Rye vendor conducts live-stream open home herself to sell well

Author:ahsan

A Rye vendor briefly turned agent when she performed a virtual open for inspection at her own property.

Marion Frolik conducted one of auction streaming platform Gavl’s first open homes from an owner’s perspective, which are an effort to bring buyers into listings while adhering to stage four lockdown restrictions.

Real estate agents are unable to attend properties in person and all inspections must be conducted virtually.

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The three-bedroom house at 20 Twakurra St, Rye.

Views from the home are first class.

A window splashback in the bright and contemporary kitchen.

Ms Frolik’s online tour of 20 Twakurra St proved a hit with buyers, with the home selling a few days afterwards to one of the viewers for $1.06m.

“I did love selling my own home — you can’t get any better than the actual owner showing you through,” Ms Frolik said.

Ray White Rye listing agent Travis Doolan said he was “flooded with phone calls and emails” once the live-stream finished.

“She got smashed with questions from about four different buyers — she knew all the answers on the spot,” Mr Doolan said. “A lot of the questions I would’ve had to go back to her first (for an answer).”

“She actually said, ‘geez, Travis — I’m selling the house myself!’”

Open-plan living in the Rye house, which sold for $1.06m.

There are multiple entertaining spaces.

Did we mention the views?

Ms Frolik said she was “a bit nervous and sceptical” before conducting the tour, but it had been a fun experience.

“I was really surprised, I thought ‘who’s going to buy a house off live-streaming?’” she said. “I’m totally gobsmacked.”

Buyers had the opportunity to ask questions about the property through the app’s chat function, which Ms Frolik was best placed to answer.

“At first I didn’t know they could actually hear me and then Travis typed to ‘talk us through the property’,” she said.

Gavl co-founder Joel Smith said the vendor’s own virtual tour was a bid to keep the real estate market accessible for buyers during the stage four lockdown period.

“It’s just a new way the industry’s tackling it — we may not be able to move around but we can still view properties,” Mr Smith said.