The True Process of Listing a Luxury Home: What It Really Takes to Prepare, Market, and Elevate Oklahoma’s Finest Properties
Selling a luxury home is not a simple transaction. It is a highly orchestrated production requiring time, strategy, precision, and a substantial financial investment. The homes themselves are exceptional, and the marketing must match that level of excellence. For homeowners considering listing their high-end property, understanding the real process behind the scenes is essential.
As someone who has spent 31 years specializing in Oklahoma luxury real estate—and who currently represents the most expensive listing in Oklahoma City— I can tell you that luxury marketing is not just a service. It is a craft, an investment, and a full-scale operation.
Preparing a Luxury Home for Market
Luxury listings rarely come to market quickly. Some take several weeks to prepare. Others take several months. Larger estates involve dozens of vendors, contractors, designers, stagers, landscapers, and photographers all working in sequence to prepare the home for a world-class presentation.
1. Deep Cleaning and Full Detailing
Professional cleaners often spend days cleaning, polishing, and detailing every corner. Larger properties may require multiple cleaning crews rotating on schedule to maintain perfection.
2. Repairs, Enhancements, and Pre-Inspection Work
Luxury buyers expect near perfection. This often includes:
• Touch-up paint and texture blending
• Minor carpentry repair and trim refinishing
• Updated light fixtures
• Window cleaning inside and out
• Pool and spa service
• HVAC and equipment checks
• Cosmetic improvements that eliminate buyer objections
This stage alone can take weeks or months depending on the home’s size and age.
3. Landscaping and Exterior Presentation
Curb appeal is everything, and it takes time to perfect.
This may include:
• Fresh mulch installation
• Sod repair or replacement
• Seasonal flower planting
• Tree trimming and shaping
• Pressure washing hard surfaces
• Outdoor furniture staging
• Landscape lighting adjustments
4. Staging and Design
Professional stagers spend hours—sometimes days—arranging furniture, selecting décor, adding artwork, styling bookshelves, and creating inviting luxury moments throughout the home. Even fully furnished properties often require partial staging to maximize impression.
What the Public Never Sees: The Work Behind the Scenes
The public sees the beautiful end result—the flawless photography, the glowing twilight images, the cinematic videos, and the perfectly curated social media posts. But what they don’t see is the endless behind-the-scenes labor required to get there.
Luxury agents often find themselves:
• Picking up trash and debris before photographers arrive
• Pulling weeds by hand
• Skimming pools and cleaning fountains
• Moving heavy furniture for the perfect shot
• Bringing in décor pieces or borrowing items
• Borrowing cars to enhance driveway photos
• Adjusting every blind and drape to control light
• Sweeping patios moments before twilight photography
• Coordinating multiple vendors across different days
• Making multiple trips to the home daily leading up to the shoot
Luxury real estate looks effortless—but only because countless hours of unseen effort go into every detail.
The Art of Perfectly Timed Photography
Photography is one of the most important and strategic parts of the listing process. Luxury homes are typically photographed twice:
• During the day for clean interior shots
• At twilight for dramatic exterior images
Twilight is my personal preference whenever possible. It highlights:
• Pool lighting
• Landscape lighting
• Sunset glow
• Architectural lines and symmetry
• Warm interior ambiance
The most stunning photos often come from a five-to-ten-minute window where the sky, lighting, and home all align perfectly. If the light isn’t right, we reschedule—because quality matters that much.
The Real Cost of Luxury Home Marketing in Oklahoma
After the home is fully prepared, the marketing machine begins—and true luxury marketing is not inexpensive.
My bare minimum cost to properly market a luxury home in Oklahoma is $4,500. On high-end estates, the investment grows significantly.
On my current record-breaking Oklahoma City listing, I have already invested over $40,000 in marketing. That includes:
• High-end photography and twilight shoots
• Drone photography and cinematic aerial videos
• Full-length luxury video production
• Custom Reels and TikTok videos
• Dedicated custom property websites with unique domains
• Local and international magazine advertising
• Oversized full-color postcard mailers
• Worldwide listing syndication
• Zillow Showcase paid upgrades
• PR outreach and global media features
• Custom luxury signage
• Seasonal reshoots as landscaping changes
• Paid sponsored ads across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Google, and LinkedIn
• Custom video brochures delivered directly to high-net-worth buyers
These screen-based video brochures are one of the most powerful tools in luxury marketing. They are mailed to high-net-worth individuals, executives, investors, and luxury buyers who may never browse MLS or Zillow—but will open a beautifully produced video brochure delivered to their office.
Luxury marketing is expensive because global exposure is expensive.
Why The Agency Elevates Luxury Listings Worldwide
The brokerage behind the listing is just as critical as the marketing itself.
The Agency is one of the most respected and fastest-growing luxury real estate brands in the world, now with over 150 offices globally—and new offices opening almost every other week. This rapid, international expansion is a testament to the power of the brand, the demand for its marketing platform, and its influence in the luxury real estate space.
Sellers benefit from:
• Global brand recognition
• Access to worldwide luxury markets
• A PR team securing more than 2,000 annual press placements
• Collaboration with top agents in every major luxury city
• A modern, tech-driven marketing platform
• International exposure unmatched by any brokerage in Oklahoma
• A network that reaches high-net-worth buyers in the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Dubai, and beyond
When you list with The Agency, your home doesn’t just hit the Oklahoma market—it enters the global marketplace.
Choose Experience. Choose Global Exposure. Choose Results.
Luxury home marketing requires time, money, skill, and a deep understanding of what luxury buyers expect. The public sees the beautiful final product, but not the months of preparation or the tens of thousands of dollars invested behind the scenes.
If you want your luxury home presented at the highest level—with unparalleled marketing, international reach, and world-class representation—reach out today.
Wyatt Poindexter - Oklahoma Luxury Real Estate
Managing Partner, The Agency
405-417-5466
