Fredrik Eklund, a star of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing and the cofounder of Douglas Elliman’s Eklund Gomes division, is an expert in the world of luxury real estate. In that segment of the market, high-quality design is an essential element that helps brokers land top dollar for their listings. So Eklund naturally has a lot of thoughts about what design styles are most successful, what interior designers should know before taking on a development project, and more. Yesterday, Eklund joined AD digital director David Kaufman to share his insights in AD Pro’s Expert Eye virtual talk series. Here, we break down some of the key takeaways.
Eklund spoke about the power of design to take a listing to new heights. While maybe 15 years ago, more generic developer projects were everywhere, now a name-brand architect and interior designer can be a necessary part of the equation when it comes to selling units at premium prices. “If you picked a star architect for the exterior and then maybe an AD100 interior designer and hopefully a good real estate broker who knows how people want to live…you will set records,” he explains.
He also says that having a buzzy interior designer attached to a project can be a real selling point for brokers. “Our job is basically to make the argument to the buyer that you can’t even get this person [on your own]. Why don’t you just buy an apartment here—we’ve done it for you. That is the argument to setting a record price.”