Hot property: Desperate buyers resort to DIY marketing to snag a home in Perth

Homeowners in sought-after parts of Perth are receiving multiple letterbox drops from desperate buyers and investors trying to get their foot in the door.

Real estate agent Corey Adamson said one owner received nine letters of interest from people wanting to purchase his villa in Tuart Hill.

Adamson said houses were becoming unaffordable, with many investors and buyers’ agents turning their attention to villas and units.

“Villas in the inner city and northern corridor are the next best thing, and people are going hard at them,” he said.

“Some of the clients that I’ve had almost doubled their money without doing anything with these villas.”

Adamson said investors could turn a tidy profit with a lick of paint, new flooring and curtains.

“Usually, they’re a 1960s, 1970s, 1980s-built property that hasn’t been touched for a long time or they’ve been a rental,” he said.

“If you’ve got a villa in a group of eight or less, you could be sitting on a gold mine.”

According to Domain’s July House Price Report, the median cost of a house in Tuart Hill is $525,000, up nearly 13 per cent over the year. But it is the price of units and villas that have soared, up 32 per cent across the year to $367,500.

Buyers’ agent Peter Gavalas said Tuart Hill had been overlooked for many years but its location and price was a bargain compared to its more salubrious neighbours.

“There is over a $500,000 difference between Mount Hawthorn and Tuart Hill, yet they are less then a five-minute drive apart,” he said.

Gavalas said letterbox drops by prospective homebuyers were on the rise in the face of low stock and unprecedented demand.

“But the likelihood of buying a house from a letter drop is unlikely unless the property has issues or you are paying well above market value for it,” he said.

“But some people are desperate and will try anything.”

Strategic Property Group managing director Trent Fleskens said letterbox drops to drum up work had been a successful staple marketing tool for sales agents for generations.

“However, as the number of properties available to purchase on the market has dropped from 17,000 to 3300 over the past five years, desperate mums and dads looking to evade the 50-group-strong home opens to secure a roof over their heads have started to resort to their own DIY marketing,” he said.

“Whilst the majority of these letter drops would be made in genuine good faith, and it is perfectly legal to sell a property without a sales agent, I would advise homeowners looking to sell off-market to engage a licensed settlement agent before drawing up a private contract off-market to ensure it is written correctly and protects both parties’ interests.”

Local real estate agents said the residential property market was moving so fast almost all sales were advertised without a price guide.

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