Luxury Insights

How To Sell in Just 45 Days as Luxury Market Slows

"Why is my luxury property listing not selling?" 

It is very likely that your luxury real estate market is slowing down, especially if you're in New York, San Francisco, Miami, Aspen, Hong Kong or London. Asking prices are falling, average days on market are climbing. Case and point…

• 24% Increase - Days on Market, Manhattan¹
• 19% Decrease - List vs. Sold Price²
• 30% Increase - Days on Market, California³

Turbulence in overseas stock markets, falling currency values, low oil prices and varying economic outlooks have all impacted the demand for high-end mansions, penthouses and vacation properties around the world. During the Institute’s 2016 Leaders in Luxury event, Maverick Commins, recipient of the Listing Achievement Award, examined an emerging paradigm shift within the luxury market to combat this slowdown.

“Once reserved for rare artwork (Monet nets record breaking sale for $81.4 Million at Christie’s auction) and classic cars, luxury real estate auctions are now an integral tool for the market’s top agents,” said Mr. Commins, CEO of Supreme Auctions^®. “Agents that do not explore this process not only lose their luxury listings that continue to sit, but miss opportunities altogether where agents offer a luxury auction option upfront as a differentiator.”

Christie’s Record Breaking $81.4 Million Monet

We’re hearing directly from owners who are attracted to an auction’s accelerated sales process, which reduces holding costs and eliminates the uncertainty of when their home will sell. Qualified buyers are drawn to the opportunity, knowing they can bid at their price with the certainty that the property will sell. Auctions produce results, while agents retain their full commission at the close of escrow (with Supreme).

If you have a luxury property that is not selling, or you want to add another tool to differentiate yourself from the growing competition, we invite you t0 explore the accelerated marketing method of a luxury real estate auction. Here's where you should start:

1. Search for companies with a stellar reputation, cutting edge marketing programs and a successful track record.
   
   
2. Ask for references and make your selection based on facts, integrity, trust, experience, and results.
   
   
3. Do your due diligence, as not all auction companies are the same.

The auction process has been around for centuries but the methods of marketing a luxury real estate auction are changing at a rapid pace. Don’t miss this growing paradigm shift and learn how the messaging and benefits of an accelerated sales process can offset a slowdown within the luxury real estate market.

 

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As a Member of the Institute working in the top tier of the luxury market, Supreme Auctions would like to offer you a complimentary property consultation, including a detailed luxury real estate auction orientation. Supreme-Auctions, the industry’s leading auction firm, offers the most current systems, resources and experience to make sure your real estate auction experience is an exceptional one.

Call (866) 929-2243 or visit www.supreme-auctions.com today for your complimentary copy of “The Ultimate Guide To the Luxury Auction Process.”

 

About Supreme Auctions

Supreme Auctions is a leader in luxury real estate property auctions, providing proprietary accelerated marketing services unique to each distinctive property represented and sold. With 15 offices across the United States including Hawaii and an office in Costa Rica and London, UK, the company has a dedicated team of auction marketing professionals that provide decades of expertise, integrity, and knowledge. Supreme Auctions provides the highest level of service to both sellers and buyers of multimillion-dollar luxury properties by combining experience with the most current technology and marketing resources. The company offers sellers and luxury brokerages nationwide the appropriate auction strategy to ideally suit each exclusive property, providing services that are unparalleled in the real estate auction industry.

Maverick Commins Wins Listing Achievement Award

1. Properties $4+ Million, 2016 vs. 2015 – Olshan Realty Inc.
2. 2015 Luxury Sales – survey of top sales in 100 luxury markets worldwide
3. $3+ million, Q1 16 vs. 15, California Association of Realtors in Los Angeles

Global Wealth Forecast: New Money, Same Tastes

The next decade and beyond will see many changes in who holds the world’s wealth, how they acquire it, and what they do with it.

