Real Estate Therapy's Wheel of Fortune

Real Estate Therapy is for lovers of Property, Psychology and Pop Culture, whether you're a first-time buyer, upsizer, downsizer, or just thinking about buying a home. Because, let's face it, at its very heart, Real Estate is about Life, Love and those Big-Ass Issues.

Open For Inspection!

We've all been there: You emerge for the Saturday morning onslaught. You haven't even stepped into the first home, but you've already hit with that sense of fatigue when suddenly, a mere nine and a half months into searching, you step into a home and within the first eight seconds—KAPOW!?

You feel that delicious warmth spread through your body—the tingling of your fingertips, dilated pupils and rapid-fire speech. You bob up and down and rub your palms together (oblivious that the smirking real estate agent is clocking all this). But that's not your concern because randomly—you have met your soul home. What were the chances??

Sure, it's a weatherbeaten 3-bedroom freestanding on an average size block 20-minutes drive from the city, and you were looking for a flashy look-at-me 2-bedroom apartment right in the heart of the action. But, whatever—you felt a buzz, a connection with this quirky little house, and the agent seemed to favour you over the competition (plus your pooch positively cooed while you ran about, turning taps on and off like a lunatic).??

It's clear as mud that this property is not right for you—but if you're on the real estate rebound and you've been looking, like, forever because you need to find somewhere to live NOW, then you can easily convince yourself that it's perfect.

Of course, you can.

Because real estate is the galactic centre of the universe with a supercluster of planets orbiting around it. And you're an emotional basketcase.

Image courtesy of BossBabeBonni

Finding a new place to live can be daunting, whether the motivation is as simple as a sea change or something darker—death, divorce or ditching the day job. If you're finding that your action plan hasn't been, well, actioned, you need to find a way to ease yourself out of your real estate coma. You need a plan. You need a slow-release tranquiliser. You need real estate therapy.?

Revenge Spending

The history of the world's real estate tells a story about winners and losers. We're all players in one way or another. Property is a global obsession. It's part of our collective psyche. The name "real estate" was originally equivalent to "Royal Estate", didn't you know? It emanated from the feudal principle that in a monarch, all land was considered the property of the king. Hmmm, are you thinking what I'm thinking?

When we talk about residential or owner-occupied real estate, we're talking about?our home, something we all want and need. It's the one thing that represents security, self-identity, and self-esteem. And there's a sense of emotional safety in that. A different side emerges when you think about the psychology of real estate and flip it.

You've got taboo-smashing storylines, psychotic behaviours and emotionally-charged billion-dollar lawsuits. You've got greed, egos, sex, status, power, betrayal, narcissism, control, divorce, privilege, love, hate, wealth, death—and that's just the royal family.

The synergistic effect between psychology and property has been sparking and flickering since the beginning of the profession. And I'm not the first to notice.

Ever since real estate was a 'thing', scientists have pored over the human element, making predictions and hypotheses about one of the most meaningful transactions we'll ever make. It's also one of the most complex. And not just because of the financial pledge, the lifelong commitment or the legal gobbledegook—but because of the whopping emotional strain involved. Fast forward to 2023 and if there's one thing we know, it's that how we "feel" about a property can create huge emotional barriers.

I remember the fanatical sense that "I had to have" a certain home because I fell madly badly in love with the heady fragrance of the perfectly positioned frangipani tree. Never mind that the house was crawling with termites, and the structure was about to collapse.

Likewise, if the emotional tug of a home pushes our romantic buttons, we're likely to turn a blind eye to a swagger of practical issues—the cost, location, and whether the damn thing has a functioning toilet.

Ever since Covid-19 came to town, the property-guzzling public has had to face the reality of the most puzzling market filled with twists and turns. How can you make a decision when no one has a clue what the confounded market will do next?

Right now, buying a home, or selling one for that matter, has more wobbles than a royal trifle.

Regardless of market conditions, buying a home is a mission that starts as a practical and financial enterprise but quickly transcends into a psychological dimension the second we walk into a home we love—or hate. Then it becomes about tuning into our "feelings" and being led by our emotions.

