Craig and Cathy Freear set up Real Estate Now (Craig Freear Real Estate Limited) in 2018 with the goal of delivering a boutique and personal service to a wide range of buyers and sellers, from ‘first home buyer favourites’ in Paparangi and Newlands, to executive, million dollar (plus) family homes in Churton Park, to stylish new apartments in Woodridge, to 1930 bungalows and turn of the century villas in Johnsonville,
Craig had worked for over 30 years for large real estate firms- most recently Leaders who became Ray White. Cathy obtained her Real Estate Salesperson’s License in 2018.
We wanted to run an real estate agency without the political and personnel issues, and the rules – especially around marketing and branding, that were prevalent in large real estate firms.
We also knew that there were few “advantages in listing with a large firm”. Big firms claim they have a huge number of agents who will be working your property. In reality, that does not happen. You would be lucky to have 2 or 3 other agents taking buyers through your home.
Also, buyers are not waiting around for an agent to contact them about a property, although we do contact the buyers in our database when a property is listed. Most prospective buyers are actively looking for property on the internet, or they may be attracted to view the home by an advertisement in the local newspaper or by a flyer dropped into their letterbox.
Most buyers initially view property by attending an open home. We have signed up listings from parties who came through our open homes because they were so impressed with the way the open home was run, how well the property was presented, the marketing and the fact that we actually contacted them after the open home and asked whether we could help them.
We also have a client portal which enables vendors to check on the status of their listing online 24/7. Vendors love this.
We are honest, upfront and accountable. We don’t over-inflate appraisal values to win the listings, yet we achieve record sales prices. Craig is a master negotiator and problem solver, having worked with many clients to solve issues with their properties before they come to market.
We understand that Real Estate is really a “people” business, not a “property” business and that is reflected in the many happy vendors and buyers who have listed, sold or bought through Craig and Real Estate Now. Vendors are not just very happy with the price achieved but also the really great service provided.