The Upshot Podcast – Episode 4: Nicholas Skapoulas

Episode 4

Host: Ben, Head of Investor Relations at Homely
Guest: Nicholas Skapoulas

The Upshot by Homely invites you into honest conversations with the entrepreneurs, challengers and longstanding legends shaping the real estate industry today.

Homely is proud to welcome Nicholas Skapoulas from Nicholas Scott Real Estate to the Upshot Pod. A big supporter of Homely, Nicholas’s career has been extensive, dating back to 1988 making him one of the first apprentices of the REIV. Taking over the help of Nicholas Scott Real Estate in 1997, Skapoulas revitalised the brand in the vibrant and competitive Inner Western suburbs of Melbourne. Passionate about the people and the culture of Footscray and its surrounding suburbs, Skapoulas is nevertheless a steadfast Collingwood supporter and family man.

Nick’s take on current property news

Demand in the property market is still high – even with limited stock.

Nick:
Buyer demand is still quite high. We’re still at record levels for inquiries, which is fantastic. It’s also relevant to the stock levels and the quality of the property you’ve got. So I think it’s all relative. You may break it down with A grade, B grade and C grade apartments and townhouses softened a little bit – they are still active, but price-driven.

A-grade houses in good locations have incredible demand and great prices, they really haven’t dropped off. In fact, they’ve probably gone to another level. What’s probably helped that is the scarcity of trades and builders. The consumers are just scared about what’s going to come. So they prefer to spend extra on a fully renovated house.

And you know what, people aren’t handy. They just want a home and they don’t want to be caught up in the issues and the problems. Is anyone at fault, or is no one at fault? Probably likewise for both. So they prefer to take the safe path and buy a house that’s renovated.

Why are properties still being passed in if demand is so high?

Ben:
I was actually looking at a place in Kingsville a few weeks ago and that campaign had about 18 or 19 groups through and ended up passing in at auction – which was confusing to say the least. Are there general indicators for how a campaign is going at the moment, are they in the normal space or are you looking for different things to see if things are on track or off track?

Nick:
There are probably a few elements to that…the urgency isn’t there as much because people are scared and worried about the banks. They’re worried about the finance clause. The reality is, the goal is exactly the same for a vendor and a purchaser. It’s all about price and what that agent negotiates because they want to buy as a buyer, the seller wants to sell and get as much as they can. 

It’s that agent being able to accommodate that transaction that makes the difference to the campaign because, at the end of the day, we’re negotiators. We put a marketing plan in place and advertise on Homely and then just get an end result that’s satisfactory for both people.  

99% of the time, both are happy and the outcome’s great. But as for the auction process right now, there’s no urgency. So they don’t need to go on and bet if they don’t have to.

How are you guiding your current clients in these uncertain times?

Ben:
Are you recommending to your clients to go to auction at the moment or are you leaning more towards private sale in the current climate?

Nick:

We take each one on its own merit. Some owners want to control the space, some don’t care and want to run with it. So you can go either way and flip a coin, Ben. 

You know, there’s nothing worse, like you mentioned, than an auction where you have a campaign for four weeks – one that potentially hasn’t been handled 100% and you don’t get the right outcome. And to fold at auction is bad. 

9 times out of 10, there’s nothing wrong with the property. Maybe it’s just not been handled right and been given the right advice to get it over the line beforehand. And we’re in a hot area, the Inner West is really thumping. We have no shortage of inquiries, no shortage of demand and really there are only two reasons a property is not going to sell. You’ve either got a bad agent, or you’ve got the wrong price.

Ben:
So are you picking up any expired listings at the moment? Is that part of the strategy?

Nick:
We don’t love it because it’s not really good business. We want people to sell their homes, whether it’s us or anyone else. Just get the right advice, and get on the right track. I mean, there’s a lot of good agents in this area. We’re the best ones, of course.

And there are some bad ones like any industry, that’s just reality. Get the right advice and I hope they sell. But if they don’t sell, reach out, we’ll guide you in the right direction. It’s not just about a commission. We want harmony. We want happiness in our area. Because we’re here for the long haul. 

For me, it’s not just a sale today. I’ve been here since 1987. So I’ve seen it all. These cycles are going to come and go. Interest rates are going to come and go. I say, do good and you’ll get good.

I like Bill Evans, I really follow him well and he’s predicting one more, whether or not it’s tomorrow, being the first Tuesday or next month. He believes it will, but there’s so much uncertainty around it. Inflation, hopefully, is pulling back. So I think we will get one more, but that’ll be it. And then it’ll just pull back.

