Immersed, as I am, in the world of property, I have found myself fascinated and almost addicted to an armada of Foreign Real Estate Reality shows which have landed on our shores in recent years.
I suppose the reason I like them so much is that, at times, I feel as though I am watching myself when the expert presenters dispense advice to clients on matters ranging from how to present your home to maximise your price to what colour pen you need to use to sign the contract of sale.
These ‘fly on the wall’ stories have one thing in common; buyers and sellers are the same the world over – whether it be a Condo in California, a Bungalow in Birmingham, a Cape Cod in Canada, or a Waterfront Unit in Wooloomooloo – the behaviours and emotions shown, especially by sellers, is almost identical.
Aussie home sellers, your thought patterns and actions are being replicated on the other side of the world, everyday and vice versa. Whether selling a home privately or through an agent, the patterns and behaviours are spookily similar.
As I relax of an evening and sit down to watch, say, ‘Selling Homes’, which is an English Production hosted by a somewhat foppish but brilliantly straight forward fellow by the name of Andrew Winter, I transform into a spectator watching a game of football or even in a Roman amphitheatre baying at the Gladiators. For me, this viewing is compelling for one reason- the removal of denial it is an art form.
Watching the presenter (and property expert) peel back the layers of denial being harboured by the subjects (home owners) is at times a mixture of exhilaration and quiet discomfort. My wife has looked upon me more than once with dismay as I call at the TV, “I told you. Your favourite purple and green wallpaper has got buyers looking for a bucket!”
Mr. Winter has brought his show to Australia, ‘Selling Houses Australia’ and that has made for equally riveting viewing. Mind bending colours, undefined rooms and ‘watch your step’ clutter inhabit Aussie homes as well.
Recently watching the UK version of the show, Mr. Winter was called in to a ‘Semi Detached’ – we might call them a townhouse – which had been on the market for ten months. The owners could not believe that their piece of property heaven, with its pink and white wall paper, red bedroom walls and wall to wall clutter had not sold. It was only priced 10,000 pounds above recent sales of more appealing, well presented similar homes. Once this was brought to the attention of the sellers, by Mr. Winter, the stoic yet unsurprising response was, “We think our home is better than all the others and we are just waiting for the ‘right buyer’ who just wants to fall in love with it.” Mr. Winter smiled, visibly steeled himself and calmly walked the owners through their buyer repellent home.
As Mr. Winter firmly, yet lovingly, pointed out the issues with the home that had kept the buyers at bay, the torrent of excuses and justifications coming from the sellers almost repainted the walls. After a full scale assessment Mr. Winter set the changes in motion and our intrepid, yet reluctant sellers got stuck into making their home ‘saleable’.
The one thing that fascinates me about English Real Estate, is that even if you hire an agent, the owners (sellers) conduct most of, if not all, the buyer inspections – the agent talks to the buyer and tees up the inspection. If that is the case, why wouldn’t you sell your own home?
Back to the story.. The transformation, done on a shoe string budget, was aimed at having maximum buyer impact. It was now very appealing to a wider market. Do you think the sellers agreed? Oh no. “Its soooo bland. We doooon’t like it. It’s not our taste.” It was at this moment I launched off the lounge and screamed at the TV, “You’re not bloody well buying it….” My wife intervened and handed me my tablets and a glass of water. I felt better.
Mr. Winter’s work was done. The home was re-priced to meet buyer demand, it looked attractive and sold on the first inspection day for close to asking price. The seller’s were ecstatic and Mr. Winter had proved, once again, if you ask for advice from an expert whether it’s in front of the camera or not , it pays to listen.