Old Money

Individuals who have inherited their wealth favor investing their money in luxury residential real estate. According to the recent Decades of Wealth report by Wealth-X, ultra-high-net-worth individuals with inherited wealth hold 17% of their wealth in high-end residential real estate. This figure is only 9% for self-made UHNWIs. This trend is likely to continue as Baby Boomers age and pass their wealth on to younger generations. In the next decade alone, global UHNW individuals will bequeath $4.1 trillion in wealth to the next generation. An estimated 30% of this projected wealth transfer will be in liquid assets.

The number and nationality of individuals with inherited wealth is shifting. In North America and Western Europe, for example, the past decade has seen a decline in the number of wealthy individuals with “old money.” The opposite trend can be observed in developing nations where most of the wealth is brand new: the first big wave of new wealth is being passed down to the next generation.

New Money

According to the World Wealth Report, the global HNWI population grew by 6.7% in 2014 and the group’s total wealth grew by 7.2%, resulting in an estimated HNWI population of 14.6 million.

• The HNWI population in China grew by 17% in 2014. China continues to experience economic prosperity and a growing upper economic class, the older generation of which is now passing its wealth on to the next generation and investing in foreign economies.
• Over the past year, the number of millionaires in India grew by 27% and their HNWI population grew by 26% in 2014. According to Wealth-X, “Aligned to this wealth growth is an equally substantial increase in luxury consumption.”
• African nations. As entrepreneurial and tech-centric countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda continue to experience increased economic prosperity and innovation, they are catching the attention of foreign investors—particularly wealthy Chinese nationals. Wealth-X projects that Africa’s UHNW population will quadruple by 2040.

Globalized Taste

In their Decades of Wealth report, Wealth-X wrote, “China is often cited as a market that has surprised observers with the speed of its move from conspicuous consumption to careful, tasteful purchasing.” With the globalization of media and entertainment—and, as a result, trends and lifestyles—the world’s new wealthy are expected to follow in China’s footsteps by becoming discerning consumers with refined tastes—including a taste for luxury residential real estate. Roughly 80% of the world’s UHNW population own 2 or more residences, and it is becoming increasingly popular for UHNW individuals to invest in unique and exotic luxury homes outside of their home country. The United States remains the most popular destination for wealthy individuals seeking a place to invest in real estate

Luxury Bathroom Trends: TOTO Washlet

Even in the most extravagant homes, in which no expense is spared to make the homeowner and their guests feel pampered, Americans have historically deprived themselves of the ultimate in household luxury: heated, remote-controlled toilet seats with a built-in bidet feature. While the concept may seem too bizarre (or too indelicate) to those with American sensibilities, it is estimated that roughly 76% of households in Japan have such a technologically advanced toilet seat. In fact, the Japanese government tracks the popularity of electronic bidet seats as an indicator of economic prosperity. This luxury bathroom accessory is also used widely throughout Asia and the Middle East, and is even disrupting the market for traditional bidets in Western Europe. Although their use in the United States has mostly been limited to luxury hotels and a small cult following, the electronic bidet seat seems to be taking root.

TOTO, the largest plumbing manufacturer in the world, has sold more than 40 million Washlets, its brand of electronic bidet seat, since launching the product in Japan in 1980. Although only a few thousand Washlets are sold each month in the United States, TOTO’s U.S. sales figures have increased by 20% in each of the last five years.

Why A Washlet?

In a recent press release announcing their huge sales success, TOTO described the revolutionary accessory: “Washlets use pure, clean water – and myriad technological innovations – to make their users cleaner, happier, more refreshed than they have ever felt after a bathroom break by reinventing the humble toilet seat as a warm water personal cleansing system.” And Toto seems to have succeeded in making its users happier. People who have had the pleasure of sitting atop a Washlet typically respond with rave reviews. In “The Cult of the Toto Toilet,” for example, The Times interviewed the owner of a Manhattan plumbing showroom who said that going back to a regular toilet seat would be like “going back to the Stone Age. It feels very uncivilized.”

