We aren't exaggerating when we talk about Shanes expertise. He's become so sought after, a whopping 75 PER CENT of his business comes from past clients referrals to family and friends, along with a sales portfolio that spans 77 different suburbs! Have a read below as we try our best to pick this great Real Estate brain...
1. A selling point for many reps is their experience and knowledge of a certain area. In contrast, one of your main selling points is having sold in 77 different suburbs! Do you believe more in that wide-net approach? Or is it good to get acquainted with one or two areas?
I only market myself in a couple of suburbs and have been very successful in them. However, 75% of my business is now from past clients and their referrals to family and friends. The research I do for the appraisal and the subsequent marketing and sales strategy for each property gives me a better understanding of the overall real estate market in Perth and the differences required in marketing a much broader range of property types to a far more diverse range of buyers than would typically be in 1 or 2 suburbs. It also proves that thorough research, an excellent marketing campaign and great negotiation skills are far more important than ‘local knowledge’. The only downside of selling in so many suburbs is that I spend a lot of time in the car driving from one suburb to the next, there have been many weekends when I have 10 scheduled home opens to do in 10 different suburbs.
2. You’ve spent many years establishing a strong digital presence whilst moving with the times. How have these aspects of Real Estate changed from when you first started?
The number of ways a buyer first sees your property has changed so much in the 10 years I have been selling real estate. Ten years ago, real estate web sites, newspapers & street signs were effective enough to find most buyers, now we have our own Facebook, Instagram and Twitter business pages with large numbers of ‘followers’, as well as targeted newsfeed advertising to the same social media sites, email and text message marketing to large data bases along with automated tracking of buyer searches etc. 10 years ago, we met most of our buyers in person with most of the negotiation being done face to face and over the phone – very often the first contact now is an email or text message from buyers, most are doing an enormous amount of research online first, with contracts being sent to them via email and signed on their mobile phone with a few clicks – far fewer buyers interact or negotiate face to face or via a phone call by comparison.
3. Other than the obvious answer of full-blown market recovery, are there any changes in the industry you’d like to see? Or perhaps something that should be reintroduced?
I would like the industry to have a much higher level of compulsory training and compliance, as well as agents being held to account for misleading both buyers and sellers – too many agents still intentionally mislead potential sellers on the value of their property, or the effort they will put in to get the best possible price.
4. WA’s Real Estate numbers had been modest for quite some time even before COVID-19, but nonetheless were on a slow recovery. Do you expect that recovery to pick up where it left off as we return to normal?
There are many suggesting that when the government introduced incentives for businesses and individuals (Jobkeeper, Jobseeker etc) run out in September we may see another substantial fall in sales volumes and prices, I am far more bullish and positive about an upswing – strong resource prices, recent positive population growth, a huge fall in the number of properties for sale, a massive drop in rental vacancy rates and a state where we will be forced to holiday at home rather than Asia should see WA significantly outperform the other states.
5. What are some things you enjoy outside of work? (restrictions notwithstanding!)
Aside from spending time with family & friends (a clear favourite), I really enjoy an early morning walk along the coast to grab a coffee and read the paper before I start work – it sets a positive tone for my day. When I get the time I love to ride my motor cycle along the coast, stopping for a coffee, beer or meal with friends. I also love to cook, particularly American style smoked meats like brisket, pulled pork and ribs.