Celina Gregory on Buying in the Southern Highlands and South Coast

Vendors had expectations and so a big challenge we've had is waiting for vendors to catch up to the market. So we may be ready, but the vendors aren't ready to meet the market. Our motto is buy without regrets.

If you can buy a property that will serve you for 10 years as opposed to three years, that will serve you well. Buying a great property today, that's not just what it's about.

It's also getting something that could be ripe for improvement when the time is right for that investor or for the next buyer. You think about, right, lifestyle, what's important to you? How do you get to work? What do you need for your family? What amenities like parks and shops?

Then you look at the budget.

Welcome to Street Secrets. I'm Chris Bates and my mortgage broadcast is 2013.

And in this podcast, we're going to be interviewing Australia's leading buyer's agents, ones with decades of experience, have the local insider knowledge on the street, and can really help you with your buying process, no matter whether you're a first home buyer, upgrade or investor.

In this podcast, you'll get access to Australia's leading buyer's agents' minds every week on a Thursday. What's the word on the street?

Welcome to Street Secrets. I'm Chris Bay. Super excited to be doing probably my favorite part of Australia today in the studio today with Selena Gregory. How are you doing?

I'm in very well. Thanks, Chris. How are you?

So people are thinking, where is the favourite place? It is probably the south coast of New South Wales. Not to say I've been to all of Australia, but it's a place that I do love to go to. I've sort of got married down there. I just gravitate to that part of the world.

And I'm going to be there in a few weeks over the school holidays to sort of visit the southern highlands and sort of the berry sort of area, you know, the gerongongs and the gerowas and

you know, even in the kangaroo valleys, there's just so much going on in that part of the world. And, you know, we saw a massive element of tree changes all through, you know, pre-COVID, in COVID, post-COVID.

And so it's such a, and it's such a wide area and there's just so many elements to it. So super excited to be doing this episode today. How are you doing?

I'm great. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

No worries. I mean, obviously, you know, we know each other, but I mean, if you think about the, you know, your experience when you became a buyer's agent, but also when you got into the real estate industry, you've been doing it a long time. Can you sort of share your journey today?

Yeah, sure. So I entered the industry in 2007, so nearly the 20 year anniversary. Might need to do something to celebrate. Someone said it should probably be a holiday, but I was thinking a cake or balloons or something. But a long time ago now.

So when I was actually a producer at the time, but I love property and I actually sold my first property myself in Malara in Sydney and I loved it and I was always just very drawn to property and real estate. So I was looking for something different.

I'd been in the film industry for a long time and the advertising industry. And so I did my training at REI, which is where you went in those days. There weren't many other options. And I remember the trainer saying, who here wants to be a buyer's agent?

And we all sort of looked at each other thinking, what's a buyer's agent?

and he said mark my words in 10 years it'll be huge so you should all consider it and i never forgot that so that was when i started 2007 i first worked um in sales actually in the northern beaches in sydney um worked for a very successful agent there gillian mcgrath mcgrath and i was with her a short time because i then moved on um but and i moved to the southern highlands but

She instilled some of those really tough things you need to do in real estate, like door knocking and all that sort of stuff, which was horrible. But it was a good grounding, good experience. And yeah, that was my start. And then I moved to the Highlands and continued to work in sales there.

And the company I worked for there then became a holiday rental company. So I did a bit of that as well. And then I moved to the south coast. I actually grew up in Bury. So I moved a bit closer to home after 10 years in the Southern Highlands.

And so I worked for Bell Property, three different offices, Wollongong, Kiama and Bury. So I did a lot along the coast in sales as well. And but I always had that little nagging feeling and remembered that thought about should think about being a buyer's agent.

And I thought about it for many years before I did it. And everyone kept talking me out of it. They said it's too soon. No one knows what a buyer's agent is. Don't do it. And I nearly did it before COVID. Wish I did. And I walked out of it again.

And when, during COVID, I was a sales agent and I was selling properties that buyers hadn't seen in person. And I thought, this is crazy. You know, we need a really strong buyer's agent in the area. So that's when I decided to set up my own agency and become a buyer's agent.

So, and then of course, interest rate rises started and the market change.

