With its incredible year-round sunshine and access to unspoiled beaches, it comes as no surprise that Central Florida is considered one of the most desirable locations for families looking for luxury homes in the United States.
Whether you’re considering retiring somewhere near the ocean or looking forward to exploring the many theme parks and popular attractions in the Sunshine State, Central Florida is a tropical playground that provides an unparalleled style of living.
Luxury homes in Central Florida range from state-of-the-art mansions to upscale waterfront homes in prestigious gated communities with world-class amenities.
Those who want to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle in a subtropical paradise can choose to live in Florida’s Lake Mary, which is dubbed the City of Lakes.
The perks of living in Lake Mary, FL
The excellent quality of life in Lake Mary allowed it to hold the No. 4 spot in the list “Top 100 Best Places to Live” by CNN’s Money Magazine.
The list cited Lake Mary as one of the top 10 Great American Towns in the United States for having “everything any family could want – economic opportunity, good schools, safe streets, things to do, and a sense of community.”
Lake Mary bested over 2,800 cities in the US in factors such as housing, education, health, and employment.
Family Circle Magazine also selected Lake Mary as one of the best towns for families. According to the publication, the communities were chosen for their “stellar schools, affordable housing, and giving spirit.”
Located half an hour north of Orlando, Lake Mary is also the perfect base for those who want to explore SeaWorld, Disney World, and Universal Studios Orlando. On the other hand, frequent fliers will be pleased to know that Lake Mary is in close proximity to the Orlando International Airport as well as the Orlando-Sanford International Airport.
Residents are just as lucky to have access to the schools in Seminole County, where Lake Mary is located. Their public schools are known for being one of the highest rated in the United States.
With options ranging from beaches to state parks to theme parks to shopping hubs and schools that are second to none, there’s a lot to love about Lake Mary in Central Florida.
Imagine soaking up the sun on world-famous beaches and enjoying the warm weather all year round. You can end each day driving along streets lined with palm trees until you reach your dream Lake Mary luxury home.
Lake Mary options for luxury homebuyers
There are plenty of options for luxury homebuyers who are interested in settling down and investing in Lake Mary real estate. Take your pick from high-end townhomes to lakefront houses to private mansions in exclusive gated communities. There are also retirement homes that champion lakeside living.
The Timacuan Golf Club in Lake Mary is known for being one of the top golf courses in Florida. There are some premium houses in this community that provide an impressive view of the 18-hole golf course.
Boasting of a wide variety of luxury apartments, upscale condominiums, and private waterfront houses, Lake Mary offers small-town charm coupled with accessible urban amenities.
According to bestplaces.net, home appreciation in Lake Mary is up 6.3% in the last 12 months.
By purchasing a Lake Mary luxury home, you will take advantage of the fact that Florida is one of the few states with no state income tax.
Join the many celebrities, professional athletes, and pop stars who own luxury homes in Central Florida.
Key secrets to selling luxury homes in Central Florida
If you’re selling a luxury home in Lake Mary, FL, it is important to attract your target buyers, namely high-net-worth individuals. Follow these luxury home selling tips to attract affluent clients searching for their dream home:
Secret No. 1
Know your buyer
Wealthy buyers have several expectations for a luxury home, especially if they are going to pay top dollar for it.
Some put a premium on a magnificent view while others value privacy. Getting to know the desires and aspirations of your target buyer will allow you to tap effectively into the luxury real estate market.
The preferences of affluent buyers were explored extensively in a global luxury report released in February 2020. Among the key findings were:
- Wellness-focused real estate leads among younger, affluent homebuyers. They want homes that focus on their health and well-being, which they define as feeling “better rested,” achieving a “happier state of mind,” as well as “having more energy,” and “increasing their mental alertness.” US luxury builders have been following suit, spending $52.5 billion to build what’s now called “eco-sensitive” homes. In practical terms, this means dwellings with filtered air, improved lighting, spa-like environments, home gyms, and energy-efficient systems.
- Luxury homebuyers want move-in ready properties with top-of-the-line features, especially amongst condo buyers.
- Smart home technology comes with moving into a turnkey home. This includes biometric authorization and smart locks as well as video surveillance cameras that allow remote viewing on a smartphone. Voice and touch-enabled home automation are pluses, too. Not only should smart homes encompass security and touchless, wireless features, the ideal is to have all these technologies work together seamlessly.
- Outdoor living spaces are a necessity for 72% of luxury homebuyers.
- Home offices are among the top must-haves, too.
