In December 2019 we put our family home of 10 years on the market for sale.
We recognized a gap in the Victoria Park market – family homes on unsubdivided blocks were hot property (I’d just sold a home around the corner for $1.35 million, off-market!).
The enquiry was off the scale.
Was our house being used to its full potential? The realisation was, probably not. We had two adults and two teenage kids bouncing around in a big house. The kids were busy studying, socialising and playing sport. Radiating ever further from the hub we called home. So we downsized.
Perhaps we bought the least sexy home in the Town. All 80’s brown brick, yellow glass, jarrah trim and vaulted ceilings. BUT it was opposite Raphael Park. Great location, average house – I’m sure there is a real estate saying about that…?
As a local Agent knowing the market, it was a double edged sword. You only have one crack at selling and we HAD to get it right! There were no shortcuts we could take. No excuses. Selling homes is what we do.
Presentation matters. The story you tell online is the story that determines how many Buyers come through the door. Everything had to be perfect. 10 years of overlooked maintenance, chipped walls, broken louvres and other general teenage home attrition issues needed to be resolved, stat!
Our legion of trusted tradies got the call, ‘HELP!”. While the maintenance that should have been done over the last few years was tidied up by professionals in a couple of weeks, we started the next part of the journey.
Having a stylist through was key. Chrystal from FHSA (Furniture Hire and Styling Australia) was amazing and to her credit used most of our stuff, just supplementing with props, plants, cushions and colour to bring the whole thing together (to be honest, I hate promoting empty homes. The internet marketing never has the oomph and connection to Buyers that a well furnished home has).
And so, painted and primped, the home really did look the goods. Next, bring in the photographer – Rob Brand. Rob and I have worked together for many years, perhaps more than 15! I trust him. He knows my irrational requirements for every home I sell. Rob did the home justice. Quality photography that captures the reality of the home. Anyone can use a wide angle lens and super saturate the edit to get magaziny shots, but the secret is to not to oversell the home. Buyers must inspect the home and have their expectations met or exceeded. Also the drone footage really sets up the location conversation for Buyers and gives a property for sale a sense of ‘place’
So with a full complement of social media marketing, printed material, pin point database marketing, the traditional online portals and old fashioned spruiking, we had the marketing machine going full force – 72 Mackie Street, Victoria Park
The first and only advertised open was a tour de force. Well over 100 people through the door! And a plethora of second inspections over the following two days which positioned our home as the second most viewed property on realestate.com.au in WA for the week – Unrecognisable-family-home-a-hit-with-buyers-in-perth
The net result was three offers written within 3 days and a competitive process resulting in the best possible price.
What’s the lesson?
I reckon it’s that you only get one crack. So do it right. Give Buyers A Price. Buyers can also tell if you bodgey things up. They are discerning and are prepared to pay for good homes. Our marketplace is full of owner occupiers – it’s their chance to fulfill their dream. It’s their hard earned money – now and in the future. Fulfill their requirements and expectations and you will always have a liquid (saleable) asset.
If you don’t meet the market’s demands, the only pathway to sale is through discounting.
So what next for the Bastons?
A modest renovation of our current home on Gloucester Street is in progress whilst we guide the teens through their final year or two of high school. Shortly we’ll breathe out and decide on a final plan – continue the renovation? Build? Who knows?
What we do know, is that we are firmly ensconced in this place just over the Causeway with it’s 3km long strip of fantastic cafes, restaurants and small bars, life long friends and the odd car yard.
If you’d like to talk to me about your home and what Buyer objections are likely to be or what you should do prior to sale, please book an appraisal via our website here.
Derek Baston
M: 0417 99 23 24
