The domino effect: How one property sale can trigger so many more

It can begin slowly – one sale, one buyer, one missed opportunity – before a series of transactions snowballs.

In property, agents will sometimes refer to it as a domino effect: a single sale setting off a sequence of introductions and deals that might never have happened otherwise. It’s not always immediately visible what triggers the cascade, but within buildings and tightly held pockets, it can move quickly.

I saw this play out first-hand in our own apartment building.

My husband and I live in the Tower building of Caringal Flats in Toorak, a recognisable mid-century complex where each floor holds a single one-bedroom apartment. Late last year, one of the upper-level apartments came to market. It had been renovated by an architect and, with its views of the city skyline, it stood apart. The campaign drew strong interest, and the $870,000 result reflected that.

Around the same time, we started to think about our own position. While different in aspect to the one upstairs, our ground-floor apartment still shared the building’s underlying appeal. 

At that point, selling wasn’t a firm plan. We reached out to the agent primarily for a valuation, thinking we’d revisit the idea well into the new year after some travel. Not long after, a call came back. One of the buyers who had missed out on the upstairs unit was still eager to buy into the building. The question was simple: would we consider selling if the right offer came through?

We’re not ones to sit on a decision for too long. After two and a half years in the apartment, we had already been talking about needing more space. We both worked from home, and I kept coming back to the idea of a second bedroom and somewhere to properly host – a long dining table, a courtyard, room to have people over.

We worked out a price that would make the move worthwhile and passed it on. From there, it moved quickly. The buyer came through privately, no Saturday morning opens, no back and forth on price or sale conditions. Within two weeks, a contract was put forward at our asking price of $780,000, and we accepted.

It didn’t feel like a typical sale. We were comfortable either way – to sell or to stay – and that made the process feel like it was entirely on our terms. What I didn’t fully realise at the time was that our domino wasn’t the last to fall.

Once ours was secured, the typical balcony chats followed. Another owner, who had been there long-term, mentioned her dream to relocate to Tasmania for a tad more space. During one of our post-sale calls, our agent asked whether we knew any two-bedroom owners who might be considering selling, and we passed along her details. That brief introduction led to another sale.

In the space of three months, three apartments changed hands – the original campaign, followed by two off-market deals. Each one connected back to that first listing, and to buyers who hadn’t quite let go of the idea of living there. If our building’s momentum was driven by architectural pedigree, the same pattern can play out in places where lifestyle is the drawcard.

McGrath Cairns agent Ben van Dugteren saw a similar chain reaction unfold in the resort-style complex of Whitfield Waters.

It began with the sale of Unit 106, which achieved $450,000 after a campaign that drew strong enquiries. Several buyers missed out, but their focus didn’t shift. As van Dugteren explains, they weren’t just looking for an apartment; they were targeting that complex and its lagoon-style pool.

Rather than letting those buyers fall away, van Dugteren canvassed the complex while demand was still active. That led directly to two more sales – Unit 326 at a sale price similar to the first, and Unit 104 at $475,000 – both completed off-market.

From there, momentum continued. Owners who had been watching began to reassess their own timing, with more now preparing to sell. Van Dugteren is now in negotiations for another two apartments: one off-market and the other through an on-market campaign.

Almost half a dozen sales in just as many months.

“What this revealed is that the very initial sale only scratched the surface of demand,” says van Dugteren. “There was a deeper pool of buyers targeting the lifestyle of the complex, and that is what drives the chain reaction.”

SOLD - $490,000

227/29-33 Springfield Crescent, Manoora QLD 4870

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