For a couple ready to leave their beloved family home, we needed a path that was seamless, private, and financially sound. We delivered on all three: we secured a luxury apartment in Toorak at a price below its original asking price, and we project-managed the sale of their Hawthorn home to achieve a result.
Toorak apartment purchased at $2,690,000 (saving $410,000 off the original off-market price) | Hawthorn family home sold for $4,635,000 | $100,000+ in presale improvements managed, $25,000 saved in marketing costs. 10 qualified buyers attracted via an organic Instagram campaign. with zero public open homes.
Phase One: Securing the Right Home First
Our clients had a clear vision for their next chapter, a lock-up-and-leave luxury apartment that matched the quality and scale of the life they’d built. When Marshall White approached us with an off-market opportunity in Toorak, we knew it had potential. The apartment, a striking 207 m² residence designed by Paul Conrad of Conrad Architects, ticked every box.
We advised our clients not to proceed at the off-market price of $3,100,000. Instead, we monitored the property and waited. Over the next four months, we inspected another 16 apartments, both on- and off-market. We looked at smq rates between $15,000 and $30,000 per sqm.
Four months later, the Toorak apartment was listed online at a lower price with a different agency, and we acted quickly. Patience in buyer advocacy isn’t passive; it’s often strategic.
Knowing when not to act is just as important as knowing when to strike.
Through careful negotiation, we secured the apartment for $2,690,000, representing approximately $13,000 per square metre and a saving of $410,000 off the original off-market pitch. For our clients, this wasn’t just a financial win; it gave them the certainty that their new home would be secured before a single piece of furniture left the family home.
- Property: Luxury apartment, Paul Conrad / Conrad Architects design
- Size: 207 m²
- Original off-market price: $3,100,000
- Purchase price: $2,690,000
- Saving: $410,000
Phase Two: Preparing & Selling the Hawthorn Family Home
With the Toorak apartment under contract, attention turned to the family home, an early 1900s Victorian in Scotch Hill, Hawthorn, that had been sympathetically extended and modified in the 1990s. It was a wonderful home with genuine character, but it needed work to appeal to the widest possible pool of buyers.
The reality of today’s market is clear: most buyers, particularly families, are unwilling to undertake major renovations. The combination of unpredictable build costs, trade shortages, and the sheer time involved has made move-in-ready homes significantly more desirable. We advised our clients and took on project management.
The majority of buyers will pay a premium and stretch to avoid a building site. Every dollar spent on the right improvements returns far more at the negotiating table.
During the preparation period, we guided and project-managed more than $100,000 in targeted improvements to broaden buyer appeal and present the home at its best. This is also included: removing 90% of their furniture and bringing in a company to provide guidance and advice on staging their home. The result was a property that felt fresh, functional, and family-ready.
- Property type: Early 1900s Victorian, extended and modified 1990s
- Presale improvements managed: $100,000+
- Improvements focus: Broadening appeal to family buyers seeking move-in-ready homes.
The Off-Market Campaign: Private, Targeted & Highly Effective.
Rather than a traditional public campaign, we ran an organic social media pre-market campaign targeted, controlled, and cost-free to our clients. The campaign attracted 10 qualified buyers, eliminating the need for any publicly advertised open homes and giving our clients the discretion they deeply valued.
For downsizers who had spent decades in their family home, the idea of strangers walking through every weekend was genuinely distressing. We removed that entirely.
The property was taken to a boardroom auction with two local families competing. It sold for $4,635,000 above the $4,500,000 asking price in a calm, private setting that suited everyone involved.
“Our clients placed enormous value on privacy. A boardroom auction meant no public spectacle, just two motivated families and a result that exceeded expectations.”
- Asking price: $4,500,000
- Sale price: $4,635,000
- Sale method: Boardroom auction
- Qualified buyers attracted: 10
- Marketing cost saving: ~$25,000
- Public open homes: Zero
The Outcome for our clients.
By securing the Toorak apartment first, our clients never faced the anxiety of a simultaneous settlement or the risk of being left without a home. By project-managing the Hawthorn sale with precision, from improvements through to a gent interview, a private campaign, and a boardroom auction, we delivered a result that was both financially strong and emotionally comfortable.
That combination is what great buyer and vendor advocacy looks like.
I’m Andrew Date from Industry Insider Property.