So my timing wasn't ideal, but you know what they say in real estate, you know, um, good agents are sort of grown in tough markets and the ones that survive are the ones that, you know, um, so that's, that's sort of how I came to become a buyer's agent.

Now you give me a lot to work with there. Um, you know, one part of that, uh, well, there's a couple of things that I really love is the sort of, A, growing up there, you know, I think that makes a huge difference.

You just know what, you know, areas like, what locals like, what you loved as a kid, what other people, where your friends love, you know, like there's definitely something to be sort of said to the best buyers, agents that know the area for a long, long time.

But also you knew what life was like pre-COVID in the sales world, you know, and what was selling well, what wasn't selling well. And, you know, even the holiday letting experience, how did that sort of help you? Because...

Yeah, it is one of those markets where is, you know, a lot of the buyers or a lot of properties do have that element to it as well. How's that helped you?

It helps a lot with my clients because I am getting a lot of clients that do consider also renting out their property in that way to make a bit of extra income. So they still want to use it as a weekender, but they'd like to earn a bit of income as well.

So I can educate them a bit around that and reality check them a bit as well because people see the nightly rates on holiday rentals and think, wow, these people are making a fortune. There are actually a lot of expenses as well.

It's not, you know, it's not as, it may not be what you think from the outset. So I can just help them, yeah, help educate my clients a bit around that.

Yeah, I mean, yeah, there's always a belief that, you know, yeah, exactly. I can just sort of buy this and rent it whenever I want. And that'll just sort of, you know, and there's rules around that are changing with the ATO, obviously negative gearing, et cetera.

But, you know, there is a sort of a reality check. Sometimes, you know, some are super hot for rentals and then some are going to really struggle unless it's like peak times. Obviously, the southern highlands as well and barrier. But how do you think about the sort of different biopools that have

know in 2026 you know that are moving there and why they're moving there and um or why they're upgrading there or why they you know want to stay there what's sort of what's driving those markets in you know in today's terms versus say you know covert and even pre-covered

I mean, they've both been really popular areas for tree changes for many years. I mean, my parents were an example of that. They moved to Bury over 50 years ago.

I mean, they were pretty early on, but it has always been popular for people to look for more space, look for better value for money and that sort of thing. And that has certainly stood the test of time. So you certainly have families looking for better value.

looking for more you know for their money and that goes for both areas the south coast and the southern highlands um you also still have you know affluent buyers who are looking for a weekend they're looking for a beautiful acreage that they can enjoy on weekends so they still live in sydney but they're looking for that that escape um so it's a bit of a combination of the high net worth buyers who are looking for a weekender and then also younger families that are looking for better values so

um i don't think the type of buyer has changed that much over the years it's probably been you know both both of those types of buyers for quite some time i mean obviously covered is another story it went crazy um and everyone just wanted to get out of the cities and work you know they were able to work from home from a much

larger property perhaps more space um so that's a you know a different kettle of fish i guess but um but generally i think it's been the same type of type of buyer wow yeah do you find that the um the actual just the also

maybe not the family moving there, then maybe also the sort of the pre-retiree slash retiree that's sort of sold up in the city and they're, you know, like you said, doing that tree change. I think a lot of them want to sell in a good market though, right? So it's almost like,

As the Sydney market goes up, they're like, oh, I can cash in now for a really good price. But they're not going to sell it until they can get that really good price.

Do you find that that's slowed down a bit over the last few years because they've been a little bit apprehensive to sell and make that change?

Yeah. And yes, to the retirees and the pre-retirees, definitely we have that type of buyer in both areas and have done for some time. I absolutely agree with that. Lately, yes, it's been tough. I mean, my niche is the lifestyle property market and

um that that niche kind of has been struggling in recent years you know after covered a lot of people pulled back and once the interest rates started going up um those buyers you know really reduced so they're you know they're still there but the numbers are nowhere near where they were

And whether that's because they're waiting to sell, like you say, or not, I think it's become a bit of a luxury having that second or third property. A lot of my buyers might be cash buyers, so they're not necessarily affected by those rate rises.

It just took the confidence out of the market and it became a bit of a luxury to have those holiday homes. So there's definitely been a reduction in that in recent years.