So I don’t think it’ll have too much of an impact on the overall market. 

From a Greek background, to school, to the fruit market and finally into Real Estate.

Nick:
Yeah, it’s been an interesting career. People say, ‘why did you do real estate?’ Let me tell you, when I was at school, I had no idea what I wanted to do, but it wasn’t real estate. It happened by default. And my background is Greek and my parents said, you gotta go to work, mate. If you don’t wanna go to school, you’re going to work. So work it out, buddy, and quick.

So I did a couple of jobs before I started. I originally started in the fruit and wholesale market at Footscray Road. That was a learning curve. So I started work there at midnight and finished at five thirty in the morning. One of the local fruiters in Yarraville used to take me home so I can get to school by eight thirty. And I knew I was earning good money. It was 500 bucks a week back then and I was 17. And that’s back in 87. That was huge. And that’s how I bought my first house. I saved all that money. and I’ll never forget the day, it was 47 grand, it was on Francis Street. I put up half the money, my parents put the other half and lo and behold, I bought my first home. But I knew that wasn’t the caper I needed to get into, so I saw a job ad in the local paper because there was no internet back then.

And it was past the due date, but anyway, I put my dad’s wedding suit on, because I never had a suit, went down to the local real estate agent. and said, I want a job and I think I want to do real estate. That was Georgian Coast. 

I got the job, and my first 12 months were just vacuum cleaning, switchboarding, and taking rent by cash. We used to take cash back then. Je enrolled me into the first traineeship with the REIV. My mom bless her soul, still got the article about it. It all started there. 

So 12 months with him. And I wanted to get into sales like I was itching. It was unconscious incompetence because I just wanted to do sales, but I didn’t know how to do it. Because I definitely wasn’t a studier or a reader, it was very different times back in 1988. No mobile phones, all the real estate agents come 12 o’clock, they were at home. See you later.

I was a young kid and I wanted to work and Saturday, because it wasn’t part of my traineeship, I said, no, don’t worry, don’t pay me. I’ll just do it for free. I’ll come in, I’ll do the open for inspections. And my first open for inspection, I’ll never forget it, 33 O’Farrell Street in Yarraville, a couple from St Kilda came in for the open for inspection and it was $68,000. And they came in and they said, yeah, we want to buy it. And I shit myself. I didn’t know what to do. 

So I went to the telephone box, rang the boss, because it was one o’clock. He was at home. I said, George, they want to buy the house. He goes, take them back to the office. Just get them assigned to a contract. And that’s what I did. So that was my first sale.

That was incredible. It was an incredible journey. So I worked for him for 10 years. The journey with him was incredible because he was a man of his word and a great mentor. A beautiful human being and he taught me everything I know today. More on the honesty approach and it was a handshake back then. There were no authorities, there were no contracts, it was I want to sell my house, you sell it, you get a commission. And the comms back then on average were like $3,000. It was nothing.

So you had to make a lot of sales to earn a decent living. But I worked hard. That’s one thing I say to people in real estate that I just work hard. There’s no difference to today. We’ve got more technology, more information, more of everything, and we still have to work hard to get it over the line. So 10 years with him, his kids didn’t wanna buy the business. They were done. 

He sold it to me, which was huge. I was 27 years old making a massive commitment into real estate in 97. And it was a really big turning point because I bought the rent roll. He had a very small rent roll. I wanted to buy the building because I didn’t want to just be a tenant. And I sorted all the funding and at the last minute Westpac pulled the pin on the business funding and the money I had for the renovation, I had to pay him for the business because I gave him my word. And then I thought, ‘Oh my God’, like, There was no second option. It was just success. I had to get out, sell real estate to make money, to fund the renovation. And it was me, me and a receptionist. And I was working seven days a week. There was no, no holdup. And back then I was doing between 12 and 15 sales a month myself and listing 12 and 15. And I had to because I needed to fund the reno.

From a one man operation to a close knit team of 20 all sharing the same views and values when it comes to Real Estate

Ben:
Did you have a team around you?

Nick:
No, it was just me and a receptionist.

That was incredible. It was a tough time, but again, I just had no choice. When you have no choice and you’re thrown into the deep end, you’ve got to swim.