Depending on how advanced an individual wants their electronic bidet seat to be, a TOTO Washlet can cost anywhere from $1,000 to almost $10,000. In addition to the standard features—heated seat, bidet wand, remote control—more high-end models might include UV light technology that kills bacteria and other cleansing functions to keep the luxury bathroom clean and fresh.

Denver Realtor and Institute Member Gives Back to Community in a BIG way

In 2006, Denver Realtor and Institute Member, Joan Rogliano, started a support group for her transitioning clients of divorce and widowhood. The Wildflower Group that was once a support group quickly became an opportunity to educate clients about options regarding their martial home. Subsequently, Joan began to offer educational workshops titled, Divorce and Your Home. Soon after delivering a few of these workshops, she realized there was a greater need for an expanded social community that provided support and trusted professional resources. After implementing, the workshops expanded and the schedule of events increased.

Recognizing there was also urgency for financial aid for this transitioning demographic, Joan created the Wildflower Women's Organization in 2010. WWO is a 501c3 nonprofit which provides educational, financial, and legal advocacy. Supporters include the Anschutz Family Foundation, Coors Foundation, and Jackson National Life Insurance.

Word spread quickly about Wildflower Group throughout the Denver metro area and it also garnered national attention. Recently, Joan was featured on the TODAY Show, her segment was focused on how Wildflower Group supports divorced and widowed women across the United States.

Click the image above to view the TODAY Show segment

Wildflower Group is now operating in ten states as a national network of trusted divorce professionals providing education and community support. Current statistics show that women make 85% of consumer purchases in the United States and influence 85% of consumer decisions. Wildflower Group’s Marketing System offers potential Garnders a turnkey system that shows real estate professionals how to begin marketing to this niche market of consumers.

You can learn more about becoming a Gardner for the Wildflower Group by visiting their website.

 Website www.wildflowergroup.net

Tips For Marketing To Wealthy 50+ Prospects

Capturing business from an offline generation

An October 2015 report from Forbes Insights, Engaging 50+ Consumers In A Digital World, examines the consumer behaviors of wealthy Americans 50 years old and above, a demographic which holds $3.6 trillion in annual income, or 49% of all after-tax income in U.S. Created in partnership with Wealth Engine, the report asserts that this demographic has wholly unique values and preferences concerning marketing from luxury brands and service providers.

1. Emphasize the property’s quality and craftsmanship.

To speak to the values of wealthy 50+ Americans, luxury real estate professionals should highlight the quality and craftsmanship of high-end homes rather than the related prestige of living in the home or community. The Wealth Engine survey shows that this group considers the most vital aspects of a luxury product or service to be quality (82%) and craftsmanship (66%). These values are even more important to baby boomers (51-70) than older generations, so this definition of luxury will be around for a while. In contrast, more traditional conceptions of luxury—prestige of ownership (19%), brand/maker name (17%), price (11%)—are not top-priority with respondents.

2. Market online and offline.

While the Internet plays a part in their decision making processes, these consumers are tentative about the ever-changing technological landscape and thus unlikely to make buying decisions solely based on information received online. On the other hand, 50+ wealthy consumers are generally more receptive than younger generations to offline interactions, experiences, and marketing. 50+ wealthy consumers prefer to get marketing and advertising messages: (1) by word of mouth, (2) through an online search, (3) by visiting a known brand or retailer website directly, and (4) via print or direct mail.

While it can be challenging to strike the on/offline balance needed to engage these consumers, the Forbes/Wealth Engine report urges that careful, value-oriented marketing can really pay off: “While [wealthy 50+ consumers] might not be as digitally savvy as their children and grandchildren, they still have more discretionary funds to spend.”

