The Record Breakers at Sotheby’s Queensland International Realty Maroochydore
Most people don’t believe their suburb can set a record. John Caruso learns that’s exactly where opportunity begins.
When a woman in Mount Mee decided to sell her property, she was not operating under any grand illusions about what it might fetch.
Property prices in the area had a ceiling, or so the conventional wisdom went, and that ceiling sat at around $2.5 million. It was simply what properties in that part of the world sold for. The market had spoken, repeatedly, and nobody had thought seriously to argue with it.
She had, however, been doing her research. And her research led her to Melissa Schembri and Daniel Rees of Queensland Sotheby’s International Realty Maroochydore.
“She said, ‘I know you’re team are record breakers and I want to be with Sotheby’s,” Melissa recalls.
The property sold for $4.4 million. Before the dust had settled, a neighbouring owner who had watched the sale unfold rang immediately. That second property went quickly for $4.75 million. Two suburb records in Mount Mee, back-to-back, in a region Melissa and Dan had never previously worked.
The accepted ceiling had not just been nudged. It had been dismantled!
There’s a growing body of evidence that the gap between a good result and a record-breaking one comes down to a very particular approach. In suburb after suburb Melissa and Daniel don’t just meet the market but redefine what the market is capable of.
Mount Mee is not an isolated case. The numbers stack up across the coast. In Chevallum, $11 million, a suburb record. In Tanawha, the benchmark was broken by a full million dollars at $5.7 million.
Rosemount, $3.4 million; and Melissa’s personal landmark, a $20.5 million sale in Buderim in 2021, remains one of the most significant transactions ever recorded in the region.
These figures don’t belong to a different universe. They’re the product of a method, applied consistently, with discipline and intention.
“A lot of agents can sell a house, but are they achieving the best possible price for their sellers? That’s what we help our sellers do. We like to set street records. We like to set area records. And we love to break suburb records,” Melissa says.
The method begins well before a property goes to market, and it starts, perhaps counterintuitively, at the point when the house looks its worst.
The duo describes themselves as ‘house doctors’, and the analogy is accurate. You seek specialist advice when something is wrong, when things need attention, when you are not quite sure what the diagnosis is.
“Our recommendation is don’t fix a house to the point when you think it’s ready,” Daniel explains. “We need to see it at its worst. We’re the ones who will help guide you on what you can do, what you need to change, what you can improve. Don’t go spending time or money on things that just won’t get you the outcome you’re hoping to achieve.”
It is a common and costly mistake. Sellers who call agents after they have already spent money on the property, only to discover they invested heavily in the wrong things. Or sellers who do far too little, presenting a home that buyers walk through quickly and without enthusiasm. The ‘house doctors’ arrive before any of that happens.
What Daniel and Melissa bring to that initial assessment is something that cannot be learned from a weekend course, the duo brings years of conversations with buyers.
They know, with the kind of precision that only comes from repetition, what buyers want, what they will pay more for, and what will kill a sale before it starts.
“We might recommend actions to a seller and it might cost them $10,000 and that usually comes back tenfold or more,” Daniel says.
The tradies who carry out that work are another part of the formula that sellers rarely anticipate. Over years of operating on the coast, Melissa and Daniel have assembled a curated network of painters, electricians, carpenters, and landscapers who understand the expected standards and the timelines involved.
They’re not tradespeople sourced from a hasty internet search. They’re relationships built on mutual respect and consistent work. When the call comes in from the Sotheby’s team, they answer.
“They turn up straight away, they offer good prices and they do it because they know that if they don’t look after our clients, they’re not going to get the next job,” Daniel says.
For sellers, this network is an asset they would not otherwise have.
The preparation stage, so often the difference between a property that draws serious buyers and one that doesn’t, happens faster and more economically than it would through any other channel.
Presentation, though, is only the beginning. Melissa talks about creating competition among buyers rather than simply negotiating with them, and the distinction matters enormously.
“When you present a house beautifully, buyers will compete for it,” explains Melissa. “They compete to secure the property because of how it’s presented and because of the promotional work.
“You’re not going to compete for a house that doesn’t feel good, but if you’ve got a house that’s been exceptionally presented, all the repairs have been done and it’s in sterling condition, you’re going to put your best foot forward to try and secure it.”
That promotional and marketing work extends far beyond the Sunshine Coast.
Queensland Sotheby’s International Realty Maroochydore is part of a global brand whose international website draws 3.5 million visitors every month, a significant portion of them organic, people who know the Sotheby’s name and go there directly seeking premium real estate.
When expats are looking to return home, when uncertainty abroad is redirecting wealth towards stable, beautiful places to live, the Sunshine Coast appears on the radar of buyers who would never find it through local channels.
“We’re talking to people from all over the world, all the time,” Daniel says.
“Clients who are looking at the Coast as a place to buy. They gravitate to a brand they associate with global luxury, in this case, real estate.”
And yet, for all the weight of that brand, the duo is clear that luxury is not a price tag. It is an experience, and it is one they apply to every property, at every point on the spectrum.
“Whether it’s an $11 million sale in Chevallum or a modest family home in Buderim, it’s the same process and the same focus on achieving the best possible result to help people move forward,” Daniel says.
“If you want to achieve a premium price, it starts with presenting a premium product and delivering a premium level of service,” Melissa explains. “When you work with Sotheby’s, we guide you through that process to position your property at its absolute best.”
Record-breaking results aren’t achieved by chance. They come from sellers who commit to the process, trust expert guidance, and understand the importance of positioning their property to stand out in the market.
Suburb after suburb, Melissa and Daniel continue to set new benchmarks – and the results speak for themselves.
Contact Melissa on 0403 327 792 or Daniel on 0456 456 753 to discuss your needs.
