Marketing in a million dollar neighbourhood

Marketing million-dollar properties is a nuanced affair, with one successful realty offering key lessons in the art

BY Donald Horne 16 Nov 2015

Chestnut Park is Southern Ontario’s leading luxury real estate company, and its brand value is further enhanced by an exclusive affiliation with Christie’s International Real Estate.

“The high engagement we receive in the $2–3 million home market tells us that Chestnut Park is known, and that our reputation has value. We also know that clients are interested in the Christie’s component of our brand,” says John Lusink, Vice President of Operations for Chestnut Park Real Estate in Port Credit, Mississauga. “Christie’s offers global exposure, and in fact, more and more of our clients are internationally based.”

Established in 1990 in Toronto, Chestnut Park’s sales team has grown from just five to over 260 agents, with offices in Toronto, Muskoka, Port Credit, Collingwood, and Prince Edward County. This company’s growth is being fueled by the demand for Chestnut Park’s expertise in the Luxury real estate markets.

“Clients are finding our luxury and higher-end properties online, as well as through our premium publications,” Lusink told REP.

But it is important to remember that while big commissions do come with luxury clients, so too, do big expectations for service.

“Our luxury home clients have high expectations for professionalism in terms of quality of service,” he says. “For example, we have in-house legal counsel to meet expectations and expedite service to our clients.”

Matching the service quality of in-house legal counsel is Chestnut Park’s full-service marketing team that is in place, an offering that Lusink takes great pride in, “this is a high-level marketing service available not only to our Realtors but also, ultimately, to their clientele as well.”

When servicing homes in a multi-million dollar neighbourhood, the marketing has to be top-notch, and as Lusink says, “Our agents can talk to marketing about pulling together a whole marketing branding proposal, whether it is for a single property, a realtor, or for an entire area. No other brokerage offers this service.”