3. Avoid email marketing with unknown leads.

Be cautious about how you use email to engage 50+ leads and prospects. The Wealth Engine survey shows that, while 17% of respondents rank “email from known brands” in their top 3 preferred methods of receiving marketing and advertising, only 8% appreciate emails from previously unknown brands. In fact, reflecting on the proliferation of unsolicited direct and email marketing, 21% say it makes them not want to do business with a brand, and 18% think it indicates that the brand doesn’t understand what they want.

4. Utilize data-driven targeted marketing, but don’t get too personal.

The wealthy 50+ demographic is particularly receptive to targeted marketing. Of respondents who decided to buy from a particular brand or service provider after seeing their marketing: 68% say they did so because “the timing of the marketing message matched when I wanted/needed to buy,” and 52% say that the inciting marketing message included a special offer that appealed to them.

On the other hand, Forbes notes that, “while they like the personal touch in real life, they are not as keen on it in marketing messages they receive.” 50+ wealthy Americans are hyper-sensitive to data privacy and liable to be made uncomfortable by over-personalized messaging. They will likely not appreciate messaging that mentions a birthday, recent purchase, or any personal information that indicates data mining practices.

5. Be direct when seeking referrals and reviews.

Wealthy 50+ consumers are comfortable giving referrals and recommendations by word of mouth, but very unlikely to sing their praises online. The Forbes survey and report shows that, for referring a brand or business, 84% are willing to share by word of mouth, while only 21% are willing to write reviews online. To capture referrals from this demographic, real estate professionals should directly ask whether the client has any friends or family members who are thinking of buying or selling real estate in the near future. In addition, agents should ask for a written review to include in a testimonial book or in the testimonial section of your webpage.

Renovation Angel Leads A Revolution In Luxury Home Remodels

It’s no secret: renovating a luxury kitchen has historically been an outlandishly expensive endeavor. For owners of a high-end home, a kitchen update can cost anywhere from $50,000 to well over $100,000. These renovations, however, imply another hidden cost: the loss of the existing luxury kitchen, which in many cases includes valuable appliances, cabinets, and fixtures with plenty of life left in them. Not only is this bad for the homeowner who is dumping their valuable property, but it’s also an unsustainable building practice that is bad for the environment. Since 2005, however, a New Jersey-based non-profit has been working to reduce the high financial and environmental costs of luxury kitchen renovation.

Recycling Luxury Kitchens

Steve Feldman founded Recovery Unlimited, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, after happening upon the renovation of a luxury mansion. Feldman explains, “The trucks, the piles of rubble, the ‘Demolition in Progress’ sign in the driveway all sparked an unexpected thought: Why did all this have to go to waste? Why couldn’t at least some of these luxury goods go to a worthy cause?” Thus began Renovation Angel, Feldman’s answer to the luxury renovation problem. Since 2005, Renovation Angel has recycled over 4,000 luxury kitchens and awarded over $2 million in proceeds to non-profit projects and charities. To date, Renovation Angel’s kitchen recycling program has diverted over 22 million pounds of waste from landfills.

It’s a great deal for homeowners, too: the individual incurs no cost for removing the old kitchen, receives a full tax deduction, and the premises are left clean and ready for renovation work to begin.

How Does It Work?

Luxury homeowners need only visit the Renovation Angel website to submit information and begin the appraisal process. If Renovation Angel specialists confirm that the items meet their benchmarks for quality and condition, the company offers free, insured, and professional “white glove” removal of all donated items. The organization accepts luxury items that are of high value and in good condition.

• Kitchens: cabinetry, appliances, countertops, light fixtures, sinks, faucets.
• Bathrooms: vanities, free-standing tubs, fixtures, mirrors, pedestal sinks.
• Interiors: high-end and antique furniture, fine art, pianos.
• Exteriors: generators, outdoor bars and kitchens, statues and fountains.
• Showroom displays and inventory.

Renovation Angel has recycled kitchens from coast to coast, and can do removals in luxury markets nationwide. 