Yeah, I think Kyma, um, when we even were thinking about moving there all the way back in 2017, we were, we were pretty keen, uh, and you know, it was just sort of the reality check of kids coming and, you know, uh, you know, work, could we make it happen back then? Um.

And I think we've had a very good life. If we did move there, I'd say we sort of, but I think it had the biggest growth.

If you look at the last five years or something, how has it sort of, when you look at the better pricing, as you're looking at properties, you know, yes, they might be feeling like they don't want to sell in Sydney, but really, are they getting a lot cheaper? you know, better prices?

Are you finding it's, you know, you know, if some sellers do want to get rid of their second home or they're maybe moving back to the city, is it, is it really good buying for you in 26 versus other years? Or is it still a really hard to find the good stuff?

No, look, it's definitely a buyer's market in our area and it has been for a few years. There's a lot of stock. So in fact, I'm finding my clients, you know, before I help them, of course, getting a bit of analysis paralysis. They really just don't know what to do.

And I feel like Recently I've had more inquiry and I think it's because during uncertain times people perhaps need even more guidance because you know there's just so many options, so many things to consider.

We've had plenty of stock, we've had plenty of options so it hasn't really been a problem for people to find. If it's a problem for them it's more so that they just can't decide because there are so many options and I know it's quite different in Sydney. Yeah.

So as a buyer's agent, it's very different operating in this area compared to, say, a Sydney buyer's agent. I think they'd be shocked to know how things are here. Quite different. We have different challenges to Sydney buyer's agents. I think their challenge is finding the stock. Our challenge is educating buyers and

Ensuring them it's a good idea to use a buyer's agent and helping them actually decide and commit. Yeah. So it's sort of flipped, a bit flipped compared to Sydney.

Yeah. So it sounds like you've got a proper buyer's market, right? Choice. And then you've got the ability to negotiate, right? Because you've got choice. So how do you help them really... you know, understand those markets and to, you know, figure out it's the right property for them.

And also it's the right property that is actually a good investment for them. And, you know, because, and helping them weigh up different areas, like, you know, what are some of the common mistakes that you sort of help them avoid?

You know, maybe it's buying in something a bit hard to get in now or too far with the shops, or it's maybe a bit too close away from the beach or, you know, like say, you know, what are some of the decisions sort of treat like frameworks you have to take them through?

yeah so there's a bit there so and also just getting back to your other point about post covert that's really affected us in that vendors had expectations you know based on covert prices um and so a big challenge we've had is waiting for vendors to catch up to the market so we may be ready but the vendors aren't ready to meet the market so yeah just to finish that last point that's been a challenge

In terms of helping buyers make those decisions, it's so important. I mean, it's all part of the onboarding process as well. I mean, I go through quite a rigorous process.

I mean, it's not rigorous for them, but just in terms of a thorough process, making sure I'm really clear and they're really clear on what they want.

Having said that, I do like to throw in some wild cards because, as you may know, people often purchase something that's different to what they initially said they wanted. So it's good to keep an open mind. But, you know, it's important to consider, you know, so many things.

But access is a big one. You know, people sometimes don't think about the dirt roads and how that will be and whether they will get sick of that and creeks that might flood and, you know, those sort of access problems.

So reality checking them around that sort of thing, as you said, sort of how far they are from the shops.

um what sort of a community they want to be part of all the different areas in the highlands and the south coast they all kind of have their own personalities so we really dig deep into all of that sort of thing because you know to work out what is the right fit for them um i find particularly in the highlands different suburbs can really have a very different towns villages have a very different feel from one another so

it's helpful for me to have discussions with clients you know around their interests and you know so i can help them find their people you know because that is my clients are looking for a lifestyle you know and that's actually what i love about my job it's not just buying my property or a house you know it's really helping them create the lifestyle they want so it's really looking at all that type of thing as well as the practical elements of course and i mean we of course look at growth and in you know

what the value of property is and of course make sure we do all of that proper due diligence and give them you know reports that show you know everything they need to know in that respect but clients because they're not investor clients they're not um the numbers are not the most important thing to them you know is really about the lifestyle so that's what we have to sort of spend the most time on um is really making sure it's the right fit for them as well as all the practicalities yeah

Where do they sort of often go wrong? Like you think about her lifestyle, but I mean, you mentioned around the...

