Originally planned to sell via auction method, Fedja Bilic and the whole Collings Real Estate team behind the campaign of 331 Victoria Road, Thornbury turned “passed in” into “another possibility.” With the highest bid still below the reserve price, Fedja assured the vendors that although the Auction may have been unsuccessful, the property would still sell. The method of sale was then changed from auction to private negotiation after careful consideration.

Instantly, the Art Deco Style residence may look appealing to first time homebuyers, professionals or investors considering its features. But through the eyes of an experienced real estate agent, the angles and possibilities are endless.

“Throughout the campaign, the property was tenanted. In most cases, we don’t advise our vendors to sell the property with the tenant in there. However, we did believe that the demographic of the buyers we were going to be targeting is most likely developers or someone looking to transform the property into their dream home. Having a tenant in there would then be advantageous while waiting for their plans and permits.” said Fedja.

This approach hit two birds with one stone: the vendor maximising their rental return while attracting the best candidates for the property. Everyone is aware of how crucial time is in selling a property. And so after counting 60 days before the end of lease, the campaign was launched to ensure flexibility if an owner occupier purchased to provide the opportunity to purchase with vacant possession. 

It helped that the professionally photographed areas of the property were uploaded to real estate marketing platforms for the targeted demographic to see. According to Fedja, the property was marketed across realestate.com.au as well as domain.com.au where it reached approximately 5,000 people. To reach its maximum potential views, Collings Real Estate also ran a social media marketing campaign where they reached an additional 16,000 people. The photos of the property garnered approximately 21,000 online views in total.

These views translated into 43 buyers through the doors. One lucky purchaser finally bought the property after a couple of days of negotiation. The offer was $1,215,000 which the vendor was happy to accept.

This particular case speaks so much of how being sharp-witted is important in selling properties. While we all know that theories and applications can be learned through reading and observation, it’s only through experiences that actual skills can be honed over time.

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