The Institute Members are welcome to attend a special webinar with Steve Feldman, President and Co-Founder of Renovation Angel, as our presenter. Join us February 25th, 2016 at 3pm CST, as Steve shares how Institute members can provide a fascinating resource to client’s who are looking to update a space without emptying their wallets, all while being environmental conscious. 

To register for this webinar visit, www.LuxuryHomeMarketing.com/Webinars

 

High-Rise Living: The World’s Wealthy Move Toward City Centers

The growing popularity of high-rise living is most notable in cities such as New York, Chicago, and Miami, where ultra-high-rise condo towers offer high-end amenities, high quality of life, great views, and unbeatable convenience for individuals who would rather not commute. High-rise living isn’t for everyone, but it presents a desirable lifestyle for wealthy international buyers who want a landing pad in a U.S. metropolis and U.S. families seeking hassle-free access to the city. These buyers are willing to pay huge sums for the high-rise lifestyle, and condo units regularly sell for prices starting around $5 million and climbing all the way to $100 million.

Record-Breaking Heights & Price Tags

The sheer, impressive height of today’s newest luxury residential towers afford residents two important things: status and killer views. One57, a high-rise condo development in New York City, stole the title for the city’s tallest residential tower in 2014. One57’s penthouse, taking all of the 89^th and 90^th floors and towering high above Central Park in Manhattan, sold for just over $100 million in January 2015. To date, the One57 penthouse is the most expensive condo purchase ever recorded.

Endless Amenities

Today’s high-end high-rise developments have truly thought of everything: high-speed elevators and private elevator landings, wine cellars, optional guest apartments and separate servants’ entrances, indoor-outdoor fitness facilities, deluxe swimming pools, exclusive resident-only terrace restaurants with world-renowned chefs, bicycle shops, terrace dog parks, room service and catering, and (unbelievably) so much more. Due to the difficulty of engineering these sky-high buildings, higher units in ultra-high-rise residential towers cannot have terraces or rooftop gardens. To address this shortcoming, residential skyscrapers include community gardens and parks, which are often available to rent for residents’ special events.

Starchitects

Celebrated “starchitects” from around the world are being invited to reimagine urban life for high-net-worth individuals. Uruguayan star architect Carlos Ott is responsible for Miami’s posh Echo Brickell; Pritzker-prize-winning Japanese architect Tadao Ando designed 152 Elizabeth St., a 7-unit condominium complex in New York City; and World-renowned Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid created the curvy and futuristic high-end residential building at 520 W. 28^th St. While ultra-wealthy individuals have always adorned their walls with one-of-a-kind works of fine art, it is becoming increasingly desirable (and possible) to live within a work of art.

Community

For those who make the move toward inner-city residential towers, the potential loss of community and social opportunity is of utmost concern. Many new high-end urban developments, however, are designed to be communities within themselves. Single-building residential high-rises include common spaces such as parks, entertainment areas, and playgrounds where residents can mingle and form friendships. Other high-end, mixed-use urban developments—such as London’s Battersea Power Station project—encompass entire neighborhoods and include office spaces, shops, restaurants, galleries, parks, music venues, cultural spaces, hotels, and residential towers.

Security & Privacy

In addition to status and luxury amenities, buyers are drawn to high-rise living because they seek a secure and private home within the city center. High-end high-rises boast top-tier security, floor plans that enhance the privacy of each unit, and reliable maintenance and upkeep services to take care of residents’ homes when they are away.

New Tech Means More Luxury Buyers Making Offers Site-Unseen

Consumers are looking for new ways to buy and sell real estate. A recent Redfin-commissioned survey of 2,134 individuals who had bought a home in the last 2 years shows that only 21% of respondents prefer buying and selling homes using the traditional methods. In contrast, 64% of respondents were open to unconventional, alternative, and innovative takes on the home buying and selling processes. But just what do we mean by “alternative” and “unconventional” ways of buying a home? One example: putting in an offer on a luxury home without ever setting foot inside.

