New Better Homes and Gardens DIY agencies coming soon

“The reason for doing this is that I think it represents a different approach to listing and selling real estate than the traditional ‘come and give me a house for sale and I’ll take some photos of it and I’ll put it on the Domains and I’ll sell it’. This is more about a client relationship over a longer period of time,” Mr Tarbey told sister publication My Business.

“The franchisees affiliated with the new business will not only offer traditional real estate services but also what I would describe as a ‘complete lifestyle experience’ that leverages lifestyle content that complements and relates to Better Homes and Gardens Magazine,” the chairman said.

Mr Tarbey said that the concept of the brand will be central to more about style and presentation, not just what the buying and selling of property like what a traditional agency offers.

“You walk into a Better Homes office, you may not even talk to an agent — you may just go into the pre-stage booths we’ll have in each office. You can download podcasts, download recipes, download the latest renovation you saw on a show, make yourself an espresso and walk out,” the chairman said.

Supported by the established magazine, the company will provide lifestyle content such as styling, renovating and design on top of traditional real estate sales and leasing services.

In Australia, the magazine boasts a reach of over 3.5 million people across print, digital and social and is the most read magazine in the country, Mr Tarbey claimed, adding that the new agency will “plug in” to this audience and grow it further.

The deal does not include a partnership with the popular television show.

According to Mr Tarbey, the new brand will formally launch in the fourth quarter of 2018, with “a substantial number” of offices opening at the same time.

“My ambition is not to open a single office until the last quarter of this year... I don’t want to open a single office [before then], although I’m being pushed to open a couple right now,” the chairman said.

“[Realistically] there will be a handful open, but the idea is to open a substantial number all in the one quarter.”

Mr Tarbey added that each of these offices will be more like a “one-stop shop” for everything real estate-related, with a large number of people working in a smaller number of large offices.

Once opened for business in Australia, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate will then be rolled out in New Zealand in 2020.

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