the road and maybe not the right people around them and it's not really the community or you know you know do they get sort of sometimes surprised maybe it doesn't rent as well on holiday or maybe there's just too much upkeep or maybe it's just they don't visit it as much as they think they're gonna or you know or it's too much you know um you know they buy something too big that's you know or they get rules around like rezoning or something like so where's some of the common things that

know they often get really excited about a property and you're like oh just slow down a bit you didn't know about this this and this look you've just listed a lot of them to be honest but um you know buying a rural property can be work you know and that is something that people need to consider obviously i've got a lot of referrals and people that i can help you know help them in that respect but that obviously costs money but you know they do need to think about all those things um

Yeah, there are people that decide to move to the country and then they find that they just don't come here enough or have a holiday house, let's say. They just don't come here as much as they think they will. And that's something you can't really predict.

You can definitely discuss things beforehand and work out what's important to them. But, you know, sometimes it's not something you can predict. But, you know, it's a matter of, you know, talking about all those practical things that we've mentioned. Yeah, you just rattled off all the main ones.

Is the schooling, um, the schooling sort of, you know, do they sometimes get issues with childcare?

I've noticed a lot of people have had issues in like Central Coast, for example, or, you know, the younger, maybe the older sort of crew, maybe they don't have as many challenges as like a, you know, not necessarily, but sometimes the practicalities of families to move down there are a lot more challenging, do you find?

And, um,

A lot of people that move down, they have family or friends here and that can be part of the reason they move. So they might already have a bit of a network. I know clients with older children, teenagers are sometimes concerned because they just want to be with their friends every weekend.

So that's often considered.

um child care itself you know yes i mean it's look sometimes wait lists and things like that but generally people tend to find options if you know if they're coming to the young family but yeah i mean that's definitely something that needs to be considered but i tend to find it's the older teenagers that yeah they just want to stay in sydney with their friends um so that's something that yeah they sometimes find it hard to actually even though they want to make this shift and they're like oh we're going to move here one day finish school they

The teenagers are not up for it and they've got a pretty voice in the household. You know, obviously you're a sales agent there, so you would know a lot, you know, aged, work with firms or, you know, they all know each other, right? So how does that help you?

I mean, have you seen an issue with, I don't know, like other parts of Australia had a lot of influx of new buyers agents, you know, Sydney buyers agents buying on the South Coast. Like, have you seen any issues like this pop up?

Yeah, look, I mean, I don't mean to criticize Sydney Buyers Agents.

They're brilliant for Sydney, but I really don't understand why some clients still use a Sydney Buyers Agent to buy in a regional rural area because there are nuances with rural property and a big part of using a Buyers Agent is for the local knowledge.

And, you know, even if they go and get their stock and station license or whatever, they still don't have that local knowledge. So it really doesn't make sense. I get that they might have a relationship, but it's, yeah, I don't think it's the wisest decision on their part.

Do you see many investor buys agents? Like they're ones that like, you know, we want something a bit cheaper. They couldn't afford Sydney. So they, you know, often they would go to like Central Coast, Wollongong, but then they started to go a bit further than that.

And they started to go into different parts of the South Coast. Or did you not really see too much of that?

Yeah, look, I mean, there are some people that advertise for South Coast or Southern Highlands and they aren't here. And some of them are those types of bias agents that, yeah, work with investors. So, yeah, I see a bit of that.

And in terms of, to answer your other question, you know, working with a, you know, having been a sales agent, that's just such a huge benefit because

you know, as you would know, negotiating with an agent that you know, you know how they operate, they know you, they trust you, makes a massive difference. You know, a lot of the agents I'm working with and negotiating with are past colleagues of mine.

I've worked at a number of agencies in both the South Coast and Southern Highlands. So that's a huge benefit that really is very helpful.

Yeah, and I think the, it's not like you're valuing everything that's equal. One's 4,000 square meters, one's 6,000. One's on the better part of the flatter part. One's not, you know, unusable land. One's, you know, and the list could go on. So, you know, how does that really help you as well?

