‘Fast attention, fear and FOMO’: Why this vendor gave his home just 12 days to sell

In the booming Adelaide Hills market, where demand is high, stock is scarce and prices are rising, standout properties don’t need long to draw attention.

The agent of this brand new, four-bedroom barn-style home at 67 Kangaroo Reef Road, Mylor allowed buyers just 12 days to submit their best offers.

The short-turnaround campaigns appears to be working – the home was the most viewed property on realestate.com.au over the past week.

Agent Sam Oborn at Harcourts Adelaide Hills said he’s been using the ‘best offer before’ campaign for some time now because it attracts a wider pool of buyers.

“At auction, buyers need unconditional finance, which can be tricky. With a ‘best offer before’, you can include conditions like ‘subject to finance’ or ‘subject to sale’, which gives people more flexibility,” he said.

Mr Oborn said pricing can also be difficult in the Hills, where “there’s a lot of variance”.

“It really comes back to what someone’s willing to pay,” he said.

Mr Oborn said many of the properties he sells don’t last the full ‘best offer before’ campaign, with some selling straight after the first open if the vendor receives an offer they’re happy with. In those cases, the deadline is brought forward so all buyers still have a chance to submit offers. 

With 80 groups through the first open of 67 Kangaroo Reef Road, which is guided at $2.9m–$3.1m, Mr Oborn’s strategy seems well-placed.

“There’s still a crazy amount of interest in the Adelaide Hills,” he said. 

With just a handful of house sales in tightly-held Mylor over the past 12 months, price data is limited, but nearby Hahndorf has seen prices surge more than 20% over the year to August.

Vendor Tim Cece said he likes auctions for buyers because they feel “fair”, but as a seller he prefers short ‘best offer’ campaigns.

“It gets faster attention, fear and FOMO,” he said. “At auction everyone knows exactly where they stand, but with a ‘best offer’ campaign, buyers really have to put their best foot forward.” 

Mr Cece and his wife bought a “tiny property” on this 2.53-hectare block in 2020 with plans to demolish and build their forever home.

Mr Cece was clear what this would be: A New Zealand barn-style home.

“I love the design. I love the sleek, sharp lines, the barn aspect, the black,” he said.

Named ‘Valchiusa’ after Italian poet Francesco Petrarca — who often escaped the city for the quiet valley of Valchiusa — Mr Cece said he wanted his Mylor home to feel “soul-soothing”.

“When we first saw the property, we imagined a long, pod-style barn facing the dam. It felt like living on the river; the dam’s so large it soaks up the view,” he said. 

Designed by Girardi Design and built by St Georges Constructions in 2024, the home features an open-plan living and dining area with 6m cathedral ceilings that connect to a rain-sensing Vergola, dual-sided fireplace, heated plunge pool and sweeping views across the dam to Mount Lofty. 

One wing houses three bedrooms and a bathroom, while the other contains a master suite with walk-in-robe and ensuite with freestanding bath, plus a fifth bedroom or study. 

With heated natural oak floors, stone benchtops and limestone feature walls, the home exudes earthy warmth and texture.

The property also includes a large garage/shed, two orchards, fully fenced paddocks, self-watering wicker beds, extensive water storage and, of course, the dam, where the kids can kayak or cast a line from the jetty. 

Mr Cece said work has now taken him and his wife to Robe on South Australia’s southeast coast, making the decision to list what was meant to be their dream home a “tough one.” 

“The Adelaide Hills is such a beautiful part of the world and I love the size of this property — not too big, just a lifestyle block — and I love the location. Every evening at five o’clock it’s just so still and quiet,” he said. 

Mr Oborn said the property was drawing a broad range of buyers, from locals and Adelaide tree-changers to downsizing farmers. 

“It’s appealing to people who want a little less land as well as those who want a little more,” he said.

He described the location as “magical”.

“You’re tucked away where it’s dead quiet and surrounded by paddocks, yet close to Mylor township with its café, general store and oval — and the Adelaide CBD is under 30 minutes away.

“It really is the best of both worlds.” 

The post ‘Fast attention, fear and FOMO’: Why this vendor gave his home just 12 days to sell appeared first on realestate.com.au.