The SurveyMonkey-run survey showed that 21% of buyers—or 1 in 5—had made an offer on a home without having ever visited it in person. And more than 50% of these site-unseen offers were made by high-end consumers who ultimately bought luxury homes with a purchase prices of $750,000 or more. Behind luxury homeowners, the demographics most likely to make an offer without seeing the property are millennials (30%) and single, never married people (30%). These numbers are huge and, according to SurveyMonkey’s review of the data, “a testament to the proliferation of online listings, mobile real estate apps, and cool things like 3D scans that take you inside and through every room of a home for sale online.”

Technology & Lifestyle Marketing Are Key In All-Virtual Sales

So, how do you make yourself and your listings more attractive to prospects who might buy without stepping foot in the property—or even the same country? SurveyMonkey posits that “[it] has a lot to do with technology that enables people to know agents and properties intimately without a walk-through or face-to-face visit.”

Some important marketing and branding techniques to consider in attracting and closing these all-virtual transactions:

• 3D virtual walk-throughs. Nothing offers a more realistic and intimate off-site home preview than 3D walk-through technology. Luxury real estate professionals can hire a service to photograph and construct the 3D walk-through, or buy their own 3D real estate camera and software packages, like the very impressive 3D Showcase from Matterport. Prospective buyers can navigate throughout the home, explore floor plans and specs, and even seeing what the view is like from each window in the house. In addition to increasing the accessibility of your listings, this exciting technology has the added benefit of differentiating you from other luxury real estate professionals.
• Rich, up-to-date websites. With consumers relying heavily on property information found over the Internet, it’s vital to maintain an impressive and up-to-date website for your listings—or possibly unique websites for each of your biggest properties.
• Statistics don’t lie: listings with video get 4x more inquiries than those without, and 85% of buyers and sellers want to work with an agent who uses video to market or showcase a home. Video is a fantastic way to bring a property and its lifestyle to life for a viewer.
• High-quality photography. It’s always a must-have—especially in luxury—but site-unseen buyers want images that showcase minute design details and insinuate the lifestyle that accompanies your luxury listing.
• Great lifestyle copy. For wealthy individuals doing their home shopping from afar, it can be difficult to get a sense of the lifestyle that comes with a property. Paired with video and area guides, good copy can change all of that by transporting the reader to their possible future in your luxury listing.
• Social networking. Social media, blogging, and online networking present an opportunity to build an authentic, trustworthy personality over the internet so that your relationships can blossom before (or without) face-to-face encounters.
• Testimonials. A simple way to build trust with far-flung consumers is via testimonials from your past satisfied clients.
• Traditional printed property promotion. Where videos and 3D tech fail, traditional marketing materials, resources on local culture and amenities, and quality copywriting can bring high-end homes to life and help push the online buyer to make an offer.

If the 64% of consumers interested in alternative buying processes are any indication, then site-unseen luxury home offers and sales are likely to become more and more common in the coming years. Luxury real estate professionals who want to capture business from this growing market must leverage both new technologies and traditional marketing methods.

Complex Luxury Consumers Crave Experiences, Not Things

In decades past, luxury consumers were a primarily homogeneous group with ostentatious style and a taste for status-setting items with luxury labels. Today, however, these values are all but obsolete. Luxury consumers are more varied, diverse, numerous, and complex than ever before, and thus less receptive to old marketing and branding tactics such as regionally- and demographically-targeted messaging. Market research shows that the “new” luxury consumer—in all of her instantiations—demands a fresh approach from luxury brands and service providers.

Luxury Experiences In High Demand

One of the most important changes in the luxury consumer is the shift in interest from luxury “things” to luxury experiences. “Shock of the New Chic,” a recent research article by BCG Perspectives, reports that “newly affluent buyers tend to amass tangible goods that show off their wealth. Those who have acquired the ‘things’ they want tend to move on to one-of-a-kind experiences that they can share with others.”