That real knowledge to help you value the property, know what real comparables are, you know, genuine and the sales history. Because I think you can go so wrong. Yeah.

in that area and get stuck with the property overpay for it that you know the locals know there's some real issues there or it's just not really the that scarce or that desirable it's it's just that you you're only looking now and what's on the market is that

Absolutely. It's a huge thing and that's something, a real benefit I have is that I can talk to the locals about the property. I might know the neighbour next door, you know. I know the other agents that have appraised it and they'll know what it's really worth.

So it's hugely beneficial and there's a huge risk, yes, with people using a buyer's agent from out of the area of overpaying because They don't have that insight.

And, you know, I am very fortunate that I have a strong relationship with, you know, with local agents and locals in general where, you know, I am able to access information that other people would not. be able to.

And there's a level of trust, like I operate in a respectful way with agents so that they know I'm not trying to, you know, rip anyone off or anything like that. But you know, it's all about respect as well to form those relationships and which can be ongoing and lasting.

When you think about the sort of the Berry, you know, Gerongong, Geroa, Like, you know, all these sort of areas, like how do you sort of break them down and do you break them up into pockets? Like the beach pocket, the, you know, you want a bit more of a rural pocket.

Do you want to go more into the hills or the, you know, so how do you think about it when you're guiding the client into the right pocket? Like how do you sort of, then you drill down in that pocket, you know, to find the right one.

Most of my clients are quite well educated, but they often haven't thought of or don't know of little pockets. So, I mean, the first thing is I do have some, sometimes have clients that can't decide between the Highlands and the South Coast. So it's great to be able to offer both.

And obviously the biggest difference is the access to water on the South Coast. So that's the first thing. narrow down how important that is to them. Because if water is really important to you, the South Coast is the way to go.

If you want rural or a village, then you can look at both. So we can discuss both of those options in greater detail. But they generally have a pretty good sense of the rough area they want to be in. And then it's

of drilling down and suggesting I'll often suggest a little pocket people have never heard of but it might be next door to a big name like Berry let's say and they've never heard of it so when they're doing their searches on the portals they haven't even seen those properties because they're not coming up under Berry and it might have a slightly different price point you know they can save some money and they're still only you know five ten minutes from Berry so it's really yeah I find they generally have a you know they have a rough idea of where they want to be and then it's a matter of

giving them some advice and some insight into those areas and also some other opportunities that are close by.

What are some of the... just out of curiosity, like the mystery locations, like they might be focusing on Bowerall or Middigong or, and what's failed, but then they haven't thought about Robertson or I don't know, like there's certain pockets where you sort of take them off and they're like, wow, this is nice.

So actually I haven't thought about this. And they always get that sort of, you know, um, you know, wow factor and they, you know, they had never thought about it. And then all of a sudden, you know, it's now become their favorite, like Barrymore or something like that. I don't know.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, with the Highlands, you know, there are some gorgeous pockets. There's places like Burrowing, which some people haven't heard of. It's actually the first place I lived in the Highlands. I just fell in love with it. It's just such a picture perfect little village.

So there are places like that that people might not know of because they've just been looking up Burrowing. You know, Robertson and Bundanoon are good examples where there's good growth opportunity. They're that further out, but you still get that incredible, you know, Highlands lifestyle.

So Bundanoon's become a lot better known now, and that has had some great growth. But yeah, and there's little pockets like Exeter and there are certainly, you know, everyone has a different experience in terms of where they know and where they don't.

But there are always, yeah, there's always somewhere that someone hasn't considered that might be the perfect place. Yeah.

Is there any...

areas you're sort of really nervous about when like when clients are saying I'm just not sure about like you know I know you love that area but I'm a bit worried there's going to be a lot more development you know I know that's happening a lot around Mossvale like or is there you know some pockets that you know or it's a real a real challenging area for and then the clients just didn't know what they didn't know like is there certain you know you don't have to go too detailed in the area or whatever but is there

pockets that just make you feel a little bit, what you think you're buying today and what you're going to have tomorrow is a bit different?

Look, we haven't had huge development in these areas very much, so that hasn't been as much of an issue. One thing that sometimes concerns me with clients with the South Coast is if public transport's important to them, because the last train line is Bombardier.

I do have clients that want to buy further south and there's some gorgeous areas, Kalbara, Kalala, all those areas.

