When it comes to apartment development projects, I believe that the penthouse should be offered first. 

This runs contrary to standard practice, which dictates that the quick-selling, low-priced products should be offered first in order to gain sales momentum. 

There are several benefits to offering the penthouse first. 

Firstly, selling the penthouse establishes a premium price point for the entire project.

Secondly, catering to penthouse buyers early on gives more time to work with them one-on-one and tweak the floorplan, parking layouts and the like during the sale. None of this can be done later in a sales release without causing a lot of retrospective angst.

And finally, it gives market confidence, which can be garnered to help generate interest in the rest of the project. 

Deploy an off-market campaign and local agents

In order to offer the penthouse first, a developer needs to be comfortable with an off-market campaign and also have good relationships with the local agents. 

An off-market campaign is used to release a property discreetly and confidentially to the market without publicly advertising it. 

It is generally used for high-end properties and works best when the seller has a good relationship with the agent, who then passes on information about the property to their most qualified buyers.

Often the agent simply behaves as an introducer rather than getting heavily involved in the sale itself. This is because the likely penthouse buyer will spend some one-on-one time with the architect, interior designer and the developer to understand what they are buying, and how it meets their needs.

Whilst the majority of the apartments are likely to be sold by an in-house sales team or apartment specialist agents, the penthouse is more likely to be sold via a local agent.

This is because the buyer is often a downsizer living in the locality who will need to sell their current home simultaneously. An experienced local agent will have a good understanding of who is in the market and looking to downsize and have the resources to make the transaction. 

The off-market campaign for the penthouse needs to be very well targeted and run over a four to six-week window. 

Customisation is key

The key to selling the penthouse first is to ensure that the buyer understands the value proposition of the penthouse, and how it meets their needs. This can be done by providing a detailed information pack, which includes floorplans, renders, and a schedule of finishes. 

It is also important to provide a point of difference for the penthouse, such as a private roof terrace or unique layout. Where possible it is best to offer the penthouse as custom build and therefore allowing a range of variations that can be negotiated. 

Selling the penthouse first in an apartment development project is not without its risks, but I believe that the potential rewards make it worth pursuing. By taking this approach, you can establish a premium price point, gain market confidence, and have more time to work with buyers to tailor the property to their needs. 

What do you think? Is selling the penthouse first in an apartment development project a good idea? I’d love to hear your thoughts.