Century 21’s video podcast Home of the Century is back for a second season, this time turning the camera on the people and decisions behind property transactions rather than the listings themselves.
The series, a finalist in the inaugural SONARR Awards (Sound and Narrative), returns weekly from 13 October on YouTube and Spotify, hosted by TV presenter and licensed real estate agent Erin Holland alongside property and design expert Darren Palmer.
Season two comes against a shifting market backdrop. Australian Bureau of Statistics data for the June quarter shows a decline in the residential property market, even as the nation’s total dwelling stock remains 8.5 per cent more valuable than a year earlier.
For Century 21 Chairman and Owner Charles Tarbey, that shift is exactly why the agent’s role matters more than it used to.
“The property journey doesn’t look the way it did 30 years ago,” Charles said. “Australians are buying at different stages of life, changing what they need from their homes and finding new ways to make property work for them.”
“Behind a property transaction there is usually a much bigger decision being made. The best agents understand that. They know the market, but they also understand what their client is actually trying to achieve.”
One of the stories featured in the new season is Cheryl Allen, whose property needs changed dramatically after a workplace accident in 2013 left her living with quadriplegia.
Unable to find a home that met her accessibility needs, Cheryl eventually sold her Inverell property of 40 years, including parting with her horses, after a difficult first experience with another agent.
She found the support she needed in Noel Outerbridge, Principal of Century 21 Plateau Lifestyle Real Estate, who travelled a nine-hour round trip to conduct open homes at her property.
The relationship continued well beyond settlement, with Cheryl later buying a duplex block through the agency, building one home for herself and another to rent, where she lives today.
She is now building accessible and adaptable homes for people living with disability, families and Australians wanting to age at home.
“I’d had a shocker of a start with an agent, so finding someone who actually listened made a huge difference,” Cheryl said.
“Noel understood that this wasn’t just about selling a property. It was about helping me work out what came next.”
Noel said the sale was never a straightforward listing.
“Cheryl’s situation was never simply about putting a property on the market. There were a lot of personal decisions and practical considerations involved,” he said.
“My job was to listen, understand what she needed to achieve and then work through what was possible. Every client comes to you with a different situation, and that’s where experience and local knowledge really matter.”
Newly appointed Century 21 Chief Marketing Officer Todd Alexander said the podcast reflects how the brand wants to be seen in the market.
“Our ambition is to deliver homes of the century through the best agents, best people and best listings,”he said. “That means being there for clients when they need experience and someone who can help them see what’s possible.”
Season two of Home of the Century launches on 13 October, with new episodes released weekly.