Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
The Local Ormeau Property Chat with Brett Reddell
Your home is your biggest asset—make sure you’ve got the right advice.
Join Brett Reddell, Ormeau’s trusted real estate expert, as he shares short, sharp episodes packed with insights to help you make smarter property decisions. Whether you’re thinking of selling, planning ahead, or just want to stay informed—Brett breaks down what’s really happening in the local market and why it matters to you.
Real tips. Local knowledge. Straight from the guy who knows Ormeau best.
Hi, and welcome to the Local Ormeau Property Chat Podcast. I'm Brett Reddell, your trusted local real estate expert for Ormeau and Ormeau Hills. Whether you're buying, selling, or just curious about the market, this podcast is here to give you the insights and advice you need, plus a little community connection along the way.
With a passion for selling family homes to families, I'm here to share practical tips and expert knowledge to help you make confident real estate decisions. Let's get started.
Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Ormeau, the Local Ormeau Property Chat Podcast. My name's Adam, and today we're going behind the scenes of something every seller experiences but few actually get to see. Now, that is what happens after your open home. Now, most people think the important part is the open home itself.
The buyers walk through, they ask a few questions, then everyone goes home. But what happens after that? What conversations are taking place? Who gets called? Where are the offer a- offers generated from? Where does the strategy all start to come together? Now, today, Brett and Ethan are going to take us behind the scenes and explain what really happens once the sign c- signs come down and the open home is over.
You know, whether there's been one through, 10 through, or 20 through, and whether there's no offers or three. Mm. Boys, welcome to the podcast.
Thanks, mate.
How we going? Okay, Brett, let's go back to the beginning.
Yep.
The last group leaves the open home, what's the very first thing you and Ethan are doing?
Well, he's packing up. He's got signs to put in the car, flags to pull down, a lectern. Look, we have a quite elaborate setup, so- Yep ... hence we take two vehicles. It was actually quite funny on the weekend, uh, one of my clients said, "Don't you like your son?" It's like, "Yeah, no, I love him to bits, but he's gotta take his own car," 'cause we just physically are so busy that he has to go do his thing and I go do my thing.
If we were in the car together, we won't get our thing done.
Yep.
Um, but look, after the open home, it's, it is interesting. There is a lot of work. You know, there might be a quick chat with my client as I'm passing on the way out, heading to the next one, but it's making a phone call in the car on the way there.
There's no rest period. Um, even down to the end of the day, we will sit down when we get home and, yeah, we had a big day Saturday, and I think we got home, oh gosh, it was about probably, I don't know, 5:00, something like that. It wasn't get dinner ready. I don't actually- You start
to talk through each one, don't you?
Well, we do. We're making phone calls. There was text message that was sent through the day to people, trying to get them to buy, trying to send it out to the database to talk to our people. But then, you know, you might be sitting down after dinner at 10:00 that night, and you get a text message from a client, "I am really, I am really interested in the property."
It's like, "Okay." Or at 5:00 in the morning, you know, you get that text message. So it doesn't stop. Like, because we, we pack up a sign doesn't mean we stop working.
And
it
starts again- We're still working ... it doesn't start again 9:00 Monday morning. No.
It, it's- I've had plenty of conversations. We just listed a property, and I had a full conversation from 5:00 the other morning, right through till 6:00.
So just, what do you do? It's my
client. Well, buyers are excited, aren't they? Oh. You know, if they've found the one that they wanted, they want more information. That, the, the minute they've got... They've been talking about it for- Yeah ... two hours since they've left, and they've got five more, uh, questions, uh- Yeah
that they're not gonna wait till Monday to send those through to you.
No, no. And people, you know, you got the FOMO if you're missing out, too, so. Yeah. I had the same thing last night. We had a lady and, you know, really, really nice lady, um, from the same area that I sort of come from when I was a kid, and, um, great chat, and she wants to get her hubby through.
So she's really excited about it. So I'm not gonna ignore her.
Yep.
