Luxury real estate marketing asks more of everything an agent already does. The photos have to match the home, the film has to feel like the home, the listing page has to read like the home is the only one that matters, and all of it has to reach buyers who may live far away. It also asks for restraint: some sellers want the world to see their home, and some want almost no one to know it is for sale.
Marketing For Realtor is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work.
What changes at the high end
| Part | What a luxury listing needs |
|---|---|
| Photography | A full professional shoot, interiors and exteriors, with twilight shots where the home earns them |
| Film | A cinematic tour, short cuts for social, and aerial shots where they show something real |
| Listing page | A page of its own on your site, with the full gallery, the film and the story of the home |
| A brochure or book that matches the home, for showings and for the seller | |
| Reach | Ads and outreach beyond the local area, to where the likely buyers live |
| Privacy | A plan agreed with the seller for what is shown, where and when |
Seller privacy
Some high-end sellers want discretion. Agree in writing what can be shown: which rooms, whether the address appears, whether the home goes on social media, whether people must confirm their interest before a showing. Put away personal photos, art with names and anything that shows the family’s routines before the shoot.
Reaching buyers beyond your area
Buyers of high-end homes may live in other cities or other states. Ads can reach them: Google’s location targeting, for example, lets an ad run in a country, a city or a radius, and its broad setting reaches people in, or showing interest in, the places you target. Your own site matters as much: a strong listing page and area pages for the communities you sell give out-of-town buyers somewhere to learn before they call.
Fair Housing still applies
The Fair Housing advertising rule bans housing ads that indicate a preference, limitation or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, at any price, and its examples include selecting media or locations for ads that deny groups information about housing. Describe the home and the place, and ask your broker or a lawyer about audience settings.
Your brand at this level
At the high end, sellers choose an agent partly on how that agent presents other homes. Your own listing pages, your film, your print and your branding are your pitch. Keep them consistent and keep them current.
Area pages for the communities you sell
Write a page for each community you sell in that says something real: the homes, the setting, the streets buyers ask about. Google’s spam policies treat many near-identical place pages as doorway abuse, so build fewer, better pages. The real estate SEO page covers how.
Partners and endorsements
Luxury marketing often involves partners: designers, stagers, publications, creators. If anyone is paid or given something to feature a listing, the FTC says the connection must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. Your state’s license-law advertising rules also apply; ask your broker what they require.
What to ask a luxury real estate marketing agency
- Who shoots the photos and film, and can I see their work?
- Will each listing have its own page on my site?
- How will you reach buyers outside my area, and how will I see what it produced?
- How do you handle a seller who wants privacy?
- Who owns the photos and film afterward?
Want marketing that matches the homes you list? Get a written proposal.
Questions agents ask
What makes luxury real estate marketing different?
Higher presentation standards, more attention to seller privacy and a wider search for buyers, often beyond the local area. The rules on housing ads are the same at every price.
Should a luxury listing have its own website?
A page of its own on your site often does the job and builds your site at the same time. Ask what a separate site would add and who would own it.
Can I market a home quietly?
Yes, by agreement with the seller. Set out in writing what is shown, where and to whom, and follow your brokerage’s and your MLS’s rules.
Does this site market luxury homes?
No. Marketing For Realtor is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work.
Request a proposal