“Comes off bad”: Property advertisement sparks debate

An eyebrow-raising real estate adverment has been called “out of touch” online.

An advert for property advisory firm WhiteFox that boasts the company has been making “homes more expensive since 2017” has divided online.

The billboard in Perth’s western suburbs is on a popular train line and was posted online by a woman who described it as “sick and twisted” in the comment section.

“Maybe not the message to be gloating about in the middle of a housing crisis”, she wrote.

The clip has amassed more than 200,000 views and sparked a big conversation online and people were divided on if it was tone deaf or just simply good marketing.

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While some argued that the marketing had “worked” because it got people talking, others pointed out that it wasn’t offensive because the firm’s target market is those looking to sell their “luxury homes” for the highest price.

One person who saw nothing wrong with the advert said: “If you’re selling, you want to get the most for your home”.

This advert sparked debate. Picture: TikTok/emreadman

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Another replied to that comment and said that it “comes off so bad” and that the language should have been changed to add value instead of making “homes more expensive”.

Others claimed the advertisement was “out of touch”.

One said she was “outraged”, while another said they were “shocked” to see this advertisement, and someone else called it “insane”.

“The only people upset at this are not the target audience because they can’t afford a house, including me,” one claimed.

Marty Fox is a judge on The Block. Picture: Instagram/MartyFox

He said the slogan is about showing what his business can do to help Aussies. Picture: Instagram/MartyFox

Marty Fox, a judge on The Block and CEO of WhiteFox, said the slogan simply illustrates the firm’s “duty” to its clients to get the best price possible for their homes.

“Think about it, if you are selling your house, would you like to sell it for below market value? I don’t think so. You want it to be as expensive as possible, right?”, he told news.com.au.

“We are engaged to sell properties for our clients. Our job is to get them as much money as possible and we do this through great marketing and competence in the negotiation.”

Mr Fox said it isn’t always “roses” in real estate, but can help everyday Aussies get ahead.

“What about the families that need to sell due to an unforeseen marriage break up or horrible medical diagnoses? These clients of ours need every dollar possible and it happens regularly,” he said.

“Hence our slogan. That is our duty to help our clients who are also battling inflation and the cost of living get as much for their homes as possible.”

Marty Fox argued everyone wants to sell their homes for the best price. Picture: Instagram/MartyFox

Mr Fox said the real issue is the cost-of-living crisis, which is making life so “hard” for Australians who are getting hit hard by rising prices from groceries to interest rates.

“So, if you’re a home seller and you see this billboard, it’s actually exactly what you want,” he argued

“In nearly 20 years in real estate, I have never heard a homeowner say to our staff, ‘sell my home for cheap’.”

Mr Fox said there are “two sides” to this, and it isn’t like all real estate agents own their homes.

Australia’s Bureau of Statistics has reported that the median house price in Australia has ballooned past $900,000.

The national vacancy rate is 1.3 per cent, and according to CoreLogic, Australia’s national median rental price is $601 per week, equating to over $30,000 per year.

It doesn’t matter if you rent or own; there’s no disputing that housing is expensive for everyone at the moment.

According to financial comparison website Finder, more than one in three homeowners struggled to pay their home loan in December.

Some 16 per cent of mortgage holders have missed at least one repayment in the past six months, and almost one in three are worried about missing a home loan repayment.

In November, Finder released research that the minimum household income required to afford the mortgage for an average Australian house is $182,000, while those owning units need about $130,000.