• Many famous people want to sell their homes and don't want all the fanfare that goes along with it. If it doesn't sell for their asking price and they have to drop the price, this can bring public embarrassment.
  • You can't have an open house, you can't use yard signs, and you can't market online.
  • But you can throw a hell of a party and invite the right kind of potential buyers. Use your network so sell that house.

Imagine you just landed a deal to sell a multi-million dollar home, and your client said, “I don’t want everyone to know we’re selling.” Could you still sell that home?

Do you think this could never happen to you? Think again. Many famous people want to sell their homes and don’t want all the fanfare that goes along with it.

If it doesn’t sell for their asking price and they have to drop the price, this can bring public embarrassment. So not only does it happen, it happens more often than you might think.

If you’ve ever faced with this situation, your mind quickly scratches many of the traditional real-estate tactics off the list. First, you can’t put a sign in the yard.

Second, you can’t have an open house. And third, you can’t market the house online. In fact, you’re basically forbidden from marketing the home at all — at least in the traditional sense. So what are you going to do?

Some real estate agents would walk away from this client. They wouldn’t know what to do. But if you know a few simple tricks, you can sell this home quickly and discreetly. Here’s how:

It starts with who you know. A lot of the sales in luxury real estate get done through networking. You might have heard that it’s not always what you know, but who you know. Well, that’s true in luxury real estate.

Sometimes making a call to the right person can get the ball rolling quickly. You also have to remember that targeted marketing is more effective in this type of situation.

You can’t tell the world the house is for sale. But you can tell people in your target audience that you have a home for sale that they might be interested in.

Next, because you can’t have an open house to invite people in to see the home, you have to come up with another idea. One of the best ways to do just that is to throw a party.

This party would be a high-end event that’s invite-only. You would have to vet the invite list and make sure you had the right people coming to the party.

Some agents will get corporate sponsors for a big event. For instance, some companies that cater to high-end clients will go in on the party with you to advertise their products.

The goal of a party is not to do a hard sell while the party is going on. The goal is to make everyone attending the party want that house. It’s a soft sell. And staging the house so people desire it will open the door to quick sales.

Again, it’s all about who you know. There are many other secrets to selling a house discreetly — this is just a start.

Do you have any luxury secrets you employ in these situations? Please share in the comments section below.

Kevin M. Leonard is the founder of Luxury Agent and Valore Group. You can follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Email Kevin Leonard.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×