Who wouldn’t want to work on a million-plus deal? It’s certainly a nice feather in any agent’s cap, and it’s a helpful boost to one’s annual sales numbers, especially in a year that’s slowing down like 2020 is right now.

But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. High-end clients are usually more demanding, and the market has been softening. Indeed, some agents working with high-net-worth sellers might see the COVID-19 pandemic as adding insult to injury. While the luxury market is by no means a monoculture, high-end properties overall were already spending more time on the market than they had in previous years, and prices appeared to be dropping off.

That point of view is borne out in our survey results. Half of our readers say luxury deals are harder to put together than those in the market-rate range. And if the responses to our question about the most interesting marketing tactics our readers have seen for luxury properties are any indication, creativity is an important strength to develop as well.

However, the most important amenity to luxury buyers, according to our readers, is location. And we’re all lucky enough to be stuck in beautiful Chicagoland, so there’s something to be said for good taste in that regard.

I encourage you to check in with the brokers in our cover story, who are taking a longer view on the luxury market. They’ve spent years putting in the extra time, effort and money to make high-end sellers happy. They understand that they have to be at the top of their game to win over clients in the market for luxury living, and they’re doubling down in this time of crisis. You can learn from them no matter what price range you serve. And I’m hoping you can teach me a thing or two as well. Reach out to me anytime at meg.white@agentpublishing.com to share your unique expertise, and stay safe out there.