From personality-filled interiors to aesthetically pleasing architecture, selling designer homes requires agents to draw on strategic marketing and lifestyle appeal, while knowing where to find their target buyers.
While traditional homes offer dependability for buyers, designer properties have risen in popularity, providing agents the chance to earn higher commissions and build brand prestige, giving them an edge over competitors.
According to Nelson Alexander Fitzroy sales agent James McCulloch, selling designer homes requires tailored marketing by property type, location and features, with the strongest results driven by high-quality visuals, lifestyle-focused campaigns and precise buyer targeting.
The agent just listed a “Barbiecore" pink designer house in Melbourne’s Fitzroy North, which gained traction for its distinct style, attracting around 100 groups to inspect the property within just a few weeks.
McCulloch said that while the home had attracted a mix of interested parties and those simply wanting to have a look, the challenge had been to identify the genuine buyers.
“Getting someone who wants to walk through one-on-one is a really good indicator,” he told REB.
“But I’ve learnt to dedicate my energy to those requesting contracts or wanting to come back for a second look.”
Additionally, he said that when it came to designer homes, especially colourful ones, not all prospective buyers would actively attend open homes on the weekend, given their specific tastes.
He said that to find the right buyers, it was important for agents to review their database and contact prospective purchasers who had previously shown interest in unique properties.
“Being an agency like we are with a very strong database, it gives us access to buyers on a really broad range of the market,” he said.
“If we’ve sold something in Thornbury or in Collingwood or in Brunswick, we’ve got that flexibility to go to different suburbs to pull buyers from who may not have been looking in Fitzroy North, but they love the personality of the home.”
McCulloch also said focusing on online marketing was important when selling homes like the Fitzroy North property, to highlight the home’s best features and attract prospective buyers.
“Just making sure that you’ve got high-quality photos is probably the way to go. Ad copies are very important as well, especially when you’ve got a home like this that’s so personal,” he said.
“You just want to try and include things in there that maybe you’re not going to know firsthand or you’re not going to see online.”
While properties like the “Barbiecore” house may require agents to hone in on their database to find the right buyer, Bright Estate Agents director Tristan Rowland’s strategy for the “Lantern House” in Queensland’s Moreton Bay has been more widescale.
According to Rowland, video strategy played a major role in his marketing approach, helping the property become the highest-viewed listing in April.
“There was another agency that had it before us, but I wasn’t a very big fan of the video, it was more about the agent – the house is a rockstar, not the agent,” he told REB.
“Our video really highlights what the house has to offer, particularly the different times of day and the light that it enjoys, but also the features of it.
Rowland also said the strategy focused on location, with his team marketing the property internationally, sparking interest in Dubai, the UK, and Singapore.
He said the property had gained such widespread traction because buyers looking for similar designer homes often prioritised lifestyle over location.
“Location is important, don’t get me wrong. But if you’re looking for a specific flavour of house, you’re going to go looking for that, and the area becomes somewhat subsidiary to that,” he said.
“With all the internet portals, you’re very much pigeonholed by whatever suburb you’re in. So when you start to go smart out there with socials, you start to reach a much broader market.”
Given that many buyers focused on lifestyle, Rowland said he encouraged them to consider the property’s potential by describing the surroundings.
“Find out if they’re familiar with the area, and then explain they’ve got shops in every direction, lots of cafes, restaurants, you’ve got the beach, literally a one-minute walk from their front door and getting to town is very quick,” he said.
With the home having attracted a diverse range of buyers, from young couples to boomers, Rowland also advised agents against limiting their marketing to certain demographics.
“Agents in general think they know more than they probably do, or they assume too much. You have an idea of who the buyer could be, but you can’t let that pigeonhole your market,” he said.
“What I love about social media is it carpet bombs everyone initially and gets that initial wave of coverage. Then, when you get the people who are drawn to it, it then really retargets and homes in on those people,” he concluded.
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