- Houses with eco-friendly features are also popular among luxury homebuyers in certain parts of the US. Green homes and energy-efficient sustainable structures are important to modern homeowners who make a conscious effort to reduce their carbon footprint. Eco-friendly features can include the use of sustainable and locally sourced materials and solar panels.
Don’t be surprised if some buyers are accompanied by consultants such as their lawyers and accountants who will help them decide if the luxury home is worth the investment.
Secret No. 2
Remember that first impressions last
The market for high-end homes has a narrow buyer pool. Enhance the exclusive air of your luxury home by showing your home by appointment only – with potential buyers duly vetted by you and your broker.
To amplify the feeling among buyers that securing an invite to walk through your property is a privilege, dazzle them with curb appeal. Allow their initial awe at what they see on the outside sustain them when they check out the rest of the house.
Prospective homebuyers could also make snap decisions depending on what they see on the outside.
The aesthetic appearance of the luxury home can be a deal breaker for sophisticated buyers, which is why it is crucial to pay attention to your home’s exterior.
Make sure that the yard, the driveway, front entryway, sidewalk, windows, and exterior walls are all in good condition and epitomize luxury, if not opulence. When there are broken fixtures or signs of deterioration, buyers may perceive your home to be worth less than your asking price.
Indeed, by improving the exterior look of your house, you can boost the selling price of your home. In fact, houses with impressive curb appeal sell for an average of 7% more compared to similar houses with unattractive exteriors. This is the finding of a joint study by the University of Texas at Arlington and University of Alabama released in January 2020.
Secret No. 3
Stage your property
Staging is the act of decorating your home to make it more appealing to your intended market. This is achieved by rearranging the layout of your interiors, replacing one or several pieces of furniture and furnishings, and removing personal décor such as framed photographs, as well as personal mementos and souvenirs.
Staging also serves to emphasize the property’s strengths and minimize its weak points.
By staging the property, you can optimize the selling potential of your luxury home. It will also allow buyers to picture themselves living there and envision the property as their own.
Therefore, it pays to hire a professional real estate stager who specializes in luxury properties to make your home especially appealing to ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Staging helps houses sell more quickly and for more money, based on industry surveys.
In two of the most scrutinized areas of the home – the kitchen and the bathroom – a stager may opt to add touches that spell sumptuousness. In the kitchen, this may include shiny bowls of fruit or stalks of greenery, for example. In the bathroom, aromatic bath salts and light vanilla-scented candles will recreate the relaxing ambience of a spa.
If you’re still not convinced about the importance of staging, a 2018 survey conducted by Home Staging Resources, revealed that around 85% of staged homes sold for 6% to 25% more than unstaged homes.
A professional stager will know the best way to accentuate the assets of every room and make the space more impressive to potential buyers.
Secret No. 4
Let your photos and videos tell a story
Like a professional home stager, a real estate photographer will also take high-resolution photos and videos that will make your house look its best. A professional photographer will know how to play up the finest features of your property. They’ll photograph your house at various times of the day so your listing can show that your property looks as stunning at night as it does in the daytime. A real estate photographer will also employ drone photos and videos if they serve to enhance the sweep of your property.
Using these images in your listing can increase the desirability of your home and your chances of attracting the right kind of buyer.
In order to attract buyers who are on the hunt for luxury homes, it is advantageous for you to turn your luxury home into a brand. Beyond being a physical symbol, a brand is the manner in which your target market perceives you.
Don’t just sell the home; sell the lifestyle your property evokes:
- As a self-contained live-work-play environment if your property has pools, gyms, recreation rooms, and home offices
- With opportunities to sail and enjoy the great outdoors if the home is located in Mary Lake, FL, which is also known as the City of Lakes
- Or as the ideal place to raise a family, if your property falls under one of the best school districts in America, as homes in Mary Lake have been fortunate to be in
By turning your property into a brand, it becomes even more appealing to buyers who will want to buy not just the house but also the kind of lifestyle it promises.
Talk to your Realtor to develop a unique selling proposition for your luxury home that will differentiate it from the competition. Aside from highlighting the architecture of the property, highlight features that luxury buyers want such as smart security technology, eco-friendly materials, and home systems like HVAC air purification.
You can also tell a story that allows buyers to visualize how it would be like to live in your particular luxury home. For instance, you can entice clients to imagine having breakfast on a roof deck with a magnificent view and ending the day by relaxing in an infinity pool with a spa.
Secret No. 5
Use marketing channels that will reach your target buyer
Launch campaigns that will draw in high-end clientele and high-net-worth individuals seeking luxury homes.
Target exposure in upscale lifestyle print and digital publications that focus on real estate. Magazines and sites that focus on finance and luxury goods are excellent choices for reaching ultra-rich clientele.
