How your pet affects your home sale

Australia is one of the most pet-loving countries in the world, with six out of 10 people owning a pet, the Australian Veterinary Association says.

Yet, look through most property listings and there’s one thing you’re unlikely to see – pictures of animals.

This may be because not everyone is a fan of pets, which sees many marketers avoid them in fear they may turn off a buyer, BresicWhitney head of marketing Brendan Fearn said.

However, this hasn’t stopped them from being one of the few agencies introducing pets into their listings photographs. And it seems to be working.

“We find that having pictures of pets and people really helps brings the images to life,” Mr Fearn said.

“It’s less about showing the size and function of the home, we’re really trying to bring to life the emotion of a property so buyers get a sense of what it’s like to live there. So including pets in the images really helps us to do that,” he said.

But they haven’t quite got round to staging a home around a pet – all of those in the photographs are the owner’s residential pets.

“We get to the property, we find sometimes the pets might like to follow the photographer around, so they bring out their personality and become part of the shoot quite spontaneously,” he said.

“Pets are a great way to make a house feel like a home.”

Despite this, not all evidence of pets is welcome during every part of the selling process.

Mr Fearn said de-cluttering, taking away litter trays and removing evidence of pet paraphernalia is often done before the photographs are taken, as they can detract from the overall presentation of the home.

BresicWhitney sales agent Darren Pearce agreed, noting that less is more when presenting a home open. 

“If they’ve got a beautiful bowl and a name and it fits in [it can work]… but when it comes to things like cat litter and a tray, we might chat with the vendor about how these things can be discreetly removed,” he said.

“Not everybody loves cats, fish, dogs, birds,” he said. Allergies can be a source of dislike for animals, particularly if they shed fur.

“Sometimes they’re not as friendly as you think they are or they can be too friendly and they can be a bit of a distraction,” Mr Pearce warned.

“If you’ve got little kids coming in to an open house, a dog could bite somebody or maybe bowl somebody over,” he said. 

At the end of the day, keeping the pets in the listings photographs and not the home itself might be the best option for vendors hoping to maximise their sales price.

“People do comment and ask where the dog they saw in the listing is,” he said.

Top five tips for pet-owning vendors

1) Check for odours, particularly if your pet has lived in the home for a long time.

2) Ensure pet areas, such as a dog’s kennel, is clean and tidy

3) Check the outdoor areas for excrement and clean where necessary

4) Don’t be concerned about cat or dog flaps in the doors – they are often seen as a positive by buyers.

5) If you are making a feature out of the home’s pet friendliness, include a nice place to hang pet leads and blankets.

Source: Darren Pearce