THE $500,000 THAT THREE OTHER AGENTS MISSED
A Real Case Study from North Hills, Raleigh, NC
Two competing agents valued this home at $3.3 million. We valued it at $3.8 million, and five days after it hit the active market, a cash buyer agreed with us, in full.
At the ultra-luxury price point, pricing is never a formula. It is a judgment call, and this home on nearly a full acre in North Hills put that judgment to the test.
THE SITUATION
We were introduced to this seller through a past client, a family we had sold a home for and helped purchase a new one earlier this year. The two families knew each other through their kids' schools, and that referral is how the conversation started.
We were one of three agents interviewed for the listing, alongside three others who do significant business at the ultra-luxury price point in Raleigh. The pristine custom home was hard for our clients to give up, but with newly adult children, another home out of state and a huge potential return on their investment, there was a case for cashing out. Built in 2021 and in excellent condition, it sat on 0.77 acres in Chestnut Hills, in the heart of North Hills, a lot size that is genuinely difficult to find at this address and price point. Reclaimed hardwoods, coffered ceilings, a butler's bar with a dual-zone wine column, a scullery off the kitchen, and a backyard built around an 18-by-42 pool with a travertine deck and waterfall-edge spa all backed up what the lot alone already promised.
THE OBSTACLE
A nearly-acre lot is not a common feature in the North Hills comp set, and that scarcity cuts both ways. It is what makes a home like this valuable, and it is also exactly the kind of feature that gets missed or underpriced by agents who are comping square footage instead of comping what is actually rare. When we were interviewing for this listing, the other agents in the running valued the home at $3.3 million. None of them accounted for the immense value of a private, oversized lot.
At this price point, the buyer pool is small everywhere in Raleigh. That meant we were not just solving a pricing problem, we were building a strategy around the fact that a home like this usually gets one or two real opportunities to find its buyer, not dozens of showings to sort through.
WHAT WE DID
Prepare
Because the home was only five years old and already in excellent condition, preparation here was not about renovation. It was about presentation. We hired an editorial photographer to capture the home the way it deserved to be seen, built out full video marketing, and prepared flip books so that whoever walked through the door had every detail communicated clearly and beautifully, no exceptions.
Position
Before this home ever hit the open market, we held it off-market for a month. During that window we ran five private previews with agents who had clients we believed were a genuine fit for this home. That accomplished two things at once. It created real scarcity around a home the market had not seen yet, and it gave us direct, informed pricing feedback from agents who actually represented the buyer pool we were targeting. Running it as a private exclusive also gave us room to reaffirm our pricing strategy and understand buyers' needs and preferences more clearly before we ever went public.
Price
This is where the real call had to be made. Other competing agents valued the home at $3.3 million. We saw an additional $500,000 of value sitting in the lot itself, something the North Hills comp set simply does not offer very often, and we priced the home at $3.8 million because we believed the market would recognize it too.
THE RESULT
Once the home went active, we had exactly one showing. That showing produced one offer: a full-price, all-cash offer. That outcome tracked with what we have seen before on other ultra-luxury listings. At this price point there is rarely a wide buyer pool to work through, there is usually one or two real chances to get a home under contract, and this home found its buyer on the first one.
The buyers already lived in the neighborhood and were looking for enhanced privacy and lot size without compromising on lifestyle or losing their beloved neighbors. When the right opportunity came along, they were ready to move forward. Our thorough marketing meant there were no questions to be answered; only excitement for a seamless transition. The home was under contract in five days.
The sellers were also able to sell almost all of the custom-made furniture they had commissioned for the home directly to the buyer, protecting not just their equity in the house itself but the other investments they had made furnishing it.
Since closing, the clients have told us that our responsiveness and thoroughness exceeded not only the other agents they interviewed for this listing, but every other agent and service experience they have had in the past.
BY THE NUMBERS
Sale price: $3,800,000, full asking price
Days on market: 5
Showings: 1
Offers: 1, all cash, full price
Lot size: 0.77 acres
Living area: 5,457 square feet
Bedrooms and bathrooms: 5 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms
Year built: 2021
Off-market preview period: approximately 30 days, 5 private agent previews
Pricing gap identified: $500,000 above the average competing agent valuation, $3.3 million versus $3.8 million
Location: Chestnut Hills, North Hills, Raleigh, NC
The Coley Group | Compass
919-980-9607