Guides

How to hire, question and work with a luxury agent

Each guide gives the direct answer first, then the reasoning, then the states where the answer changes, with links to the directories that carry those exceptions.

1. 01How do I choose a luxury real estate agent?Choose the agent whose closed sales over the last 24 months sit in your price band and your part of town, not the agent with the biggest brand or the highest suggested list price. Verify that record against public sale records, interview at least three candidates, and hire the one whose pricing case and marketing budget are written down and specific to your property.
2. 02What questions should I ask a luxury real estate agent before hiring one?Ask for every sale the agent closed in your price band in the last 24 months, the list-to-sale ratio and days on market for each, the itemized marketing budget and who pays it, which person on the team will handle your file, and how the agent treats dual agency. Then check the answers against public records before signing anything.
3. 03What is the difference between a luxury real estate agent and a regular agent?The license is identical; the difference is the record. A luxury agent has repeatedly closed sales in the top price tier of a market, which brings a buyer network, pricing judgment for homes with few comparables, and marketing that reaches wealthy buyers outside the local area. Anyone can call themselves a luxury agent, so judge the closed sales rather than the label.
4. 04How much commission does a luxury real estate agent charge?There is no set rate; commission is negotiable in every state. Since the NAR settlement practice changes took effect in August 2024, the seller's listing agreement sets the listing broker's fee and whether the seller will contribute toward the buyer's broker, and buyers sign their own written compensation agreements. Luxury sellers often negotiate a lower percentage, but the marketing commitments must be written down.
5. 05What do luxury real estate designations like CLHMS, GUILD and CRS actually mean?CLHMS is a training-plus-production designation from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. GUILD is the Institute's recognition for CLHMS holders who document sales at $1 million and above. CRS is a general residential production-and-education designation from the Residential Real Estate Council, not a luxury credential. All three show completed coursework and some verified sales; none guarantees skill in your market or price band.
6. 06How do off-market and pocket listings work in luxury real estate?An off-market or pocket listing is a home for sale that is not entered in the MLS or is withheld from public marketing. NAR's Clear Cooperation Policy requires any listing that is publicly marketed to be submitted to a Realtor-affiliated MLS within one business day, but permits office exclusives that are never publicly marketed. Off-market sales trade exposure for privacy, and the seller usually pays for that privacy in price.
7. 07How do I sell a luxury home?Interview three agents who have closed sales in your price band in the last two years, hire the one with the most specific pricing case and a written marketing budget, and price inside the band that closed sales support rather than above it. Overpricing costs more at the top of the market than anywhere else, because the buyer pool is small and every day on market is public.
8. 08How do I buy a luxury home?Sign a written buyer agreement with an agent who has closed purchases in your price band, decide early whether you will pay cash or use a jumbo loan and have the proof of funds or approval letter ready, and decide before you make an offer whether you want your name kept out of the public record. Sellers at this level screen buyers; preparation gets you in the door.
9. 09How do I handle a luxury move from one state to another?Hire a separate agent in each state, chosen by closed sales in the price band in that market, and let your tax advisor set the order of operations before either agent lists or offers. The sale is governed by the state you are leaving: transfer taxes, withholding and disclosure rules. The purchase is governed by the state you are entering: agency law, property tax reassessment and mansion taxes.

Moving between states

The corridors where tax, agency or disclosure law actually changes the deal.

• New York → FloridaThe move trades New York's income tax (up to 10.9% at the state level, plus up to 3.876% in New York City) and its state estate tax for Florida, where the state constitution prohibits a personal income tax and there is no estate tax. At the closing table, the New York mansion tax and transfer taxes disappear and are replaced by Florida's documentary stamp tax of $0.70 per $100 on the deed. The less obvious shift is legal: Florida presumes your agent is a transaction broker rather than a fiduciary, and homestead rules govern both your property tax bill and your creditor protection.
• California → TexasCalifornia taxes income at up to 13.3% and resets the property tax base to the purchase price under Proposition 13; Texas has no income tax and no real estate transfer tax, but its property tax rates are among the highest in the country, so a $5 million house in Austin or Dallas can cost more to hold each year than one in Los Angeles. Transaction costs fall sharply, especially for sellers leaving the City of Los Angeles, where Measure ULA takes 4% or 5.5% of the sale price. Texas agency law uses intermediary status, closings run through title companies, and title insurance premiums are set by the state.
• Illinois → ArizonaIllinois taxes income at a flat 4.95% and taxes estates above $4 million; Arizona taxes income at a flat 2.5%, has no estate tax, and its constitution bans real estate transfer taxes. Leaving Chicago also removes the city's 1.05% transfer tax on top of the state and county taxes. The larger year-to-year change is property tax: Illinois bills are among the highest in the country and are paid a year in arrears, while Arizona limits growth in the taxable value of a home to 5% per year and taxes primary residences on a lower assessment ratio.
• California → NevadaNevada has no personal income tax, no estate tax, and a property tax system that limits annual increases on a primary residence to 3%; California taxes income at up to 13.3% and resets the property tax base to the purchase price. Both states have a transfer tax, but Nevada's is modest, 0.51% in Clark County, next to the tiered city taxes in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Both are community property states with escrow closings, so the mechanics feel familiar; the disclosure forms and agency paperwork are different, and the Franchise Tax Board will test whether the move is real.
• New Jersey → FloridaNew Jersey taxes income at up to 10.75%, has the highest property taxes in the country, taxes inheritances passing to anyone other than close family, and since July 2025 charges sellers a graduated fee of up to 3.5% on homes above $3.5 million; Florida has no income tax, no estate or inheritance tax, a deed tax of $0.70 per $100, and homestead caps on assessment growth. Departing sellers also prepay New Jersey income tax at closing. On the legal side, New Jersey's three-day attorney review and disclosed dual agency give way to Florida's transaction broker presumption and its flood and condo disclosure rules.
• Massachusetts → New HampshireMassachusetts taxes income at 5% plus a 4% surtax on income above roughly $1 million and taxes estates above $2 million; New Hampshire taxes no wages, repealed its interest and dividends tax at the start of 2025, and has no estate or inheritance tax. New Hampshire pays for that with property taxes that are among the highest in the country, and its real estate transfer tax of 1.5%, split between buyer and seller, is several times the Massachusetts deeds excise of $4.56 per $1,000. Both states run attorney-involved closings and use mandatory brokerage relationship disclosure forms, so the process feels familiar even though the money moves differently.