Case Study: Lafayette Trails Neighborhood
Sold privately for $5,525,000

Every good love story starts with a little curiosity. For our Trails Neighborhood clients, it began almost a year ago, when these wonderful past clients started browsing homes outside the area. Before they fell for anything, they asked me to walk through their home and give them an honest read on its value. It was a smart first step, because knowing your number before you start shopping changes everything.

Over the following months, they read this very email each week, staying current on the market and getting comfortable with how the sales process works today. (If you are reading this and quietly wondering what your own home is worth, consider this your nudge.) When they found a home they loved, I re-ran their numbers to tighten the valuation, and soon after they were in contract on their next chapter.

Then came the fun part: deciding how to sell. We sat down together to talk through process and strategy, and one detail shaped the plan. They already had a vacation on the calendar. Rather than juggle a full public launch around their travel, they liked the idea of a private sale with partial staging.

So we sprinted. We completed inspections so everyone understood the home's condition up front, and we wrapped up all of the seller disclosures. The sellers removed their personal items, and The Tailored House, our in-house staging company that works exclusively on our team's listings, completed a quick partial stage that let the home's best features shine.

Then we quietly opened the door. We let REALTORS and our own buyer clients know, one by one, the home was available privately, and that if it went to the MLS, the price would be $5,500,000. Our team was present at every private showing. One of our buyers stepped forward, and a few weeks later we closed escrow at $5,525,000.

Why did it work so beautifully? Everyone lived in the land of reason. The sellers had clear, well-informed expectations. The buyers saw a wonderful home, fairly priced, with full information in hand. And both sides trusted our team to guide them. That enormous trust on both sides is what allowed us to do our jobs well, and the result was a calm, efficient transaction that felt like a true win/win.

In the end, the sellers turned over the keys to their beloved home to a beautiful new family eager to plant roots in Lafayette.

The takeaway: Off-market can and does work. Not every home or every seller is the right fit for a private sale, but when the pricing is grounded, the preparation is done, and the right buyer is already in our orbit, a quiet sale can be the very best kind. And truthfully? We love playing matchmaker.

In fact, we are working on a few other incredible off-market opportunities right now. If you are a buyer hoping to see homes before they reach the open market, or a seller curious whether a private sale could fit your plans, we would love to hear from you.

For all buyers currently working with our team, don't forget to check the GreenVine, our team's proprietary website for coming-soon and off-market properties. If you need the password again, just reach out, and we'll send it your way.