Luxurious actual property professionals reveal advertising secrets and techniques that offered Miami Seashore actual property for a record-breaking $75 million – RISMedia

After just four months on the market, a property on Star Island – a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida – has sold for $75,000,000. As of press time, that figure set a record as the highest priced sale in Miami real estate history.

Located at 8 Star Island Drive, the waterfront mansion sits on nearly five acres on the ultra-exclusive Star Island, an artificial island connected by a causeway. Celebrities who have called home the tiny island of about 30 properties include: Sean “Diddy” Combs, Emilio and Gloria Estefan, Rosie O’Donnell and Shaquille O’Neal.

However, this record-breaking home is unique as it is perfectly positioned on the island to offer unobstructed views of the Miami skyline. Named after the seller — Lourdes Sanjenis, whose late husband purchased the property in 1987 for just $1.4 million — the 20,000-square-foot Mediterranean mansion was dubbed “Villa Lourdes” and boasts about 100 feet of waterfront space.

OdySierra

The property was marketed by REALTOR® Associate Elizabeth Lima of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices (BHHS) Florida Realty. She credits her managing broker, Odalys “Ody” Sierra, and BHHS’ strategic luxury marketing approach for making the sale happen.

We recently had the opportunity to discuss this historic sale with Sierra. Here, she dives deep into her and Lima’s strategy for selling the home, and how other real estate professionals can follow in her footsteps:

Elizabeth Lima

Can you tell us how you and Elizabeth secured this entry?

Elizabeth has a long-standing relationship with the former owner of the house. She built on that relationship and we reassured the owner that we were the right brand to strategically market a property of this type. I had the experience of helping out as a Managing Broker.

The owner was loyal to our brand and we wanted to target a very specific market. Sales in Miami were insane, and we had to act if we were to hit that number.

Can you explain your strategy for marketing this property?

We used BHHS’s Luxury Collection Marketing Program, The Wall Street Journal and for text that we used in brochures and the MLS, we worked with the duPont Registry. Much of the marketing stopped because it was signed so quickly. The house was actually under contract when it was featured in the Wall Street Journal and the duPont Register.

We’ve also sent out beautiful, personalized mailers to a targeted list of luxury buyers in the area. These were detailed mailers designed to look like high quality wedding invitations. We started calling luxury agents and sending them photos; everything was very direct. Who wants to buy a home for almost $80 million? With this strategy, we had four substantial offers within days of listing the property.

How do you set a marketing budget for a property like this?

BHHS Luxury Collection pays for all marketing; Agents and sellers pay nothing. This home was special, so in addition to the normal marketing that The Luxury Collection does, we also gave the property a cover and a feature on the duPont Register, as well as a press release. We have not provided a budget for this property. We have chosen to pay for everything we need to reach these luxury buyers.

What did you do differently when listing and displaying this property?

We focused a lot on the location. The home was built in the 1990’s and was not updated, so the location on the island was what made it unique with views of downtown Miami. The location was the focus of the entire copy. Obviously we didn’t have an open house…everything was very private.

At the request of the previous owner, prospective buyers who viewed the property were not allowed to take photos, had to sign a non-disclosure agreement and provide proof of financing. And when we did showings, we tried to schedule them later in the day and spend a lot of time outside so shoppers could catch the incredible sunset.

Four months is exceptionally quick to sell a house like this. Do you attribute this solely to your comprehensive marketing plan and an extremely hot market?

Yes, how hot the market is and how low inventory is I would put it down to. We were also very strategic in planning before going live in MLS. We knew exactly who we would be targeting once the listing went live. We called these guys right after the home game hit MLS and had appointments for screenings that same week.

What advice would you give to other real estate professionals who may be trying to delve into the luxury market?

I think the best way to answer that is to tell you how Elizabeth got into the luxury market, as this sale was the first she’s handled on this scale. About four years ago, the owner of this house told Elizabeth that if she bought a house to downsize, she would give her this lot.

Elizabeth told me this during a vision board meeting, and after that conversation, she began regularly printing out price tag lists in excess of $20 million and putting her name above the agent’s name. She started getting cold feet when it came time to actually list the house, but I told her that if she backed down, she would be doing the seller an injustice.

I told her we would sell it together but she needed to do some research first and reach those luxury buyers in advance. She also created a replica MLS listing of the property, which she is adding to her vision board for inspiration.

The importance of a strong brand and the tools and resources available through that brand are also key to getting the right support when representing luxury offerings, Sierra noted, adding that the two also recognize BHHS for its brand reputation in the luxury market.

Listed by: Elizabeth Lima, REALTOR® Associate at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty

Sold for: $75,000,000

Photos from: Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Realty

Jameson Doris is the Social Media/Blogs Editor at RISMedia. Email him your real estate news ideas at [email protected].