HOW WE GOT HERE
Almost a decade ago, Anne-Maree was working in a large brand name real estate agency, styling up the homes that she was selling. The HR Manager said to Anne-Maree “you can’t be a stylist AND a real estate agent, you will need to make a choice, in order to continue in real estate. You should not be spending your time on the presentation of the property, the property will sell no matter what. You should be spending that time getting more listings for the agency”.
The following day, Anne-Maree resigned from that real estate agency, marched down to the Office Of Fair Trading and registered Cape Cod Residential (a name similar to her previous work as a homewares supplier and Stylist – Cape Cod Designs). Anne-Maree has never looked back. This was a pivotal moment in her real estate career … pioneering a unique and innovative new real estate model that favours the seller (and ultimately the seller’s sales outcome) … not just the real estate agency.
"You can either be a real estate agent or a stylist, you can’t be both"
- Large Brand Name HR Manager
Defying old-school thinking, Cape Cod Residential is proud to have moved away from out-dated and traditional real estate models.
Offering higher value, and a better sales process, simply out-performs on so many levels.
Like so many things in business, the decision to accumulate a dedicated, in-house property styling inventory and styling team (something no other real estate agency had previously actioned), was driven by early stage external challenges that have subsequently resulted in one of the best collections of designer furniture and accessories in Queensland.
Serendipitously, it was the behaviour many years ago of a less than charitable home stager, acting in concert with a large furniture hire firm, who consciously worked to restrict Anne-Maree’s ability to hire large furniture pieces.
Although challenging at the time, Anne-Maree used this opportunity to pivot, and subsequently build a substantial in-house property styling inventory … something no other real estate agency had previously done.
Never again would Anne-Maree be at the mercy of external furniture hire firms, where securing the right furniture and accessories at the right time will always be a challenge for home stagers without their own inventory.
Cape Cod Residential now has a styling inventory which is the envy of even dedicated home staging firms … more than $1,000,000 worth of high-calibre furniture, artwork and accessories for the exclusive use of Cape Cod Residential clients.
"Never again would Anne-Maree be at the mercy of external furniture hire firms"
- Cape Cod Residential
Cape Cod Residential has also challenged the real estate prospecting paradigm and triumphed at a level unequalled by their colleagues, who spend countless hours cold calling and mass-producing advertisements to a disengaged audience. Cape Cod Residential is now widely recognised as the leading presentation-centric real estate agency in Australia.
A significant portion of the firm’s success has been achieved through Anne-Maree’s expert use of online social media strategies over the past decade, in particular Instagram and Facebook.
"We’ve broken all of the out-dated prospecting and marketing rules"
- Cape Cod Residential
With over 30,000 highly engaged, predominantly Australian followers, across multiple Facebook and Instagram accounts, and a database of thousands of potential buyers across more than 60 suburbs, Cape Cod Residential is able to sustain its ability to expose and share its beautifully presented properties to the widest audience possible.
Cape Cod Residential is genuinely at the forefront of social media expertise and social media strategies, which is evident across Anne-Maree’s 3 core accounts: @capecodresidential; @capecodresidentialstyling; @thenexthousethatambuilt, where these followers are deeply connected to Anne-Maree’s authenticity, message and value proposition.
As a former Scientist and Dietitian, Anne-Maree has applied her analytical skills, as well as her artistic talent, to the task of crafting the most consistent residential real estate sales process.
If the sales statistics are anything to go by, the Cape Cod Residential sales process is arguably now the most reliable way to identify and secure above-market buyers in the shortest possible time.
Joined by her husband, Luke (also a former Scientist, and a domestic and international Financial Services Specialist), and a wonderful team of in-house and outsourced specialists, Cape Cod Residential is raising the bar on professional advice, high impact real estate value and real estate sales outcomes.
"Raising the bar on professional real estate advice and value"
- Cape Cod Residential
CAPE COD RESIDENTIAL Instagram Account
There’s a lot to said about feeling really normal, eating out with no fear, dining out in our favourite coeliac friendly pizza joint. A major percentage of coeliac disease is the fear of eating out. It’s nice to feel normal at times 🙏❤️😎 @stoneandbrew_ 🙏#Thankyou xx
#glutenfreebrisbane
#brisbaneglutenfree
#pleasing
Congratulations to our beautiful sellers and the happy buyers … and to Luke who masterfully brokered the sale … and to me for loving every minute of staging and styling such a lovely home ❤️😎🫶🙏
#lovingourselvessick
#someonehasto
#capecodresidential
#stagingstylingandselling
Chatting to Brynley, who is currently in Greece, saying all the mothery things, reminding him that he needs to wear a helmet whenever he gets on a motorbike.
This is me in Greece in 1990. Ha,ha!
Do as I say not as I do, son! 😆😎
Just Listed!
49A Burnaby Terrace, Gordon Park.
From the moment you enter, this beautifully appointed residence reveals a rare sense of privacy, space and calm.
Immaculately presented and thoughtfully designed across split levels, it is a home where considered architecture and luxurious finishes are softened by leafy outlooks, established gardens and the constant presence of water.
3 spacious bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 living spaces, a beautiful pool that wraps around the living spaces, and a serene parkland outlook.
Open this coming Saturday, 3rd October, at 10am.
#capecodresidential
#brisbanerealestate
#luxuryrealestate
It’s not the agency postcode ... it’s the agency ‘Process’ ... that’s the only thing that counts.
Sold recently. Same street. Same 405m² block. Same 5 bed + media, 3 bath, 2 car and pool.
One was a brand new build with a fireplace and panoramic city views. It sold with a local high-volume agency in 42 days for $2,850,000.
The other was 12 years old, with no panoramic views.
Cape Cod Residential sold it in 5 days for $2,900,000 ... a new suburb record for a 12 year old home on 405m² without panoramic city views.
On paper, the newer home should have sold for over $3M based on recent local new home sales. It had the views, the fireplace and the ‘brand new’ factor. It didn’t.
The difference wasn’t the house, and it wasn’t having an office down the road. It was how the home was prepared, presented, promoted and the dynamic price guidance and perception management.
Every active buyer concentrated at the first open home, with buyer perceptions of competition, value and urgency managed from day one.
A race to the top, never a race to the bottom.
But this result is not an isolated case. In the last 12 months we were able set 9 new suburb price benchmarks in a row across 9 different suburbs, with no local office in any of them. It’s not luck, it’s got nothing to do with ‘special local sales knowledge’ (that’s the easy part).
12+ years. 85+ Brisbane suburbs. 97%+ of homes listed, sold. An average of 8 days.
Planning to sell in 2027? Start by asking “what’s your process to find me an above-market buyer, not …. where is your office”
Send us a DM or tap the link in our bio.
#capecodresidential #brisbanerealestate
#homestagingbrisbane
All done by 2pm! 👊
Photos tomorrow 📸
#installday
#luxuryrealestate
#stagingstylingandselling
… meanwhile in the Balkans, Brynley is blending in with the guides (who are all from the Balkans) on his 8 day ‘Peaks of the Balkans’ trek. They’re summiting the highest mountain in Kosovo today and we are following along on the GPS as much as we can … and sending protective vibes to his one year old reconstructed knee. Stay warm son 🙏😘 (it snowed at their digs in Albania last night) ❄️
24 years ago today! Happy Birthday to our darling Kristian 🎉You bring us so so much joy and we feel so blessed to have been chosen to be your parents 🙏