Point out high-end features that can be major selling points. Focus on the exclusivity factor, particularly when it comes to the location of your property.
Highlighting top-end brands in the kitchen such as Miele, Wolf, Philippe Starck, Downsview, and Crestron to establish the prestige of the property.
Promote the amenities that will provide buyers with the luxurious lifestyle that they are seeking.
Emphasize the prime location in an exclusive or gated neighborhood and point out its proximity to golf courses, attractions, health clubs, restaurants, and other noteworthy destinations.
Luxury homeowners want to know that the key features of their properties are given the attention they deserve in the marketing collateral.
Secret No. 6
Work with a luxury real estate specialist
If you want to tap someone who is capable of selling the most expensive houses in your area, it would be in your best interest to work with an experienced Realtor in Lake Mary, FL.
Pick a real estate agent with an impeccable sales record, an excellent reputation, and proven expertise in selling luxury property. Your best bet is to go for someone local, someone knowledgeable in pricing and marketing luxury homes in your area.
How to choose the right luxury real estate agent
Here are the qualities that you should look for in a luxury real estate specialist:
- The right agent knows how to price luxury properties correctly
- The right agent should have proven track record
- The right agent should possess keen market knowledge
- The right agent should have the right luxury credentials
- Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS)
- Accredited Luxury Home Specialist (ALHS)
- Certified Luxury Real Estate Agent (CLRA)
- Global Elite Marketing Agent (GMA)
One of the most important factors in selling a luxury home involves accurate pricing. Setting the right price on a luxury property will help determine the length of time that it stays on the market.
Choose a Realtor who is knowledgeable about the factors that influence home values. Someone with a solid knowledge of pricing luxury property will know the dangers of setting a price that is too high or too low. Luxury homes that are overpriced run the risk of being left unsold on the market. Meanwhile, those that are priced too low shortchange the seller from their rightful profit.
Find an experienced Realtor who can balance the intrinsic worth of your home with current market conditions. It’s important to price the home correctly from the get go to avoid the perception that there’s something wrong with the property should it sit on the market longer than it should, or if there are frequent price adjustments.
The agent must readily explain and provide the market data to support the price range that they recommend for your luxury property.
It is crucial to pick a Realtor experienced in luxury real estate.
Look for someone well-connected, with an excellent reputation within the community and a proven track record. Look, too, to affiliations with luxury brokerage firms such as Sotheby’s International.
Check out their website, testimonials of past clients, and properties they sold recently. Request a Zoom call to gauge how suitable they are to the property you intend to sell. Inquire about their network – do they have a database of prospective high-end buyers or investors? Find out if they’ve sold homes in your neighborhood.
Choosing someone with solid credentials in dealing with the luxury home market will maximize your chances of a successful real estate sale.
Real estate agents offer invaluable knowledge that can help you sell your luxury home quickly and profitably.
It’s important to pick a real estate agent with in-depth knowledge of the community neighborhoods. They should be able to discuss the selling points of the location and apprise you of future development plans that could have an impact on real estate prices.
Take a look at their portfolio and request for references you can contact in order to vouch for the agent’s performance.
An experienced luxury home Realtor should have information about the available inventory in your area, the average days it takes to sell homes in your area, as well as the list-to-sales price ratio for your specific price range.
Ask your prospective agent to present current market conditions and point to comparable properties to establish an asking price for your luxury home listing.
Ideally, the real estate agent that you pick has certifications/designations such as:
Choose an exceptional real estate agent for luxury homes and the rest will fall into place. Your efforts to select the best Realtor will certainly pay off if you pick someone who can sell your home for more money in less time.
Sell your luxury Lake Mary, FL home with the Mel Bernstein Team
If you are interested in luxury homes for sale in Lake Mary, FL, Mel and Tina Bernstein have partnered with Premier | Sotheby’s International Realty to bring you the most exquisite luxury homes in Central Florida.
Mel and Tina Bernstein are recognized as one of Central Florida’s HOT100 agents, 5-star Realtors, and 2019 Real Estate Power Couple of the Year.
Among their multiple recent sales are the largest and most valuable resale of a property in Lake Mary’s Heathrow Woods, as well as the highest price per square foot sale in Sylvan Lake and Lake Brantley.
With more than 20 years of real estate experience, Mel and Tina Bernstein are the Premier | Sotheby’s International Realty luxury Realtors you would want to market your home for sale in Central Florida. They will execute a proactive selling strategy for your luxury property with minimal time on the market.
Call Mel and Tina Bernstein today at 407.810.4726 or email at mel(at)melbernsteinteam(dotted)com to start the selling process today.