Flip or Flop? Renovator’s Hard Work Goes To Auction

Investing in property has been a smart financial decision for many over the years. For most, it’s a home for their family to live, and an investment in their future. For the savvy property enthusiast however, the concept of ‘house flipping’ has taken off around the world, and continues to grow as individuals find lucrative opportunities to flip a property and make a profit from the sale. For many this is a dream, but for those who do their research and put in the hard work, it can pay off in a big way. For the Sunshine Coast real estate agent of 3 Jalumba Street, Rowan Woodbine, this was his client’s reality, who sold their property for $885,000.

We sat down with Rowan to find out more.

“I met the seller a couple of years ago. We kept in touch and up to date with what’s happening in the marketplace. After finding the Jalumba house the seller made a plan to renovate it with the desire to flip it. She loves to flip houses and is moving toward doing that for a living, so over the last 6 months we’ve gone back and forth on the house doing little bits and pieces – she has the skills and the eye for styling!” says Rowan.

A smaller Maroochydore house for sale, Rowan and the seller identified the need to renovate the home in a clever way that made it feel more contemporary and spacious.

“There aren’t too many well renovated places in that pocket, so we knew that this house would definitely grab attention. People are tending to lean toward buying renovated or new places so that they don’t have to deal with trades or try to get builders who are booked out for the next 6-12 months” says Rowan.

In the end, the renovation and styling was exactly what it needed to flip a profit, and they decided to go to market with a four week auction campaign. 

“Once we had a renovation plan and a date that everything was going to be done and dusted by, we spoke about it and took the place to option. We ran a four week auction campaign. We had five-to-eight inspections through every open home, totaling approximately 16 inspections a week. Feedback on offers were coming at around $820,000 over the four weeks which put us in the perfect position for that house going into auction” says Rowan.

With the house presented well, supported by an excellent marketing campaign, and building & pest reports already provided to the interested buyers, the auction generated a healthy amount of interest on the day.

“We had four registered bidders on the day with two seriously bidding towards the end. The initial offers originally sat at around $820,000, but having taken the property to auction, presented it well and done the right marketing, we sold at $885,000, getting the seller $65,000 more than anticipated” says Rowan.

An ideally located Sunshine Coast property for sale, the house enjoys the best of both worlds with proximity to the developing CBD while maintaining the privileged coastal lifestyle that so many desire. This means that the land will only go up in value, and Rowan believes that this played a huge role in the success of the sale.

“This pocket within the Maroochydore area is prime because you’re looking at anywhere between 500-900 metres in walking distance to the city. In the future it’s going to be pretty impossible to find house and land available that’s walking distance to the city for that amount. Currently planned, half in the area is medium density already getting knocked over by town houses. Having a block to extract more value from because you have land to work with means more power in choice and the freedom to knock down and rebuild or renovate, rather than being limited with your options” says Rowan.

With Sunshine Coast properties in such hot demand locally and nationally, we asked Rowan if he believes he’ll see more real estate ‘flippers’ looking to strike gold like his seller and turn their property investment into a sizable return.

“There will always be opportunities out there for people to flip houses. Right now, some people are afraid to get back into it with the RBA’s announcements and construction demands leading to limited availability in labour and building parts… but in time we will see people’s confidence increase again and flipping will become more prevalent. Watch this area in particular over the next couple of years, the timing and positioning is perfect for people seeking future value in the area” says Rowan. 

If you’d like to find out more about what areas are best to invest in on the Sunshine Coast, contact Ray White Maroochydore Real Estate Agent Rowan Woodbine to find out more.