But I have found, and I found this as a sales agent when I worked in Kiama as well, and actually I have some clients at the moment moving to Djerin Gong from Vincentia because they want to be closer to amenities in the train line.

So things like that are important to reality check with clients.

It's not a huge concern, I guess, but it's something that I just need to check with clients, whether there's no public transport, things like that. There's also flood zones in certain areas that I need to make people aware of and obviously supply zones, which are many.

So things like that, need to make sure clients are really educated and well aware of.

Yeah. It's kind of that narrow pocket, isn't it, once you get past it towards Jarvis Bay and But, you know, there's a new sort of turning off point at Jovers that's happening, and it's getting better, the roads down there. And that was always a bit of a choke point, I guess.

But the roads down there are just so much better. If I reflect from 10 years ago versus where they are today, you know, getting out around Wollongong, I think it's going to get better and better. I think the F6, I think, coming out of Sydney, there's some issues there.

But, I mean, if that starts to, you know, kick on through, I mean, getting down to the south coast is just – You know, obviously the airport's in the south as well.

Like it's a, there's a lot of benefits to, you know, in the distance while it feels a long way away, it's, you know, it's becoming a nicer commute out of Sydney, I find, to get down there.

Yeah, absolutely. And all those things will help. I mean, you know, when I was a kid and my parents would drive from Sydney, you know, we went down the little coastal road, it took forever. So things have really changed.

And all of those things, you know, will continue to improve. You know, we still do have some roads that need some work down this way. But yeah, access is becoming easier, which is great.

You mentioned the clients, yeah, that have gone from Kinsenia, I think you said, up to, yeah, up to sort of Djerongong. So they're coming a bit closer.

So from Jarvis Bay up to, are you finding anyone from the sort of the south of, you know, the north of Wollongong that, oh, it's a bit busy. There's too many Sydney people here now that they're also like trying to escape down the coast a bit further. It's interesting.

They had the, you know, there's, it's almost like a little bit of a second order, you know, their house in Bulleye is now worth two mil and it was worth a mil and now they'll actually, it's time to get out of here. Um, you know, is, is that happening a bit as well?

There's a bit of that. I mean, I also have people from, you know, the Sutherland Shire.

Yeah, Sutherland Shire.

Yeah. Yeah, I get quite a few clients from that area because it's easy for them, you know, for all kinder. So more that area. And then, of course, you know, eastern suburbs, north shore of Sydney. Just had some clients from Victoria. Canberra is another popular one for the south coast.

And that's where most of the buyers tend to come from for us. Yeah.

Yeah, Canberra's an interesting one, right, because it's often forgotten about, you know, but you're right, like it's just, it's kind of that perfect middle ground, isn't it, between, you know, Canberra and Sydney and, yeah, if you can afford to get a bit, you can still get to Canberra quite easily if you have to for work.

I've found that, you know, particularly around the Bateman Bay sort of, you know, that area, it's a huge driver, isn't it, of a lot of that Canberra wealth comes to there.

If you think about the, obviously the shire, the sort of Southern Highlands, is there sort of, when you think about the longer term sort of drivers of it and how do people sort of best protect themselves? Like what are the properties that

You know, you find that I've just got the biggest buyer pools.

Like what are the things, if you had like a little bit of a checklist of the points that you're always trying to steer clients more towards that, and they might absolutely love the view, but then they've got a really steep block or, you know, like some of the common mistakes that they might love, but the locals or that's just not as popular as they think it is.

accessibility again I would say is a big one. Sometimes people like the idea of being more remote but the reality is that it can be you know can get a bit tough.

You know as I mentioned before sort of flood zones and bushfire hazards you know there's things that you know it's very romantic to look at these beautiful properties but you know we do need the realities with some of them and just make sure they're aware Bushfires is a big one, right?

The bushfires. I think we're in El Nino or El Nina again. We had a few wet years, right? And now all of a sudden it's going to be the hot ones. And did you find that that sort of bushfires a few years ago, I think it was 22, was it?

And is that sort of impacted the market? Like it's kind of people forgotten about it now, but is it still very... 19, wasn't it? Yeah, 19. Sorry, yeah.

