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Peter Chauncy of McGrath Estate Agents achieved the shortest average days on market of REB’s Top 100, with a remarkable average turnaround time of just 12 days. Here are some of the key reasons why he manages to sell properties so quickly.
This stands in stark contrast to the averages of the suburbs he services, which range from 30.7 to 87.3 days.
Mr Chauncy achieved this fantastic result by placing a strong emphasis on setting up marketing campaigns correctly, which he says is the “the absolute key” to their success.
Go through possible scenarios
“I always pre-frame all the different scenarios that can occur during a campaign up front,” Mr Chauncy says.
In laying out all the options involved in selling a property, Mr Chauncy goes through the following ‘what ifs’ with his clients:
• What if you get a really strong early offer?
• What if there isn’t anyone interested at all?
• What if you’ve got lots of interest but everyone’s talking similar sorts of numbers in terms of what they’re prepared to pay?
“It’s about being as informative as you can and getting that trust with your clients, so that when one of these situations potentially unfolds, they’re prepared to listen to your advice,” he says.
According to Mr Chauncy, his clearance rate both before and at auction is “fairly high”, with 50 per cent of his properties sold prior to auction last year and the other 40-45 per cent sold on the day or soon after.
He explains that this stems from setting up all the different scenarios “so that if one of them unfolds quickly, your client’s already well briefed on that scenario and is in a position to make a decision”.
Manage clients’ expectations
Mr Chauncy also emphasises that it’s important for agents to manage their clients’ expectations and inform them that the first week is “where you get most of your serious activity”.
“A lot of agents don’t tell clients that, so they might think that things are going to rapidly improve over the coming weeks as you approach auction, which isn’t always the case.”
He highlights that the role of an agent is to give clients “confident, proper advice” on all the actions they can take to increase the value of their homes.
Tailor the listing presentation to clients’ needs
Mr Chauncy emphasises the importance of ensuring that clients’ needs are front and centre in the listing presentation. He suggests asking questions such as, ‘What’s the most important part of this process for you?’ and structuring the presentation around their answer.
“Be prepared to ask the right questions and listen to what they actually want out of the meeting,” he says.
“It's about helping them the way they want to be helped through what is a fairly stressful time for a lot of people.”
Identify the best buyers
Identifying the best buyers for each listing is another element of Mr Chauncy’s approach that helps him sell properties in record time.
“It’s important to build a relationship with people that are out there ready to buy property,” he says.
He does this by servicing his agency’s ‘VIP buyer database’ with more than just email contact.
Mr Chauncy explains that a VIP buyer is someone who has previously bid on a property unsuccessfully and is thus known to be qualified and ready to buy.
“We tend to go out of our way to help those sorts of people even more, because they are ready to make a decision and buy a property if we can put them in front of the right one,” he says.
“If we can put them in front of the right property, they're often prepared to make a quicker decision and potentially offer a premium to actually have the opportunity of buying a property earlier on in the campaign if it’s appropriate.”
Ultimately, Mr Chauncy emphasises that when it comes to a marketing campaign, the best results are achieved by “getting back to basics” in determining what’s most important to a client and how they would like to see the campaign run.
Quick facts – Peter Chauncy:
• 2016 REB Top 100 Agents ranking: 18
• Company: McGrath Estate Agents
• Suburb: Naremburn
• Position: Licensed real estate agent
• Years’ experience: 12
• Support staff: 2
• Average sale: $1,706,664
• Volume: $155,306,388
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