We Just Sold Four of Our Own Wellington Properties. Here's What Actually Got Them Sold for More

We've been in real estate for a hot minute - 17 years with over 500 houses sold.

But in the last 3 years, more uniquely, we've also been renovators and vendors 4 times as we sold up our own rental properties using Harcourts…yes, 4 different times. They say selling is one of life's top 5 stressors…it is lol!

Our Vendor Diaries series shares all the real, tested and practical insights from our recent experience as vendors, backed with years of real estate knowledge, to help you.

In the real estate game the 3 P's of property – Presentation, Promotion & Price – are critical to a successful sale. In ANY market you can improve how much your property sells for and how quickly it happens.

If you're just joining this series, you can find the first 4 articles dealing with the first 'P' – Presentation – below. Packed with tips and hacks, there's gold in here for you:

1. Lifting the Section/Garden area → read it here

2. Getting the House Exterior in Shape → read it here

3. Sorting the Inside → read it here

4. For the Inside Touches & Styling → read it here

Right, with the house ready, let's talk the second 'P' – Promotion.

Our four houses covered the gamut – a 2-bedroom, a 3-bedroom, a 4-bedroom, and you guessed it…a 5-bedroom! All vacant and all prepared. In terms of promotion, here's what you need to be thinking about:

Staged for Success

Each property was home staged and not sold empty. You just can't get past the benefits of creating positive impressions and an emotional response from great staging. If your house isn't empty, a styling consult can sort what can be added, removed, shuffled around or swapped out for the same effect. We've never had a client not make a profit on good staging, and we don't advise clients to do anything we wouldn't do ourselves. For a contact, sing out.

Images with That Rizz

I say images rather than photos as there's an intent, aesthetic and art to it if you want to create value from the get-go. You're competing with every other seller and, in a buyer's market with quite a few of them, you need attention and action – bums off seats and in your house rather than in the other ones down the road. They say 'a picture is worth a thousand words', though I've seen some real estate advertising lately where the picture succinctly says 'you don't want this house' lol. It's amazing to us the spectacular own-goals we often see from real estate agents rolling out stupid photography. We didn't take the pictures for our places…we used a professional who sidelines in wedding photography and is about quality. It's not expensive, but Leonie is there calling for the particular shots she wants to get that rizz.

Never Ever Under-Market

You can't sell a secret. All 4 houses had full marketing packages. Real estate is a numbers game and you want everyone there and some competition. We used ListNow, a finance company Harcourts has partnered with to pay for the marketing, so we didn't have that burden upfront, with the bill later paid on sale. There's a small fee and interest cost but negligible against the money the marketing put onto the final sale prices.

Start with No Price Marketing

All 4 places had solid appraisals, but forget that, we'll come onto price later. With no price to start with, they had a pitch, great images, and plenty of vendor motivation. We wanted people to come, choose the house (not the price), and talk turkey afterwards with the right ones. They had a tender window first (two or three weeks) and then, if unsold, straight onto Asking Price, informed by lots of detailed market feedback.

It's the Concept, Not the List

Buying real estate is an emotional game and the right buyers will see more value and pay more for your property if you help them to. You must set the stage. If you want emotions, think stories, images, feelings, and not bullet point bloody lists of how many toilets there are lol. They are buying a lifestyle, a vision and feelings. These properties had a 'marketing concept' developed to find and appeal to the very right buyers (not just any buyers) who would see and pay the most for each particular place. Think of a forensic profile for your buyers…who are they, what are they looking for, what can they do if they live there? Or call Leonie and she'll do it with the experience of an FBI profiler stalking a serial killer lol.

THE TAKEAWAY!!

Why did we do all this and not just bang a sign up? These four properties sold faster in the more challenging markets of the last 3 years, and for way better results than they otherwise would.

Have questions or need some help? This period leading up to Spring is a great time to line the ducks in a row. Call us – 027 518 0008 – or get in touch. Start with a chat or a unique prep plan for your property.

No fuss, no sales pitch, no juniors, just service.