Agent defends ‘rude’ listing for Broken Hill home after igniting online outrage

A dilapidated Broken Hill home, branded a “house of horrors” by its own listing agent, has ignited a firestorm of controversy online.

But while locals are fuming over the “unprofessional” description, the real estate world is left to ponder: could this brutally honest approach actually be the secret to a scorching sale?

Clifford Wren of Ray White Rural Broken Hill certainly didn’t mince words when describing the two-bedroom property at 94 Wolfram St, complete with tattered window awnings and mould covered walls.

His listing boldly declared, “You’ll need more than your toolbox, probably a match stick!” and highlighted a “not too lovely external bathroom,” before adding a sarcastic “OK, I will write something positive – Great central locale.”

The no-holds-barred approach, shared on Facebook, quickly drew the ire of potential buyers. “Yeah that’s really unprofessional. Health conditions. Lack of support. And old home. Shame on you,” one commenter fumed in now deleted post, while another added, “Rather rude comment, that was someone’s home.”

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A ‘House of Horrors’ or a marketing masterstroke? A selling agent’s brutal honesty is breaking the internet – and might just sell the property.

The marketing campaign has the internet divided.

A third replied: “Imagine living somewhere for years, you finally sell and your real estate agent talks about your house like this?”.

However, Mr Wren insists his unconventional strategy was fully endorsed by his vendors.

“I wrote up the text and shot it through to the vendor for approval. I said to the vendor that if we use this type of wording, it creates a bit of excitement and a bit of commentary and it certainly had a lot of feedback…mostly negative, but it worked,” he explained.

And “worked” it has.

Despite the public outcry, the property, heading to auction on December 19, with a price guide of $65,000, is generating significant interest.

Mr Wren has already facilitated six inspections since the listing went live, attributing the buzz to the very controversy it sparked.

The kitchen has seen better days.

So has this bedroom.

He notes a growing trend of interstate investors drawn to Broken Hill’s affordable market. “We’re still cheap. We’re still below market average,” he said, highlighting how these buyers are “coming in, buying houses, renovating them, flipping them and then re-sell them at a good price.”

He also sees younger buyers from capital cities acquiring investment properties, holding them for several years, and then using the profits as a deposit for their dream homes.

This isn’t the first time a brutally honest listing has made national headlines and ultimately driven a sale.

In March this year, a partially demolished 1920s heritage-listed Adelaide shopfront went viral after being described as a “T!%#” in its listing.

Sometimes, clever marketing campaigns can help sell the unsellable.

Agent Jo Lawless of Creative Real Estate deliberately used the “tongue-in-cheek” ad to generate discussion around a property that desperately needed a motivated buyer. Her strategy paid off, with the property selling for $461,000 after a bidding war between 15 registered bidders.

As Mr Wren confidently states, “We’re getting people on it and it’s going to sell at auction – I have no doubt.”

It seems that in the cutthroat world of real estate, a touch of controversy, even if deemed “rude,” can be a surprisingly effective tool to cut through the noise and attract the right buyer.

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