Over the decades, we have accepted a series of largely one-dimensional versions of house hunting. Generally, after kicking back with a few vinos and back-of-the-envelope calculations, it's on for young and old:?Let's buy a bigger house. Let's buy a smaller house. Let's swap the house for an apartment. Let's go live by the beach.?There seems to be this notion that buying property is as easy as a one-horse race.

Yet, most people who have done it agree that it is a tough slog and one of the most challenging things we're likely to do. Ever.

So, why are we all so shocked when we set out to source a home and get smashed by the emotional tsunami?

If we were better prepared for the physical and mental drain that is part and parcel of buying—and had the skills to manage our emotions and?know when to walk away—we would be better placed to pace ourselves and less likely to feel defeated when things didn't go our way. And hey, presto, the whole process just became a lot less painful!

If you're one of the lucky ones who bought a home without shedding gallons of blood, sweat, tears, and a truckload of emotion, then seriously, kudos to you—and please, feel free to share. For those who haven't...watch this space.

Property Porn, Psychology and Pop Culture

Real Estate should be more than just the numbers, right? That's what we thought! We'll make it fun and focus on the 5 top themes contributing to the crazily complicated reasons we fall for a property—and why we fall so hard.

We'll probe every dark corner and report back with case studies, stories, stats, and suggestions to normalise the buying process—from anxiety to frustration and full-blown psychodrama while keeping an eye on every damn thing in the buying space.

We'll do a bunch of offbeat examinations of the homes we all rely on and test theories, like how statistically it takes a mere eight seconds to fall in love with a home. We'll also use the romance theme to compare dating and house hunting and explore the home as a "love substitute." Heck, we'll even try to figure out ways your house can predict your future!

We'll throw out a load of lifelines to help you secure a property and pull out all the stops to keep your emotions and mental health in check. We'll check out the best of the "property personality tests" to see what type you are and discover what your dream house reveals about your real estate EQ. And hey, we'll interpret your dreams if you ask us to!

We'll celebrate those iconic TV and cinematic interiors that have delivered endless hours of pure property porn and look at how celebrities actually like, buy homes. We'll share a slew of slack-jawed moments with examples of the world's most extreme real estate, and we'll check out the mythical cult status of certain Insta powerhouses that make you drool.

We'll even look at things from the home's point of view—so if I were to pop in for a cup of tea and a chat to ask your house about your manners behind closed doors, what would it say? Oh my!

We'll look at buyer's remorse, the dangers of buying too quickly—and why rash buying decisions aren't always the best, especially when it's a case of "real estate rebound". We'll interview buyers agents for best practice tips, tricks and techniques and we'll number crunch like the best of them—reviewing the auctions, and dramatic bidding wars is all part of the game. But we'll be mindful to keep things fun and jolly, and we won't lose sight of the big prize because, more than anything....we're about keeping it real by looking at the human side of real estate because god knows the business side has been done to death.

Real Estate Therapy?is part confession, part real estate, part self‐help. It's delivered with authenticity, passion, and lashings of tongue-in-cheek humour. It's sincere but sarcastic; meaningful but mocking. Funny but not funny.?

If you want to get a grip on buying property and fancy a sprinkling of wit and a dollop of the wild, you're in the right place—because what fun is buying a property if you can't laugh at yourself? That's where psychology comes into it.

I'm the Property Psychologist.

Welcome to Real Estate Therapy.

Next week, we'll go behind the scenes and discover what a Property Psychologist is and how to become one!

In the meanwhile, find out more about our Buyers Agent services

We work alongside partners that buy established property all throughout Sydney with a spotlight on the areas of Glebe, Forest Lodge, Camperdown, Chippendale, Refern, Ultimo, Pyrmont and Haymarket.

Next Steps

Let's have a juicy conversation about where you're at on the real estate wheel of fortune. Tell us about your quandary and let's see if we can help. Whether you're a first-timer or a repeat buyer, don't be shy, we're here to help. And please check out our Buyer's Guide while you're here.