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Brendan Wong
A PRDnationwide office in western Sydney that recently ran an inspection tour using an historic double-decker bus has successfully inspired both fresh listings and buyer interest in a number of properties for sale.
Dubbed the ‘Red Alert Extreme’ by PRDnationwide Penrith, prospective homebuyers embarked on a home inspection tour on board a classic double-decker bus, which included signage.
“The fundamentals of the event are trying to pick a premium location, creating a competitive environment and getting buyers emotionally connected by holding them back and giving them the first opportunity to see the home,” PRDnationwide Penrith's residential sales manager Daniel Latty told Real Estate Business.
He said the reason for the campaign was the lack of listings following the agency's bumper Christmas clearance sale.
“We came back in January and we had such a successful campaign that there was no stock left," he said. "Darren [Latty], the principal, and I sat down and brainstormed about how we could do the opposite of a clearance sale and try to get a listings run. What we found was we had heaps of qualified buyers in South Penrith but there were very limited numbers of homes for sale.
"Importantly, we’ve got a whole heap of buyers qualified and looking to buy. It’s just allowed the flow of listings to come through and hopefully our market share can inch back up."
Locals were invited to join the two-hour tour on the condition that they were qualified buyers pre-approved by banks.
“For people that were not prepared to get on the bus or who weren’t quite ready to buy, they had the opportunity to view the property at the open house in the afternoon,” Mr Latty continued.
26 buyers participated on the bus tour, although a total of 80 people inspected the properties on the day, made up of 30 separate buying groups.
"We took clients past a few comparable sales on the way to the house," Mr Latty said. "We tried to make it a bit more interactive with them. We took questions as the bus was touring."
Three of the four houses inspected received offers.
“Overall, it was very successful and it’s led us to sell other properties from those qualified points,” Mr Latty said.
PRDnationwide Penrith has planned monthly bus tours over the next six months, which will also target investors and renovators.
“We’re trying to have a different twist on it each month," Mr Latty said.
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