Originally from New Zealand, Deborah Cullen, Knight Frank Australia’s Head of Prestige Residential Sales  is now based in Sydney, and with 15 years in the Harbour City’s prestige residential market, she specialises transacting prestige and designer city residences, coastal and beach homes and stunning luxury country estates. 

For Deborah, the client comes first. In fact, she describes the friendships and family situations that she shares in as one of the joys of working in this part of the market. “It is all about care,” Deborah told WILLIAMS MEDIA. 

What are the current market conditions in the Sydney prestige market?

We are currently seeing a selection of “best in class” trophy homes transact, some on market and some off market in private transactions. When you are seeking to match a property to a client, quite often conversations are held privately with both the seller and the purchaser and their trusted advisors to ensure they happen with confidentiality. This is a regular occurrence in our day to day business.

image-13.jpg

Image: Knight Frank Prestige Residential Sales

Are your buyers changing? Where are they from?

Enquiry is particularly high at the moment across the board for our properties actively in campaign. Quality homes always bring out quality buyers who are seriously assessing. We are also experiencing investors step up as well for beautiful city properties, especially when those purchasers are living overseas but want to take advantage of apartments coming to market in the best buildings.

The Asian purchaser direct from China and Hong Kong has currently slowed due to factors such as constraints of travel, but we are still seeing a very strong engagement from a HNW local market of clients who travel overseas and may have several homes around the world to base themselves from. 

What are your predictions for the 2020 luxury market?

Australians love property. Interest is still strong for the best in class residences in the best areas of schooling, closeness to the city and social lifestyle requirements. There is considerable wealth within Australia that is keeping this sector transacting confidently and this wealth is growing. The speed and ease of the due diligence highlights how quickly our clients can act when they need to. It also demonstrates the level of wealth involved and that they are able to secure a special residence when it becomes available or when we find it for them. Our research team has predicted a 4% growth in our sector for 2020.

What advice do you give to your clients?

At Knight Frank Prestige we work differently. For us it is about understanding what our client is looking for and taking that journey with them. It all starts for us with the relationship. We seek to understand their full portfolio requirements, and this may not only be for residential but also commercial assets as well. We also work in with private banks, lawyers, private insurance protection brokers and buyer’s agents to ensure that we can fully service a client’s needs.
 
Working in the HNW sector, our clients are usually happy to wait until they find the right fit for their needs. In saying this, beautiful homes in the blue-ribbon sectors are always on the shopping list as are a beautiful beach home and a country retreat. It is the way we present these opportunities to them but essentially, it is about family.

What advice you would give to vendors for the best outcome?

My best advice is to focus on the home looking the best it possibly can be, before a buyer assesses it. We spend time planning this with our clients to ensure this happens in order to achieve the very best result. This can include styling, repainting tired areas, refreshing and make everything sparkle so that the first viewing is such an amazing experience that the buyer just wants it on the spot. Also, make sure that all the legal documentation is ready to go and won’t hold up anyone wanting to move quickly to secure the property.

Finally, the marketing campaign is one of the most important aspects of your sale to get right. We are in the business of storytelling. The visual image is the most engaging part of our campaigns right now. High resolution images from a specialist photographer and film maker can make or break your campaign. Especially film. You get so much time from films in the digital space to be shared throughout the campaign. A print ad is shown once, but a film can be viewed hundreds of thousands of times. It can also easily be shared with others, which makes our campaigns and social influencer connections so exciting! Especially when our global offices share our listings around the world, you truly know that you have an incredible chance of capturing the attention of an Australian living overseas who wants something special back home to retreat to!

Are you seeing downsizing/upsizing?

Knight Frank has just released a new report on the art of “Rightsizing”, which has been incredibly well received. This is about seeing trends and options of where to move in your city when the large family home isn’t required any more. We like our clients to see this as an exciting time, not a daunting one. What we like to do is work with them in advance and timeline their move, so it is gentle, considered and as stress-free as possible. It can also help them assess areas or living styles that they may not even have considered before. Once again, it is about the clients’ needs first.

image-24bw_1.jpg

Image: Knight Frank Prestige Residential Sales

What do you enjoy most about your work?

A big joy for me in working in this part of the market is the friendships and family situations you are able share in. To be able to take the time to care is rare in our industry. It is usually all about the transactions and KPIs and getting deals done. Don’t get me wrong, they are still a big part of my life! But it is beautifully balanced with the opportunity to work with clients, their families and their personal journeys of ups and downs. It is a private and confidential part of my work that I really appreciate and enjoy. We also get to socialise together with aligned brand partners at beautiful events, which is incredibly fun for us all.

How do you keep yourself “in the game”?

My work is 24/7 as I work in alignment with my clients’ timeframes and many of them travel. Plus, our head office is in London and we work alongside our Asia Pacific team very closely. To ensure that I keep myself in a good place and get to spend quality time with my amazing family, I take time in my week to look after myself. This means I exercise nearly every day but twice a week, very early in the morning, I work with my PT coach Aidan D’Arcy, to ensure I can function feeling totally charged. These habits are so important to me in maintaining good mental health. It also means that I have the energy to get through each day with a big smile on my face and really engage and enjoy what I do. 

untitled_15.jpg

Image: Tate Martin

Similar to this:

Breathtaking Sydney Harbour deep waterfront home sold by Knight Frank and The Agency

Hunter Valley ‘castle’ estate awaits its next custodian

Knight Frank launches prestige homes division