licensed and experienced agents are drawn to the allure of selling luxury homes. Reality TV makes selling luxury real estate look sexy and glamorous, plus there’s the appeal of a larger paycheck. While it certainly can be all those things, breaking into the luxury market and becoming a luxury real estate agent takes effort and intentional action. If selling luxury homes is your goal, follow our tips to learn how to do it successfully in your market.

1. Go where your prospective luxury clients are

Real estate is a relationship business, and most clients hire agents they know personally or are referred to by someone they know. If you’re looking to break into the luxury market, the best first step is to start networking and meeting people who own luxury properties. There are a few ways to do this, practically:

• Host open houses in luxury neighborhoods
• Join the local chamber of commerce in the high-end town you wish to do business in and start attending events
• Build strategic partnerships with other professionals who serve your ideal luxury client (think: high net worth financial advisors and estate planning attorneys)
• Buy a membership to the local country club, attend upscale charity events, volunteer on non-profit boards with influential board members.

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2. Master your craft

One of the major differences in working with luxury real estate clients is that they tend to have more real estate experience than your average first-time buyer or seller. Many will have bought and sold multiple properties over the years and will come to the transaction with certain expectations of how their agent will handle things.

For that reason, you will want to be sure you master your craft. Become the hyper-local expert by checking your MLS for updates daily, keep up to date on any policy or forms changes happening in your market and be aware of anything that would affect your local economy, such as large companies moving in or out of the area. This will instill a sense of confidence in your real estate prospects, showing them that you know what you’re doing and they should hire you to sell their luxury home.

3. Elevate your customer’s experience

Given that your luxury real estate client has likely bought and sold homes before, consider how you can elevate their customer experience to exceed their expectations. In the Keller Williams luxury community, this is known as “surprise and delight”: a flower delivery after a signed contract or a hand-poured custom candle sent to a prospect’s home, for instance.

Aside from luxury gifts like that, elevate the client experience throughout the entire process. Here are some examples:

• Hire a professional photographer to provide drone photos and video, 3D floorplans and a video walkthrough of your high-end listings
• Enlist a driver to escort you and your luxury buyers to your showings
• Create a custom website for each of your luxury listings
• Treat your clients to lunch during property tour days

These details create an overall luxury experience for your clients and will help you win more high-end business. For your custom websites, check out Agent Image. They make it easy to create property-specific websites for your luxury listings.

4. Use polished branding and marketing

While we know intellectually that a real estate agent’s font choice on their website has no correlation to their skills as an agent, the reality is that branding and marketing matter. Make sure your fonts and colors, the words you use, your headshots and lifestyle photos all convey a polished, high-end look to your prospects. Generally, darker colors and modern fonts look more sophisticated. Stick with a minimal color scheme, avoiding too many different colors. I like black and gold – it has a Coco Chanel vibe.

Keep your branding consistent across all platforms, including your social media, website, business cards, yard signs, listing brochures and any other marketing pieces you publish. Choose a brand style that looks and feels luxurious.

If you need help, check out Coffee and Contracts for high-end templates you can use on your social media platforms. This will save you a lot of time creating your media content each week, plus there’s a suite of other products and templates for you, including marketing guides, lead magnets, customer checklists, email templates, flyers and mailers!

5. Learn from successful luxury real estate agents

In your journey to becoming a luxury real estate agent, learn from those who’ve come before you. Most successful agents are happy to share (at least some of) their secrets with newer agents looking to break into the luxury market. Here are some practical tips on how to go about this:

• Listen to podcasts where top luxury agents are interviewed
• Invite top luxury agents to your office for lunch and ask if they will let you shadow them
• Offer to host open houses for local luxury agents
• Attend real estate conferences, specifically the sessions about selling luxury real estate

Another potential benefit of networking with top luxury agents is the possibility of either doing a deal together or receiving a referral. Successful agents are busy, and if they have a lead they don’t have time for or simply choose not to work, they may just send it over to you for a referral fee!

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6. Prospect high-end expired and cancelled listings

Going after expired and cancelled listings is a great way to concentrate your efforts on homeowners who want to sell. They already listed their home for sale, and for whatever reason (usually price, but not always), it didn’t sell. Once the listing expires or is cancelled, it’s fair game, and you can reach out to the homeowner directly. Prospecting high-end expired and cancelled listings can seem intimidating to some agents, but keep in mind: they’re just humans like you.

They want to move. They need your help. You can try calling, sending a letter or even showing up at their door. When they answer, start a conversation by asking if they still want to sell or if they’ve changed their mind. You never know where the conversation will lead.

7. Present yourself as a luxury agent

No, you do not need to go buy a new wardrobe or a brand new car. However, it is important to present yourself as a luxury agent. How? Keep your car clean, wear clothes that you feel comfortable in and that fit properly and don’t skimp on personal hygiene.

A high-end presentation is more than just cars and clothes, though. It’s also your confidence, your ability to stay calm under stress, your habit of arriving early to meetings, the words you use, etc. Have you ever noticed that at certain restaurants, servers are trained to say “my pleasure” instead of “you’re welcome”? That’s intentional; it elevates the presentation.

Pro Tip

Style tip from my days working at Neiman Marcus: if you have just one luxury accessory, like a nice purse or a great pair of shoes, people will assume your entire outfit is designer.

8. Don’t be afraid to co-list luxury properties

In many markets, co-listing is not common; however, in luxury real estate, we see it more often. Bringing in another agent, especially one with more experience selling luxury homes, can help you win the listing. It can also be a fantastic way to learn the subtle extras and nuances of the luxury market. Until you have a portfolio of your own high-end listings you’ve sold, consider co-listing properties to build your resume and improve your expertise.

The full picture

Becoming a luxury real estate agent doesn’t happen overnight, yet it can certainly be done by following the tips above. Improve your skills as an agent, grow your network, position yourself as a luxury specialist and go find the high-end clients you’d like to work for. You’ve got this!

About Ashley Harwood

Ashley Harwood began her real estate career in 2013 and built a six-figure business as a solo agent before launching Move Over Extroverts in 2018. She developed training materials, classes, and coaching programs for her fellow introverts. Beginning in 2020, Ashley served as Director of Agent Growth for three Keller Williams offices in the Boston metro area. She’s now the Lead Listing agent for the Fleet Homes team in Massachusetts and a regular contributor to Vetted by HousingWire. She created The Quiet Success curriculum and has taught thousands of real estate agents nationwide. She has also been a guest speaker at top industry events and has been named a leading real estate coach by prominent industry publications.

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