Dairy, bushfires, yeah. Yeah, look, I mean, you know what it's like. When time passes, people become a bit more, you know, immune to the fear. But when it's fresh, you know, it definitely, you know, it's, I guess, top of mind for people more so. So, yeah, it's just good to...

you know, remind people that these things can happen. Yeah, but I'm not really saying, you know, I just had some clients purchase a beautiful, you know, acreage in Kangaroo Valley, you know, and, you know, needed to point that out to them.

But yeah, it's about, you know, just making sure you're educated and you're aware of how that can affect as well your insurance and your building requirements, renovations or rebuild, things like that. And, you know, we've sort of touched on it as well, just not being close to things can

sometimes you know become an issue over time um it just becomes a bit of a drag not being able to pop down to the shop but some people want that you know really it depends on the individual people some people want to be as far away as they can in shops so everyone is so different that's why it's so important really drill down with each individual you know what what's important to them because yeah everyone's quite different

So if you think, you know, over the years you get better and better at what you do and, you know, what are some of the things that when the clients get to the end of the journey, they go, oh, I just wasn't expecting that to be what was the most valuable part of your service.

You know, when you sort of, you know, I guess getting some feedback from them at the end, like some of the, you know, they thought it would be negotiation or they thought it would be, you know,

finding it but they they sort of at the end go oh god that was the most powerful part of your what you what your service you offer what were some of the things that come to mind look hopefully we all get better you know all the time because you know we with every transaction we do we're learning more about that person or that place you know so we're always growing all of us um um in terms of um sorry what was the second part of your question well it's more just the um the intangibles often they're the things that they value and they

They don't really see it up front. I think that's one of the biggest challenges with the buyers. Those industries, they think it's like this tick the box, I'm going to get X, Y, Z, but it's not. It's like a journey and taking someone through that journey.

It might even just be that you give them the confidence to actually sign that contract that's in front of them. There's so many things. And I think... clients just don't understand it often until you've gone through the experience and at the end they're like, oh, that was amazing.

But it wasn't the feedback isn't what you think it would be, if that makes sense.

Yeah. And look, you know, it's been different things. So I'll never forget with one of my first clients, you know, there was a guide and they wanted to offer it at the bottom of the guide and the agent had said to me, look, if you can just get...

at this number, I think we can get it over the line, which was actually under the guide. And so I immediately saved them $150,000 because I was able to reassure them that they didn't need to make an offer at that level. So that's one thing.

So that client was really happy I saved them a lot of money. And that was because of my relationship and intuition with that agent.

you know times I've had another client say we would have never picked that spot so that's been another thing so yeah introducing them to an area local knowledge comes up all the time so yeah different things for different people but yeah and you know and just I think as you said just giving them that confidence and having an advocate having someone on their side someone backing them that really has their best interests at heart is a comfort to people

And it's nice because it's a bit scary out there, you know, being up against all these other buyers. So it's really nice for people to feel they've got someone on their side, you know, someone that's really looking out for their best interests.

Oh yeah, I think that's a huge value because you know, everyone's looking to look at the portals, everyone can go and look at a property and then all of a sudden it's like, okay, what do we do? And someone needs, you need to talk to someone, right?

So with this echo chamber, you and your partner, you're on different opinions as well. One loves it, one doesn't. And I think sometimes that independent third party, the sounding board there to,

actually ask the questions and help them get to the decision, that in itself is extremely valuable versus just them constantly never buying IE.

And just- A counsellor and a mediator as well, Chris.

Yeah. No, I get it.

Because there's a lot of that involved. There's a lot of psychology involved. Absolutely.

Yeah, that's right. And it's, you know, it's not tricking them at all. It's just actually helping them make a decision and getting them on the same page. And, you know, it's all slowing them down if they're too excited or vice versa.

Yeah, so they make their decisions and absolutely, yeah.

Thanks so much for the chat today. Yeah, it's such a great part of the world and I really appreciate you coming on.

Thanks so much for having me.

Thanks so much for listening today. We hope you got lots of value out of it. If you'd like to speak to our guests today, there's links in the show notes on how you can get in contact.

And if you're buying your first home, upgrading, renovating, or need any finance-related queries, obviously we'd love to help. There's links in the show notes to us as a mortgage broker, and we look forward to next week's episode.