When REIQ Chairman Peter Brewer set out to select the team to sell the family home, he knew exactly what he wanted in an agent.
As well as laughing that they had to be an REIQ member, the former real estate agent said he needed a team that could walk the fine line between paying homage to his mother’s home and running a campaign that generated a lot of interest.
Mr Brewer ended up selecting Lyn Griffiths and Rohan Banning, of RE/MAX Central Residential, to sell 30 Melville Terrace, Wynnum, by auction on December 9.
“I wanted someone who understood the uniqueness of the property and knew how to market it in a professional way,” he said.
“There’s that mix between showing the property respect but also creating a sense of urgency for the buyers.”
Mr Brewer said he also wanted the marketing to be creative and feature a mixture of print, portals, digital and social media marketing.
He also wanted to honour his mother, the late Iris Brewer, who was a musician and singer, and later a real estate agent in the family business, by booking a three-piece jazz band to play at three open homes and on auction day.
“My mother was a musician and cabaret singer who travelled the country singing in some of Sydney and Brisbane’s biggest clubs in the 70s and 80s, having started her musical career as a 14-year-old on 4BH and at Theatre Royal,” he said.
“She was also an avid community worker honoured by Queen Elizabeth II with a Silver Jubilee medal, and she was inducted by the local MLA into the ‘Bayside Greats’ Hall of Fame.”
Mr Brewer said the jazz band would also help stir emotion and generate connection between the potential buyers and the home.
“I want to get toes tapping, I want to create an atmosphere, I want to create a musical environment and I want to pay homage to Mum’s musical heritage,” he said.
“The home itself hosted dozens and dozens of concerts to raise money and help people pay for funerals or raising money to help a political party or raising money for several local charities.”
Mr Brewer said his father, the late Don Brewer, who was one of the founders of The Professionals in 1976, bought the family home at auction.
“My Dad knew a thing or two about property when he bought 30 Melville Terrace at public auction 43 years ago,” he said.
“It was location, location, location then, just as the home exudes today.”
Built in the mid 1940s, the property is described as a “timeless gem” in the listing description, with the red brick abode offering three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a guest floor and multiple living, dining and entertaining spaces.
Art deco finishes abound, including decorative cornices and ceiling plaster, plate rails and high ceilings.
Mr Brewer said the home, which was built in the mid-1940s, was outstanding in both style and structure.
“My parents were meticulous with any improvement they made to the original home, employing architects and builders who were sympathetic to its bones,” he said.
“They added a roof top attic and additional self-contained living areas.
“The beautiful old Sydney red brick has been perfectly matched in all the newer additions to the property, for example.”
Mr Brewer said it would be sad to sell the property as it held a lot of memories for the entire family.
“It will be hard to say goodbye,” he said.
“But, we’re on the road, we’re getting going and it will be sold.”
The property goes to auction at 9am on Saturday, December 9.
