This beautiful luxury Mediterranean home almost hit the auction block. I’m going to tell you why it didn’t, and how it was transformed into a house that will knock your socks off.
But first, let’s talk about why there are so many luxury properties sitting on the market. Guess what? It’s not the price point. We have plenty of money in this city. It’s because no buyer wants to update, especially when their wallet can easily tolerate building a new home to their exact specifications.
I took a quick look at Realtor.com last night and saw so many properties over $3 million that had been sitting there for over a year that I lost count. Almost every single one had the same problems.
Buyers Want Ready-Made Luxury
Listen to me. Buyers will not update your property regardless of price point. They won’t paint it, and they won’t remove your heavy, expensive custom draperies. They will be distracted by your taste-specific artwork. The majority will be offended by your trophy animal heads. What they will do is walk away and tell their Realtor to show them something move-in ready.
If your property was built eight to 10 years ago, you have some work to do. If it was built 20 or 30 years ago, you have a lot of work to do. Styles change, tastes change, and buyers have zero time to deal with updates. So, fix it.
Or go to auction.
Auctions Aren’t Always Bad
Now that may not be a bad thing if you are cash poor or your home is in a trust, although I’m floored by any banker that does not do the math on properly preparing a home for market versus lowering the price millions of dollars. Yep, they do that.
This luxury Mediterranean is a perfect example of doing the exact right things to sell a home. Its’ because the investor listened to his Realtor. And that Realtor is one of the sharpest young men in the business today, Allie Beth Allman’s Alex Perry.
“When I walked into this luxury Mediterranean, I saw the bones of the home were great,” Perry said. “The grounds were incredible. I knew it could be transformed into a property our buyer base would love.”
Perry snagged it for an investor client before it went to auction. The great thing about building credibility with a client is that they not only trust you to have their best interests at heart. They also don’t need to monitor or second guess your efforts.
Trust is a great thing.
“We have the resources that can take care of a remodel quickly,” Perry said. “They took twelve weeks to do what most would take six months to complete.”
Perry tapped Daltxrealestate.com Approved Builder Hudson Construction Group and Pemberton Interiors to transform this luxury Mediterranean.
You can see from the before and after photos that so much of this was truly simple. Paint cures almost all ills, and you can never go wrong with white. Before you say it’s boring, tell a builder that. You must follow builder trends if you want buyers.
Two things that created the most impact, and that people always consider they cannot afford (they can) were changing out the heavily scrolled ironwork staircase for a fresh modern approach and redesigning the fireplaces. No one likes the curly ironwork any longer, so the front door was replaced as well.
The one item every stager in the universe will advise is painting wood-stained kitchens. This is one of the most cost-effective updates at any price point. The ROI is off the charts. Show these photos of the before and after on this luxury Mediterranean kitchen to any reluctant client. If they don’t get it, walk away because they are going to be more trouble than they are worth.
Perry now had a gorgeous 9,676-square-foot beauty, fully updated and ready to go, but there was one more element to add. People generally are visually challenged to see any price point home as their own if they cannot figure out where their furniture should be placed. Perry called in George Bass of George Bass Stage & Design.
“More than 50 percent of homeowners in the Metroplex could do some creative upgrades on their homes, and they would be worth a lot more on today’s market,” Bass said. “Hudson Construction Group hit the nail on the head. They made the property relevant for today’s buyer and competitive with new construction. Our challenge was to keep up with the makeover!”
Bass saw the property about three weeks before completion, which is not a lot of time to pull off a custom staging because they require some custom pieces. Bass used Peninsula and had Uphold Designs do custom work. “Paco Gomez is the next star when it comes to upholstery,” Bass said. “He has an incredible sense of style.” Accessories came from Bryan Eggert at Freedom Design and art from the Keith Johnson and Robert Koerth Galleries.
“The property location and structure are wonderful,” Bass said. It’s an incredible house for entertaining but also very secluded and private. We wanted to create an easy California lifestyle in the heart of Texas, and this came together seamlessly because it’s a wonderful house. It was a joy to work on and to have such creative freedom.”
If you’d like to see this luxury Mediterranean at 4525 Catina Lane give Perry a call. At $4.49 million, we think this one will move fast!
Karen Eubank is the owner of Eubank Staging and Design. She has been an award-winning professional home stager and writer for over 25 years. Karen teaches the popular Staging to Sell class and is the creator of the online course, The Beginners Guide to Buying Wholesale. Her love of all dogs, international travel, good chocolate, great champagne, and historic homes knows no bounds. Her father was a spy, so she keeps secrets very well!