I'm not gonna text her the next morning, because I'm gonna entertain. If she's up texting me, I'll text her back. Like- Yeah ... let's get it done. Yeah. This is great.
So Ethan, you, you and your, your dad would sit down, you know, at the end of each of these days and, and do a recap on each and every property that's, that...
and talk about the, the buyers that have come through and their level of interest, and what the next step is?
We do that throughout the day as well. Yeah. 'Cause some clients might... Like, I, I, I have my process, what I do inside, and he has his process- Yeah ... when he does outside. Mm. So sometimes I go out and have a chat to him.
Yeah. Um, and talk about what their thoughts are. So and I'll run, "Hey, mate, what'd they say?" And he goes, "Oh, they said blah, blah, blah." Okay, cool. So I know that- Mm ... so then when I ring them-
Yep ...
to have that general chat with them. Yep. Um, sometimes you just don't get that chance to sit down, because when you do get home, you are busy again.
Mm,
yep. So it is difficult.
And you can kind of tell, um, if someone's really interested or not, like based on their demeanor when they come in- Sure ... based on their level of, I suppose, respect that they give us- Mm ... um, and interest that they have in the house. Like, we've had plenty of people that just walk in and walk out, and it's like- Yeah
oh, that person obviously doesn't really care. We've
had people walk in, walk out and buy the house.
Yeah. Like- Really? Yeah, yeah.
Yeah. They just don't wanna talk to us. Yeah. Mm. Because we're not human, we're not real people. Um, but once they get to know you, they go, "Oh wow, you're not, you're not a real estate agent, are you?"
It's like, "Well, I am, but I'm not like that." Yep. "I'm not that person that you think I am." Mm. Mm. "Actually, I, I'm gonna be the bloke that's gonna say, say g'day to you." And you know, we are local, so we don't act like a- I don't know. You know those real estate agents that turn up to open homes in their flashy little convertibles- Yep
and they waltz in and stand out the front on the driveway on- They're not wearing any socks and- ... on their phone. And they're on their phone the whole time of the open home out the front because they're important, and they let their staff... But it'd be like me standing out the front of the road on the phone, "Ethan, go, go deal with it.
I'm busy. I'm important." I'm not that person.
No.
I get in, we move furniture around, we do all sorts of stuff for our people. Yep. Mm-hmm. Like, we don't care. We're just normal people.
Yep. Normal Ormeau locals.
Yeah. But
so without giving away any trade secrets- Oh ... um, what sort of questions are you asking buyers after they've in- inspected a property?
Oh, mate, I'd probably tell you, but you can't record it, sorry. Look, I, I suppose you want to gauge the level of interest. We want feedback.
Yep.
Um, if they go, "Oh no, the house is not for me," it's like, "No, look, totally understand that. Everyone has a house for them. Could I ask you what didn't make it for you?"
Yep. "What was that?" Because we need to then flush out what's real and what's not. Yep. Because it might be like, "I didn't like the color of the paint." Okay, we can change the color of the paint. It could be, look, it's lacking, um, a larger media room, it's lacking a study. So there could be other things. So we need to know valid, because we want to give our clients valid feedback.
We don't want to go, "They didn't like your house." So there are things that we do, and I- we're quite in depth, and if you were to talk to my current clients, they will tell you that I know a lot more about a buyer that comes in than a lot of agents know- Yep ... because I take the time- Yep ... to get to know that.
It's really important.
Yeah, and some- sometimes, you know, the house that they've gone through isn't the one that is probably best suited for them because-
But we may have another house suited for them.
Yeah, like- That's right ... people don't, people don't know. If
you don't ask, you don't know.
Yeah. Do you feel, Ethan, that, um, buyers don't tell you enough about their intentions and things at-
Yeah
at,
at open homes?
Yeah, quite a bit. They think it's kind of like a, um ... I w- I wouldn't say like we're an enemy in a way, but it's like people- They
don't wanna give too much away- Correct ... because they might end
up paying too much They get hassle- they get hassled by real estate agents. Right. Yeah. We, we know an agent in the local area who rings people every five minutes.
