There is still reason to work at it

With buyers emotional in their purchases and FOMO running rampant, why wouldn’t you lean even more into ensuring your property tugs every one of those emotional heartstrings?

Looking at the Sydney market, I don’t know whether to be envious or grateful to be living here in Cairns. It seems like not a week goes by lately that there isn’t one story or another about a knockdown, unliveable home in Sydney selling for millions, or perhaps more concerning - a perfectly liveable home ALSO selling for even more, only to then be knocked down anyway.


I am all for building wealth through real estate, but that’s getting a little scary for me.


Here in the Cairns market (and the region in general) prices are a bit more closely connected to reality, but its still a very positive reality. Housing stock is awfully tight, but for those home owners that do go to market, there has been a lot of good news with multiple offers becoming more and more common, and enquiry numbers that have agents manning phones from dawn ‘til dusk just to respond in a timely fashion. I had 10 enquiries in a day for a property that was already marked as under contract – that’s just unheard of (or at least it was 15 months ago).


In a tough market, sellers generally understand that you have to work harder to secure an offer, let alone achieve a premium, and tend to be more willing to put in the effort upfront to maximise their home – whether that be through cleaning and gardening, improved maintenance or more comprehensive marketing. In a hot market however, there can be an overwhelming temptation to do less – after all, if you know it’s going to sell regardless, why bother with more effort?


Well, I’d argue that this is the time that that effort is worth the most to you! With buyers emotional in their purchases and FOMO running rampant, why wouldn’t you lean even more into ensuring your property tugs every one of those emotional heartstrings? While even the ugly ducklings are getting offers, it’s the beautiful homes, the ones where the work has been done and the rough edges smoothed away that are truly excelling in this market. And when you’ve gotten your home to look its best, wouldn’t you want more people to see it? That’s where your comprehensive marketing strategy still has its place – because if 2 competing buyers is good, then 5 is better!


As always, take this line of thinking in with you when selecting an agent as well – an average agent will more than likely still get you a result in this market, but the truly good ones will help you achieve the exceptional.