Gemma White has secured $1,165,000 for a four-bedroom house in Labrador after a strategic staging intervention attracted 34 buyer groups and two competing bidders to auction.
The property at 12 Saltash Street had been tenanted for 10 months when the owners — who originally purchased through Gemma four years earlier — decided to sell. The house didn’t present well with tenants in situ, and Gemma’s recommendation was clear: vacant possession and professional staging before launching the campaign.
The staging transformation
Gemma estimates the staging added $100,000 in value.
“It looked like a very empty, basic home without styling, and then once it was styled correctly, it turned the house into a home,” she says.
The sellers were receptive to the investment, backing a full marketing campaign including video and social media alongside the auction method. The 531-square-metre block with single garage and three off-street car spaces attracted 34 buyer groups over 24 days, generating three pre-auction offers before auction day.
Two bidders, two strategies
The competition came down to an owner-occupier and an investor planning renovations before tenanting the property. Both were drawn to the home’s character and the value-add potential the property offered.
“The home has a beautiful feel about it and a lot of character,” Gemma explains. “It needed some upgrades done. Styling definitely helped in its presentation, but there are ways in which the property could have value added to it, and that’s really what got the buyer over the line.”
The investor prevailed, securing the property under the hammer with a cash unconditional offer and 30-day settlement — exactly what the sellers had been hoping for. While the final bid fell slightly short of the published reserve, the sellers prioritised certainty over pushing for a higher conditional offer.
The northern Gold Coast context
Labrador sits in a well-located residential pocket of the northern Gold Coast, close to the Broadwater, schools and cafes, and within the Labrador State School and Southport State High catchments. The suburb’s established character and convenience to coastal amenities appeal to both families and investors seeking value-add opportunities. Domain estimates the area median at $920,000, with average days on market around 19 days.
The auction compression strategy
Gemma’s approach reflects her broader read of the current Gold Coast market, where auction campaigns create urgency and compress time frames.
“What is working well in the current market is an auction campaign where we are putting the heat on buyers and compressing the time on market to draw out the right buyer for the right property,” she says. “Presenting properties properly and an auction campaign for most is really seeing faster results.”
For sellers in Labrador considering their options, the message is clear: professional presentation and a compressed campaign timeline are delivering results in a market where both lifestyle buyers and investors are active.
About the Agent
Gemma White is a luxury residential specialist with Professionals Paradise Point, operating across Hope Island, Paradise Point, Runaway Bay, Labrador and Helensvale on the northern Gold Coast. A former Miss Australia, she has built a reputation for video-driven marketing and hyper-local market expertise, particularly within the Cova Estate precinct where she lives. Visit Gemma’s website for more information or call Gemma on 0404366063.