This was an private sale for returning clients for whom I've handled several transactions for both commercial and residential properties. 602 Las Lomas resides in the heart of Westlake's most coveted areas (Westlake Hills) in the Las Lomas subdivision. The property sold off market having gone under contract within 3 weeks of the commencement of marketing efforts to an established luxury buyer network including local, regional and national luxury agents operating at the top of their competitive markets.
Properties in luxury and 'ultra luxury' neighborhoods' such as Las Lomas in Westlake Hills are highly sought after. They require not only property and market knowledge, but also a high level of skill and hyper focus on correctly determining value and pricing for a property of this class in an exclusive neighborhood where most homes are discreetly sold off market. Luxury properties are atypical in the sense that while they have common characteristics that influence their market value such as size, age, condition and location, etc., they also have additional considerations including architectural design, luxury finishes, features and amenities that typically come together to form the perspective of not only sellers and prospective buyers, but also representative agents on both sides. There are however, other meaningful factors that must be considered.
Luxury homes are unique in their own way, unlike standard, repeatable design builds that make up subdivisions across the residential market, luxury properties are highly customized and usually representative of the original owner or current owner's taste, style and preferences and when purchased by the next owner, are usually modified accordingly. Affordability or lack of resources are not a common considerations in these situations.
This is important to note because it provides perspective on how much weight to assign the common elements mentioned above but also identifies the need to look beyond these elements to additional data points and correlation for a deeper and more thorough understanding of a property's true value. A data driven analysis is also used to ensure the appropriate value is being recognized. While the use of the core characteristics of residential properties will always have a place in price determination, luxury properties in exclusive neighborhoods demand additional viewpoints and evaluation of additional factors to ensure the properties complete story is considered for a true understanding of the properties position in the market. This requires a unique perspective and demands the additional effort beyond the traditional, 'local comparable sales and elegant presentation to the market' approach.
The strategy outlined above achieved the seller's desired result which was a timely sale for maximum value which wound up achieving over $500,000 more than one of the buyer lender's appraised values as well as several other experienced buyer's agents/brokers opinion of price. It also sold for considerably more than some of the most recent homes sold with similar customary characteristics despite 602 Las Lomas being in its original condition (1995 build).
If you'd like to get a better understanding of the above transaction and methods outlined here, I'm happy to meet with you and learn about your goals and objectives and share any information I can to help you make the best decision for you, your family and or business. No pressure, no sales pitch, no aggressive solicitation, just an honest conversation to try and add value while meeting good people.