Yeah.
And even though when they say, "Don't ring me," he rings, and when they say, "Don't ever call me again," he gets one of his assistants to call them again. It's like, it, it, you can't make somebody buy a house. No. I'm sorry. It's not. I can't make you buy it. What you do is you buy based on your emotion- Yeah
and the fact if you like the house or not, you'll buy the house. So you don't ... You can't force someone into buy a house.
Yeah. Sometimes obviously sellers would get, um, you know, a bit disappointed if there isn't an offer-
Yeah ...
um, that afternoon, and we're just heading into a market where that's gonna happen more and, more and more.
Can you explain why that's actually, you know, just a quite a normal, you know, emotional reaction and that, you know, it, it doesn't mean you're not gonna sell your house? Um,
your home's your castle. It's the best place you've ever been in. It's the most amazing. So in your eyes-
Why can't others see that?
Yeah.
Mm.
So I always say this to people, "Don't ever take anything personally. It's always constructive." At the end of the day, we've had clients go, "Can we hang around and, and listen?" And I said, "People are cruel. People say horrible things about your house. They might not like your furniture. They may not like your wall color.
They might not like your carpet. You don't wanna be upset by that." Um, and they've got every right to say they don't like it, but don't stay there 'cause people are cruel. And, and buyers are buyers. Buyers are wanting to get it cheap, so they're gonna make every excuse to get it cheap. So to sellers, I just say to them, "Look, don't, don't ever take it personally.
At the end of the day, if the ... they're not making an offer, there's a reason." That's why I give them a reason. That's why I take the time to find out what the buyer wants, and then I can say, "Hey." But I do also want people to come and have a look. There's a reason behind that, because comparables are really important.
So we had a couple through on the weekend, and they did come to this house, and it was 300 grand out of budget. But I said to them, "That's great," because now when you go to buy in budget, you know what you can get and what you can't get. At, at- You're not mucking around now ... different price points ... you're not looking at this house going, "Oh my God, it's amazing," 'cause we do have a, a particular lady in our area, so everything's contact agent.
Everything Now, does that mean she doesn't know how to price a house? I don't know. But people go to those houses, they waste their time. We don't wanna waste people's time, but now they go, "Look, that house there has to be around that price. This house- Yeah ... we know it's this price." Yeah. So it's making sure that they're educated.
I mean, this is something I think a, a lot of sellers don't think about, we have talked about it in other, other episodes, is that your buyers are your best indication and probably know, you know, if they're looking in one particular- Yeah ... know the market better than actually you do because- Yep. Yeah ... they go to m- more houses- Yeah
than you do.
Yeah, 100%, they do.
Um,
they, they, I think it's about 30 houses.
Yep. And- So if they don't, you know, they, they're going to know, um, what things are worth and, and possibly better than agents a lot of the time- Yep ... because they're seeing more, and they've really narrowed down their, their buy box, if you like- Correct
of what they're after, in what price point, and straightaway they can see, you know, what, where- Yeah ... things are, are at. So feedback is, is incredibly important, isn't it?
100%. And we get buyers all the time that'll come in and I'll ask them certain questions because I need to establish quickly. It's one that's like, uh, "Out to buy a house today?"
"Yep." "Are you ready to go?" We go through sort of criteria questions, but then it might be, "Have you made many offers?" So if they've made a few offers and they've not got the house, they're underoffering-
Yep ...
which is natural, 'cause we're there to buy cheaply. Yep. Um, but also it's like, "So how many have you looked at?
Have you looked at over 30?" 'Cause 30 is the average. "Looked at over 30? Yeah, I have." So they've gone from educated to confused, 'cause now- It's too
much ...
it's muddled. Mm. So we offer advice to people. It's like, "Hey, you know what the best thing is? To have a sheet, and right at the top the address, take a photo of the house, and go property one, photo one in your phone.
