Prestige residential sales · Lake Macquarie and Newcastle
We sell waterfront and architectural homes around the lake and along the coast. About forty a year, never more than twelve per agent at once, and each one run start to finish by the agent who appraised it.
41 homes sold in the past year $3.2m average sale 23 days on market
On the cover: The Jetty House, Fishing Point
Why Carrow & Finch
Most agencies grow by listing more. We went the other way. In 2014 Imogen Carrow and Will Finch left a large franchise office with one rule: no agent carries more than twelve homes, and the person who walks through your home on day one is the person who negotiates the sale.
That's why we can tell a buyer which way the morning light falls in the main bedroom, how deep the water is off the end of the jetty, or which builder did the 2017 renovation. Buyers at this end of the market notice that. So do the agents on the other side of the table.
We don't sell units off the plan or rent anything out. We sell about forty homes a year, mostly on the water or designed by an architect, and we'd rather turn a listing away than hand it to someone junior.
$3.2m
average sale price
41
homes sold
23
average days on market
94%
sold at or above the price guide
Now showing
Each one photographed at dusk, written up by the agent who listed it and shown by appointment. Ask for the printed booklet and we'll post it to you.
01 Expressions of interest close 4 December
Fishing Point
Spotted gum, glass and a 32 metre frontage on the quiet western shore. The living wing faces the sunset, the jetty takes a 40 foot boat and the main suite has the lake on two sides.
Price guide $4.6m to $5.0m
Request the booklet
02 Auction on site, Saturday 28 November
Kilaben Bay
A single-level pavilion where the living room opens straight onto a deck over the water. Oak floors, lime-washed walls and, most winter mornings, mist sitting on the bay until nine.
Price guide $3.4m to $3.7m
Request the booklet
03 For sale by private treaty
Bolton Point
A rare level block near the tip of the point, with a sandstone seawall, its own jetty and deep water on the end of it. Sound 1990s bones, ready for the next long chapter.
Price guide $2.9m to $3.1m
Request the bookletRecently sold
Every sale from the past ninety days, not just the good ones. Prices are as reported at exchange.
| Home | Result | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Coal Point | $3.85m | 21 |
| The Hill | $2.42m | 16 |
| Wangi Wangi | $4.30m | 28 |
| Merewether | $3.12m | 19 |
| Eleebana | $2.95m | 9 |
| Bar Beach | $2.18m | 24 |
Selling with us
Five stages, usually ten to fourteen weeks from the first walk-through to settlement. You'll get a written report every Monday, whether there's news or not.
We walk through with you, ask what you love about the place and what you'd change. Within five business days you'll have a written appraisal with every comparable sale we relied on.
Week 1
Stylist, painter, landscaper, window cleaner. We brief them, book them and check their work, and you approve every quote first. Most homes need less than owners fear.
Weeks 2 to 4
Photography at golden hour and dusk, a printed booklet, the portals, and a call to every buyer on our private register who fits. Inspections are by appointment, so nobody wanders through.
Weeks 5 to 9
Auction, private treaty or expressions of interest: we'll recommend one and explain why. Every offer goes to you in writing, the same day, with what we think it means.
Weeks 8 to 10
We work with your solicitor through exchange, chase the buyer's finance and do the final inspection with you. We're there when the keys change hands.
Weeks 10 to 14
Fees
Commission and marketing are kept separate, so you can see exactly what each one buys. You'll have both in writing before a single photo is taken.
1.6 to 2.2
per cent of the sale price, including GST
Set by the home and the campaign it needs, agreed in writing before we list. Paid at settlement, and not a day before.
from$9,500
paid by you, itemised, at cost
Photography, film, floor plan, printed booklets and the portals. Every line has a supplier invoice behind it, and we add nothing on top.
$0
written, within five business days
A walk-through, a written price opinion and the comparable sales behind it. No charge, and no pressure to list with us afterwards.
A worked example. On a $3.5m sale at 1.9 per cent, commission is $66,500 including GST. Most of our campaigns spend between $9,500 and $24,000 on marketing.
People
Principal and licensee · Licensed real estate agent, NSW
Nineteen years selling homes around the lake, the first eleven of them in a large franchise office. Imogen still appraises most of our waterfront homes herself and runs every auction we hold.
“If I can't tell you how deep the water is off your jetty, I shouldn't be selling it.”
Partner, sales
Licensed real estate agent, NSW. Newcastle's coast and architectural homes, from Bar Beach to Redhead.
Campaign manager
Runs every shoot, booklet and portal listing. Writes nothing she hasn't seen in person.
Buyer relations
Keeps our private register of about 1,900 buyers, and knows which of them are serious.
From our vendors
They talked us out of two things we were sure we needed and into one we'd never thought of. We sold on the second weekend.
Imogen rang every Monday at eight, whether there was news or not. That's what I'll remember.
Their price guide was the honest one. Two other agents quoted higher, and both of them were wrong.
FAQs
Something we haven't covered? Call 0491 570 313 and you'll get an agent, not a receptionist.
From recent comparable sales, the buyers on our register and what's competing with your home right now. We'll show you every sale we used. We won't quote high to win the listing, because that's how campaigns go stale.
It depends on the home and the buyers. Auctions suit homes with broad appeal and several likely bidders. Unusual or very high-value homes often do better with expressions of interest. We'll recommend one in the appraisal and explain why.
Sometimes, when privacy matters or the right buyer is already on our register. About one sale in five happens that way. We'll tell you honestly if a public campaign would likely get you more.
Photography, film, a floor plan, printed booklets, signboard and portal listings. Most of our campaigns cost between $9,500 and $24,000. You'll see an itemised quote before anything's booked and the supplier invoices afterwards.
Most of our vendors do. We schedule inspections by appointment around your week, and our stylist works with what you already own wherever possible.
Our agency agreements run for 90 days, and you can end one with 14 days' written notice. We'd rather earn the next week than hold you to it.
Get in touch
We'll walk through the home with you, pull the comparable sales and send a written appraisal within five business days. No charge, and no pressure to list.