Elite AgentFEATURE INTERVIEWS

Playing to win: the female agent team who tackled The Block 2018

In 2018 The Block had its first all-female agent team. Hannah Blackiston spoke with Emily Adams and Stephanie Evans of hockingstuart Albert Park to find out about the experience.

Channel Nineโ€™s renovation juggernaut The Block wrapped on its 14th season this year, seeing Hayden and Sara from New South Wales take the (slightly controversial) win, represented by McGrath St Kilda principal Michael Townsend.

But representing Kerrie and Spence from South Australia was The Blockโ€™s first all-female (and the only female agents this season) team, Emily Adams and Stephanie Evans of hockingstuart Albert Park.

2018 wasnโ€™t Stephanieโ€™s first go on The Block merry-go-round. Last year she partnered up with hockingstuart Albert Park director and auctioneer David Wood to help Josh and Elyse take the win, and she’s been a part of the show for a couple of years. She was excited to get another shot, this year with Emily by her side, with David still very much part of the group effort.

โ€œYou pitch for them like any sort of business you would go out and try to win. We didnโ€™t have an established relationship with Channel Nine, or the program, they just take into consideration our market results in the area,โ€ says Stephanie.

โ€œAlbert Park is the original hockingstuart office; weโ€™ve been in the Bayside area for over 30 years. Those sort of factors play into account when teams are making the selection. It helps that David has a history with the show, but our results as an office in this area was the final factor in the decision.โ€

With Emily’s experience in marketing behind the scenes, she was in the perfect position to help sell a property as unique as the Gatwick apartment. Combined with Stephanieโ€™s extensive sales background, the duo create a formidable team.

โ€œWe ran the sales campaign much the way we would run a normal campaign, but amplified. Youโ€™re dealing with a lot more enquiries, way more exposure, the corporate office gets involved,โ€ says Stephanie.

โ€œYouโ€™ve got to filter through to work out who are buyers and who are just spectators, so thereโ€™s a lot more work. Everyone has to register for the opens so we can qualify people as being actual buyers. We used an Eventbrite ticket system so they were registered and only let in about 30 people at a time so it wasnโ€™t every man and his dog.โ€

The show earned a lot of criticism this year from property experts for throwing a large number of high-end apartment properties on the market at the same time – something detractors said was setting the contestants and agents up to fail. Emily says thereโ€™s no doubt the current market made it a slightly harder task, but that they got the best outcome they could do in a cooler climate.

โ€œI think the current climate has probably been the most challenging out of any of The Blocks, but thatโ€™s the odds. Every year youโ€™re faced with the challenge of five or so similar properties hitting the market at the same time. Yes, in the current market selling these properties individually would have been easier, but that isnโ€™t the game,โ€ says Emily.

โ€œYou just need to look at the clearance rights that are going around at the moment. They’re sitting at 50 per cent now, but this time last year we were 75 to 80 per cent. It’s quite clear that the market has had a bit of a correction. If anything, the results this year showed that The Block properties are always going to be sought after, especially with the quality this year, the size, the quality and the fact youโ€™re getting them fully furnished. Theyโ€™re not something you can just buy on a day-to-day basis.

โ€œSmart investors have seen that opportunity to jump on them, especially when theyโ€™re competing with five others, and weโ€™ve seen Block properties that have resold again after other series go on to make a profit. It shows that youโ€™re buying a good asset,โ€ says Emily.

As for being the only female agents on The Block 2018, Emily and Stephanie say that gave them an advantage and is something they expect to see much more of in the future.

โ€œThere have been so many studies done that show that women make the majority of decisions in buying and selling homes, even if the man is at the forefront. Itโ€™s the woman in the background whoโ€™s making the decisions. So for a female agent to be able to connect with a woman buyer, I think itโ€™s a huge advantage for us in the market,โ€ says Stephanie.

โ€œThere can even be a bit of apprehension in speaking to these older male agents who’ve been around for a long time and are a bit old-school. There were so many good agents who worked on The Block, but being able to promote that point of difference really helped make us stand out. I think thereโ€™s also a different attention to detail from women which really helps to sell these higher-end properties,โ€ adds Emily.

So would they do it all again next year when the ever-popular show inevitably returns to our screens? Itโ€™s a resounding yes, but theyโ€™re quick to point out that if youโ€™re going on a TV show for a boost to your career or your presence in the industry it can have its downsides.

โ€œIt always helps to get the exposure and a little bit of airtime here and there, itโ€™s great promotion, but youโ€™re putting yourself in the hands of the producers. At the end of the day you have to take what youโ€™re given and it can be interesting to see what angle you get,โ€ says Stephanie.

โ€œI know a couple of the agents who went in to win some business werenโ€™t really shown in the best light, so at the end of the day itโ€™s not up to you what goes to air. But if your intentions are good and youโ€™re doing the right thing youโ€™re at least going to get great exposure from it and some experience running a different sort of campaign,โ€ says Stephanie.

Of course, it isnโ€™t just the four weeks of the show either. Stephanie and Emily said the experience ended up taking a couple of months, but it also gave them a great chance to speak to some buyers who maybe missed out on Auction Day but are now in the market for a $2 million+ property, who theyโ€™re now working with to find something else on their books. As per usual with television, it isnโ€™t always the outcome you expect which ends up being the best one.

โ€œIโ€™d love to do it again, and represent all the female agents out there. Iโ€™d love to keep bringing some diversity to the show. 2019 is looking really strong for us; weโ€™ve already signed up a couple of auctions for February when it all kicks off again – our market is quite seasonal and we go really quiet across January. But it means we can take time off, enjoy the summer break, and come back strong in February, completely refreshed and ready for the year,โ€ says Stephanie.

Show More

Hannah Blackiston

Hannah Blackiston was an in-house journalist with Elite Agent. She worked with the company from January 2018 to January 2019.