Then also write down what you must have in a house. So when you get home at the end of the day, you can go property one, photo one. Okay, this has got all this, this has got all this." Go through each property, and you know what you then are wanting to work with-
Yep ...
because your must-haves are ticked.
Yep.
You've, um, you've explained buyers sometimes don't give a lot away, m- most probably don't give a lot away. Mm. Think that that's, you know, they wanna keep their, their cards close to the chest. Yeah. H- have you guys got a, a system or a, a way of being able to tell a buyer who's actually serious, who's pretending they're, they're maybe not as serious as they are?
Through questioning. So you've got 30 minutes in an open home, you don't have much time, so you need to establish where they're at, what they're doing very, very quickly. Now, there is one very, very important question that I reckon most of the agents don't ask. I could put you on the spot with this one, Ethan, but, um, I won't.
Um, what do they do for work? That's really important
Right
Because you need to gui- uh, gauge, I suppose, what they do for work. If they're an investor, you're up for a tough time. Um, but you know they're out there actively buying because they're an investor. If they're transient because they move everywhere, okay, this is great.
What's your partner do? Stay home mom? Perfect. Now we start talking about schools and all that sort of stuff. So it's just through questioning and just working out if they're serious or not. Have you sold? Have you been to a bank? Have you been to a broker? Because some people go, "Oh, I've got my loan. Yeah, I, I can get a loan."
Oh, great. Who are you going through? "Jumped on the computer and I punched in my details and I can get a loan." Do you have a HECS debt? "Oh, yeah, I've got one." Did you put that in? "No." Okay.
Suddenly the numbers have changed.
Yeah.
Yep.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it's, it's just evaluating your person and where they're at.
Because we get some beautiful people coming in, and we've got, we've got a lot of aged population, and they're lovely, and they come in and, "Just wanted to have a look, darling. Is that okay?" Yeah, that's fine. Yeah. But we knew that- Yeah ... because we asked the question.
So if sellers could watch you guys, um, you know, and see everything that happens, you know, after, after the open home, what do you think would surprise them the, the most?
Because there's a huge amount of work. It, it actually starts once the door closes- I
mean- ... isn't it? Pro- probably the fact that we don't finish working once we get home.
Yeah.
Like, we, it, it... We work all week, and then we get to- Are you complaining about working seven
days a week, Ethan?
You get to op- you get to opens, which is, like, at when everyone else is, you know...
The most important part, I suppose you could say- Yeah ... in a way. And, um, people forget that, like, we don't just clock off the minute we get home. I mean, I don't know about other agents, but we certainly don't. Like-
No ...
we'll be working however long it, it takes to do everything that we need to do, despite the fact that it is a weekend, you know?
Um, and while other people are probably resting, we're doing all the, the paperwork that needs to be done, any of the follow-ups that need to be done. You know, making sure that the people who came through actually wanted to- Yeah ... buy the house or not. Like, we've had plenty of people who just scan the offer form just because- Mm
they just wanted to scan the offer form. Not that they're gonna put in an offer or anything, but it's just we make sure that they-
Well, their- ... are serious ... intent is there.
Yeah.
That's an intent- Yep ... to do that, so that's a good step. That means that they're interested and they need to buy a home. If they put it in, there's another intent level- Mm
so, um- But even on holidays, you know, we go to Bali as a family. What's you and your brother's biggest pet hate? Dad, get off the phone.
Working all the time. Yeah. Yeah. '
Cause I work. While they're sleeping in, I'm up on the laptop, I'm doing contracts, I'm talking to people, I'm ringing and making phone calls.
Throughout the whole day, I'm making phone calls. The business doesn't stop, and I, and I shouldn't, I should not ignore clients, and I'll always answer them. I'll always answer inquiries as well. Mm. So the importance and the value is that no matter where we are and what we're doing, we're always working.
Yeah. Mm.
Because we've been employed to do a job, so it's really important. Example, yesterday there was five open homes in Ormeau, only five.
Mm.
