Modern Downtown Living, Palo Alto

“We picked our previous realtor because he was nice, but I didn’t feel like he was strong enough to advocate for us. So I set out to find someone who was not that nice, but who was stronger, who would fight for our best interests. In Chris, we got both—someone who was a great advocate for us and who was also really easy to get along with.” —Mauri Okamoto-Kearney

Unconventional Home + Strategic Marketing = Premium Price!

When most realtors are faced with an unusual home that would be attractive only to a small pool of buyers, the conventional wisdom is to price low, expose the home widely, cross your fingers and hope for the best. Luckily for his clients, Chris Iverson is not most realtors. Chris knows how to think strategically and how to market a home in a way that turns a perceived weakness into a strength. The result? An exceptional price for an unconventional home.

Unique Home, Custom Marketing Strategy

The condo at 337 Ramona wasn’t for everyone. Terry and Mauri purchased their home over two decades ago, and decided to completely renovate it in 2008 into a sleek, ultra-modern work of art. Although aesthetically beautiful, the condo featured dramatic architectural details that might give a reasonable person pause. The “stairs” to the top floor were more like a rimless ladder, floating without handrails. And the upstairs hallway floor was made of glass.

While other realtors recommended their cookie-cutter approach to selling the condo, including “suggesting staging with overstuffed couches,” says Terry, “Chris got our place and the demographic of the person who would like our home and its unique features. It’s a stark, modern house. Chris got that there are just a couple of people who would be interested and they would be interested because of the way it looks now.”

Premium Pricing

Other realtors thought that a limited buyer pool meant that they should price to attract the most attention possible. Chris took the opposite approach. “I knew that there was only one property like this and the one person who loved it would pay a premium price for it,” said Chris. His job was to find that person and communicate the extraordinary nature of the home in a way that would make it valuable to that buyer.

“I had in my mind, $1.8 million,” said Terry in regards to selling price. Chris suggested a higher price. “It really seemed like Chris knew what he was doing, so I said, ‘You’re the guy. You know what’s going on in the market. I’m not going to second guess you. If that’s the price you think is right, so be it.’”

“Chris backed up his pricing with data,” said Mauri. “He was always watching the sales in our area of condos and they were increasing in price. He did his homework and he didn’t just do it once. He watched the market over the several weeks we were heading into listing.”

They decided to put the condo on the market at a premium price of $1,998,000, knowing that they were aiming high. The sellers’ new home was not yet completed, so they were in no rush. Chris thought it could take up to three months to sell, and that would give him plenty of time to find the right person would be willing to pay up for the unique property.

High-End Marketing Materials

Chris produced high-resolution, artistic photographs for the home website that showed the condo at its best. Chris profiled the buyer as a young single person or couple, likely in technology with some post-liquidity money. This buyer was very likely to find the home on the web.

“With our Sotheby’s affiliation, the listing gets pushed out to 20 or more media outlets, where buyers are looking,” said Chris. The idea was that buyers would qualify themselves by looking at the website photos, screening out looky-loos and buyers who weren’t serious. The quality and essence of the website would draw the exact type of buyer who would be intrigued enough to want to move to the next step of seeing the house in person.

Limited Access and Control of the Message

“Other agents suggested pricing low and holding open houses to get the most people through,” said Chris. “That was the absolute worst way to market this home. There was no handrail on the stairs and the upstairs floor is glass. The last thing you want is having families troop through on the weekends.”

Not only was there safety and liability issues, but Chris also realized that the sellers were fastidious about the cleanliness of their home and that having random agents and buyers traipsing through the home would be stressful. Instead, Chris had buyers and their agents contact him directly—no lockbox. This way Chris could control who saw the condo and be present for every tour to guide the experience.

Tough Negotiating and a Happy Ending

Within two weeks on the market a technology entrepreneur, who was moving from Japan, where the aesthetics were similar to the condo, saw it and fell in love. He made an offer close to asking, but Chris pushed further to a sales price of $1,980,00, all cash, no contingencies, with a free two-month rent-back.

“I really saw Chris’s character in the negotiations. That price difference was of marginal benefit to him,” said Terry. “I feel like he fought for us, respected us and our home and got us the best possible price.

“Chris was awesome. He was creative, strategically and tactically excellent with amazing follow through. We would absolutely recommend him.”

Q&A with the Sellers

Q: Why did you decide to choose Chris Iverson to sell your home?

A: We thought that he was very direct, but not overly aggressive. He wasn’t a hard sell like other realtors we interviewed. We got a different vibe from Chris that we liked.

We also liked that he “got” our place and the demographic of the person who might be interested in the big features of the condo. When he saw it, he said, “This is awesome. It has these contemporary features. I wouldn’t change anything about it.”

Q: Tell us about Chris’ approach to pricing strategy.

A: Chris explained the two different pricing strategies. The first is auction pricing, or pricing low and hoping to get multiple bids through increased interest. The second is premium pricing, which is to price it higher than you think it’s probably worth and wait for the person who loves it to come. And so that’s what we did. He priced it lots higher than the other agents who we talked to would have suggested.

We really trusted Chris’ judgment because he backed up his ideas with data. It wasn’t just his gut feel.

Q: What did you think about his approach to marketing the condo?

A: We were very impressed with his strategy. He got what kind of people we were and what kind of house we kept. He respected us and he respected the house. Other realtors came in and told us that to sell the house we’d have to bring the stairs up to code. The stairs are one of the unique features of the house. Anyone who would want to bring them up to code wouldn’t be the kind of person who would buy it. Chris got that and wasn’t trying to push us to make us something that we didn’t want to be.

He was also very thoughtful about giving us plenty of lead-time to show the condo and he accompanied everybody who saw it. He kept the house completely clean and everything was in its place.

Q: How would you describe Chris?

A: Chris is straightforward, clear, strategic thinking with good tactical follow-through. He’s also an excellent communicator—not just how he articulates verbally and in writing, but also how well he kept in touch with us throughout the process.

Q: What did you think of Chris’ negotiating skills?

A: I was really impressed that he countered the original offer and fought for us to get us the best possible price. He countered higher than I would have. At that point, we trusted him without reservation. He obviously loved the house and knew it was a home that we built for ourselves and he respected that and hung in there to get us the price. And the free two-month rent-back he got for us was excellent.

Q: Were there any surprises?

A: That it sold so fast! That it was so effortless and gratifying. Chris managed everything and he inspired confidence in the whole process. This is the first transaction that we have ever done that we have no resentment or dissonance or misgivings at all. We got more money than we expected and everything turned out exactly the way he said it would.