Agents get daring in a soft market

Greg Falwasser (left) and Heath Jones. Photo / Jason Dorday

There was a time when real estate agents used innocuous phrases such as "quiet family home" and "Grammar zone" to lure buyers out of the woodwork.

But now subject matter that would once have been taboo screams from the ads, jostling for attention in a sluggish market.

A quick check on Trade Me revealed at least two ads using break-ups as a selling point - "divorce the handbrake and buy a bolt hole in the city" implores one.

Agents using bold and brassy language to lure punters say the right wording can attract big interest.

But property consultant and investor Olly Newland reckons such advertising will become "passe".

Barfoot & Thompson agent Ketiesha Elliott said it was her idea to sell the Mt Eden bungalow belonging to Greg Falwasser and Heath Jones under the banner D.I.V.O.R.C.E. "I always have people asking me, 'Why are they selling?' This was the first house where I haven't been asked at all!" said Elliott.

She believed the slogan helped draw incredible interest in the four-bedroom property - 200 people viewed the open home last week alone.

But she said the banner still didn't fit "entirely well on my shoulders" and more than a few agents had expressed surprise. Falwasser said he trusted Elliott and the slogan had created huge interest.