Out of every single property on the market, and there's probably around, I don't know, 60 on the market. Yeah. And we had three of those five.
Wow. Mm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And the other one was another agent.
So two agents decided to work really hard in a bad market for their clients, and every other agent took a Sunday off to go and, I don't know, go chill out and go to the coffee shop.
Yeah.
But we worked, and we work for a reason.
Yeah.
Because you just never know. Yeah. It might be that one buyer that walks in.
That's right, and in these tougher market conditions, this is what you want with agents, agents who are- Yeah ... gonna go the extra mile because- Correct. Mm ... agents who just, these are the markets where the, the agents who aren't experienced, who really aren't hard workers, who, you know, they, they're gonna drop out.
We're gonna see s- a lot of agents drop out of the market- Mm. Yeah ... over the next 12 months, I would imagine. Correct. Where you're not just able to list a home and it just sells.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Um, it's the ones who know what they're doing, know how to get buyer interest, how to do the hard yards and actually get sales across the line.
Yeah. And I'm betting, guys, that there's a lot out there who've come into the market o- let's call it over the last four to five years, who've never, who aren't gonna see the conditions we're gonna see over the next- Yeah ... little while, and won't know how to cope and will drop out.
People, people think that becoming a real estate agent, that's a whole nother topic, becoming a real estate agent just means that I walk in, I go get a nice suit, go get a nice car, stand there- And I make money.
No, no you don't. And we've seen it time and time again, young fellas come in the industry, um, wanna work for a bigger brand. They tell you to go buy yourself a little BMW, go get the nicest suit, have a good phone, get out there and make phone calls, and you'll make millions. No, they go broke in three years.
Yeah. They can't sustain a lifestyle. They've missed the point. What you do is be humble, go out there and talk to people and get to know them. Don't be interested in wanting to sell their house, get interested in wanting to know somebody. Once you start to know people, they will trust you.
It's a relationship business.
Gotta build trust.
Absolutely.
Yep.
Absolutely. I
mean, like, it's, it's a very unique industry in the way that, like, w- we're, sure we're working all the time-
Mm ...
and we're trying our hardest to sell homes, but, like, people's schedules are heavily reliant on their work. Yep. You know, if they can even show up to an open on a weekend.
Some people work weekends, you know? That's
it.
So we'll do, like, midweek opens, because you never know, like, there could be that one person that has just never had the ability to go to an open home, but they wanted to buy the house.
Absolutely.
So it's about cading- catering for those people. I mean, sure, it's extra work, and- Mm
sometimes a lot of people don't wanna do it, but, like, you gotta. Yeah. Like, it's just part of the gig, I suppose.
Yeah. For sure. For sure. Look, thanks again, boys, for joining us on a- another episode of the Local Ormeau Property Chat. Hopefully if you're listening today, you know, we've given you a bit more insight into everything that does happen behind the scenes, especially after an, after an open home.
If you're thinking about selling in Ormeau or Ormeau Hills, and you'd like to know more about how Brett and, uh, and Ethan, um, you know, manage buyer follow-up and negotiations, feel free to get in touch. All of the details are in the, in the show notes. If you know anyone buying or selling in Ormeau or the local region, please get them in touch with these guys.
They've been doing it for decades in this area. Uh, what they don't know about the area and the market here is not worth knowing, and if you want a team who will work harder than anyone, um, then, uh, you can't go past Team Reddell, they're your local area specialists. Thanks again, guys. Thanks, mate. And we'd, uh, look forward- Thanks
to, um, catching on the next episode. Absolutely.
Thanks for listening to the Local Ormeau Property Chat Podcast. I hope you found today's episode helpful, and feel more empowered on your real estate journey. My goal is to provide you with valuable advice, while staying connected to our amazing community here in Ormeau and Ormeau Hills.
Remember, selling family homes to families is what I do best, and I'm here to support you every step of the way. Stay tuned for more tips, insights, and local area knowledge in the next episode. I'll see you then