From free-diving with hammerhead sharks to attending art auctions, the interest in luxury experiences is growing across all levels of affluence. American Millennials, for example, generally place much more stock in shared experiences than the elder and wealthier Baby Boomers. BCG’s 2013 Global Consumer Sentiment Survey showed that 51% of American consumers prefer enriching experiences to products. Remarkably, experiential luxury constitutes 55% of luxury spending worldwide, and sales of luxury experiences now outstrip sales of high-end products.

Adapting To The New Complex Consumer

As market research reveals the luxury consumer’s ongoing transformation and diversification, there is mounting evidence that it’s time for big changes in the luxury industry. Although luxury brands generally put less stock into research than their mainstream counterparts, opting instead for creativity and exclusivity, BCG Perspectives stressed that “the formulas for success have become much more complicated.”

Here are 3 ways that luxury service providers can change their “business as usual.”

• Offer luxury experiences. This might mean organizing exclusive events, hosting community meet-ups for high-net-worth individuals, or throwing soirées featuring local luxury brands and products. Think of creative, on-brand ways to enhance your clients’ experience and enable them to share and “live” luxury, rather than just live in it.
• Enrich your sales process. To excel with today’s consumer, all aspects and stages of your service need to be top-tier. “Turning sales activities into deluxe experiences in their own right is nothing new,” according to BCG’s research. “But the practice is reaching new levels of excellence across a widening range of luxury segments . . . and across all channels.” Ask yourself how you can enhance your sales experience in the office, online, and everywhere in between.

Test out new “experiential” business models. Over the past decade, the luxury market has seen a proliferation of businesses based on “sampling” luxury items or experiences, sometimes through rental or subscription models like those of Bag Borrow Or Steal and Birchbox. BCG noted that, “Although some see such businesses as democratizing luxury—perhaps even diluting the participating brands—the new model clearly resonates with consumers, especially Millennials.” In other words, it’s time to second guess the old assumption

Institute Members Receive Industry Leading Online Education and Advanced Resources through New Partnership

The Institute announces new strategic partnership with McKissock Learning

Starting in 2016, all Members of The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing will receive free online Continuing Education (CE) and Professional Development courses from McKissock Learning, a national leader in real estate education. The list of benefits for Institute Members is already extensive - including access to WealthEngine through Online Wealth Lookup (OWL) and a free standard account with the international MLS Proxio - and now unlimited access to McKissock Learning’s online course library represents yet another competitive edge for Institute Members.

As a result of this new strategic partnership between The Institute and McKissock Learning, Institute Members will have unlimited access to online courses free of charge, including state-required credits for license renewal as well as a growing collection of elective professional development courses to help real estate professionals take their careers to the next level.

Here is just a small sample of elective topics from the company's Real Estate course library:

• Pocket Listings: Is This Trend for You?
• Navigating a Hot Seller’s Market
• Millennials are Changing Real Estate: Are You Ready?
• Navigating a Hot Seller’s Market
• Technology, Relationships, and the Digital Consumer

The benefit to Members won’t stop there! Throughout 2016 McKissock Learning, in partnership with The Institute will be producing and launching a special series of luxury focused Continuing Education (CE) courses, all of which will be made available to Institute Members at no cost.

McKissock is among the best-regarded continuing education providers in the U.S., with tens of thousands of real estate professionals rating courses an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars. “We are excited to bring this new benefit to Institute Members,” says Tyler Duncan, General Manager of Real Estate for McKissock Learning. “In today’s ever-changing real estate market, continuing education and professional development play a vital role in the success of a real estate professional’s career and we look forward to helping members of The Institute capitalize on that knowledge.”

Curious to know more about this benefit and other benefits The Institute offers? Contact The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing at 214-485-3000. Institute Members can access this benefit along with more detailed information under their membership accounts at www.LuxuryHomeMarketing.com/McKissock.