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
Out in beautiful Samford Valley tonight, photographing the most glorious home, with Peter from @real.estate.pics
The gardens are like The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. Big statement but true. Gorgeous!
More snippets in my stories above ☝️
Big install in Samford Valley today! Up at 4.30am to sort everything at the shed … and after putting in a good 10 hours of unpacking, installing, bossing, styling, deliberating, and enjoying the company of @theartofhanging lads, we downed tools for a little break and went to the pub. Life’s too short. And Samford pub is way too good! (good coeliac friendly options and a separate gluten free fryer). Finishing touches will be tomorrow and then the photoshoot with @real.estate.pics tomorrow evening. Stay tuned!
Scheming a dreamy provincial outdoor dining space, overlooking glorious green grounds and a beautiful lake 🙌 … can’t wait to share this one!
#stagingstylingandselling
#itsallinthedetail
#brisbanerealestate
Being creative in my shed today, fuelled by music. Isn’t it just wonderful when a piece comes on and it instantly takes you back to a precious memory. I’m looking at you @kytar_fulvio ❤️🇨🇭 … our paths will cross again one day … but in the meantime we will stalk each other on Instagram 😆 … keeping the memories alive 🙌
We asked Grok (xAI): ‘What are the odds of selling 9 consecutive properties, across 9 different suburbs, for 9 suburb records – without any local office or presence in those suburbs?’ Which is exactly what we have just done.
Grok’s calculation: 1 in 4.6 sextillion (that’s 1 in 4,600,000,000,000,000,000,000).
Grok said, “Statistically rarer than winning the lottery… 9 times in a row.”
Which means, we didn’t beat the odds with LUCK or LIST AND WAIT. We eliminated them with strategy.
It’s all about control. If you want to beat the odds, you need CONTROL. At every step of the sales process:
Preparation
Presentation
Promotion
Price Guidance
Perception Management
Our 5 ‘P’s’ 💥
Control at EVERY step of the sales process.
Eliminating the most common risks that prevent successful outcomes.
Ready to sell smarter in Brisbane? DM us for your free strategy session! #DefyTheOdds #BrisbaneRealEstate #HomeStaging #SellWithControl #RecordBreakers
Look who has just arrived home from the land of Nippon! We have one night together before he heads home to Sydney, so we are going to see Carl Barron tonight! The last time I saw Carl Barron was in September 2002 when I was pregnant with Kristian. I laughed so much I went into what they call spurious labour that night and for the entire next week (on and off for an entire week - absolutely exhausting, with toddler Brynley in tow at the time!) I delivered Kristian at the end of that week! 2 weeks early! Thanks Carl! 😆
OK, so here’s something.
I’m a prepper from way back. I was and always will be a Girl Guide, so I’ve always lived the Girl Guide motto, “Be Prepared”. Ask my lads! Need something when travelling? I’ve got it! 💥
So yes, I did have a Y2K cupboard, full of canned foodstuffs and yes, I made all my neighbours leave our year 2000 New Years Eve cul-de-sac street party, briefly, to fill their bathtubs full of water. Just in case 👍
Sooooo, my Convid/Covid cupboard of 5 years was assessed yesterday, in preparation of the impending war-driven toilet paper gate/petrol gate (we didn’t learn last time, you watch) and much to my shock, behind the stuff I do often rotate, some older cans of food were bulging, some way at the back had split and were leaking/oozing stuff that the mold was having their 2026 New Years Eve party in! 🤢
Tinned food. Most of it doesn’t have use-by dates on it. Time goes fast too, so you think you’ve only had it stored for a couple of years and, boom, 5 years have passed.
So, short and sweet … NEVER eat food from a can that has:
* Bulging or swollen ends (botulism risk - do not open). I handled my oozing cans with gloves.
* Deep dents (especially on seams or ends).
* Rust holes, leaks, or heavy external rust.
* Damaged label or broken seal.
* When opened: unusual smell, colour, texture, fizzing, or spurting liquid - discard immediately.
I put my old Dietitian hat on yesterday and took a long walk through Woolies in the canned food section, familiarizing myself with the entire canned food section, trying to find cans that have Best Before dates on them. They are few and far between. Especially Australian produce.
I replaced a lot of my dodgy unknown-dated cans. I live in an apartment so storage capacity is rate limiting. I prioritize locations where it’s cool, dry and dark, away from heat sources, and try to rotate stock every 6-12 months. First in, first out. Obviously I dropped the ball there for a bit! 🙅♀️
So check your cupboards. Your tinned produce might not be doing too well! 😳
Happy Saturday!
