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"
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 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"
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"