So we slowly built a team, built a rent roll, and down the track now, I wish I had the knowledge and the information back in 1997 that I do now. The internet sites and the team, because now there’s a team of 20. We’ve got six in sales, we’ve got seven in rentals. We manage a portfolio of about 850 properties. We’ve got a great team and it’s a family. And that’s one thing I learnt over time. It’s not I, it’s we. We, as a team, do a lot. And we put the consumer first and would never do anything wrong. We put into the community, and support the community. 

That’s how I met Nicole from Homely and the girls there and we support you and you support us. And it’s successful. And doing the right thing is successful. We’re the biggest agent in the area? No, we’re not. Will we do the right thing every single time? 100%. Will we hurt anyone? No. We do good business. We make massive sales. Last month we just came off 20. 20 sales for the month, which is a big month for us. So inquiries up, we finished 240 inquiries for the month of April, which is getting big and continuing to get big. 

So momentum is still huge, Ben, in the inner west, numbers are big, listings are big, but we’re working really, really hard, really hard. Training is a really massive thing for us. And I love the likes of Jim Rohn, Bill Tracy, I reach out to real estate agents. 

Now listen to these guys, they got old messages, but they’re relevant today. Anthony Robbins is another good one for motivation. And Gary Vee, he’s gonna be in Melbourne in August. Go and listen to him, the marketing is incredible. Because we are becoming marketing machines and negotiating machines. That’s what real estate’s going to be.

How important is marketing and generating content in your business? 

Ben:
You look at it in the US and they’ve just, everything is about content, content, content. And I feel like we’re behind the eight ball on that front, but it seems like it’s very much going that way. You look at some of the big agents all the way around the country and they’re just promoting themselves and their properties every single day. So, yeah.

Nick:
Oh, it is. And you look at Ryan C, C, C, I always muddle up his name in New York. they’re talking about big real estate. That’s a melting pot for serious money. For them to be doing $50, $60 million sales is like just a one-bedroom flat down here for 300 grand.

Takes the same amount of effort and skill but it’s a different ball game. So it’s changing and AI is going to change all that as well soon enough.

The importance of passion outside of Real Estate

Ben:
So obviously you’ve had a big extensive career, and we’ve spoken to a couple of other guests in previous weeks about their passions outside of real estate. Do you have anything that you’re really passionate about outside of real estate, or do you just give absolutely everything to your business and your local marketplace?

Nick:
I love cycling, I cycle five times a week, so that’s my debrief in my head. Obviously, I love football and Collingwood’s my number one team and Footscray’s my number two because there’s a soft spot for Footscray, great people around here and we deal with a lot of personalities in the area because they’re buying and selling real estate. 

And soccer, I love soccer, I went to the World Cup, and I love the Aussies, I followed them around in Qatar and Russia before that. And America in four years. So that’ll be an incredible journey as well. So we’re planning that now and that’ll be great.

How did financial pressure and setbacks influence decision-making and moving forward?

Ben:
So back to your career just quickly. You had a lot of financial pressure to get things moving because things didn’t go your way. Is there anything that you would have changed over your career or anything that you would have done differently too that may have changed the trajectory of your career at all?

Nick:
In hindsight, you can look back and say, ‘I should have done this a little bit differently,’ but I don’t regret a minute of it. I’ve had a great journey and during that time I’m married, and I’ve got two children. So you fit all that in learning because I was never a big reader. If I could say, “could I have done something more?’… I would have read more. Now you have great podcasts. If you’re not a big reader, there’s so much to listen to and also I probably would have been a little bit more aggressive with the hiring. That’s one thing I would have done differently. And I never wanted a second office – like I was happy here. This is plenty. Yarraville is a great suburb. 

Like I’m born and bred on Francis Street. I went to Footscray High School, so my connections and my deep roots are here. So it’s a fun place and Yarraville has changed so much. And the people, like the people that are here are incredible. So would I change much? No, I think it’s just probably a bigger team in Redmore. 

I’ve travelled extensively. Like I’ve done a lot for myself. I haven’t, I haven’t stood still. I haven’t been an agent that hasn’t taken time out. I’ve walked Everest, I’ve done Kilimanjaro, and real estate’s given me the opportunity to do that. I’ve done the Kokoda Trail, it’s one thing I recommend for every father and son, go and do it. The Dawn Service and doing that is just, it’s a buzz. But real estate’s given me the opportunity to do that, financially and you just make the time. And the readings give me the opportunity to do that because it’s opened my horizons.

Who are your most important personal influencers? 

Ben:
Yeah. Is there anything special that you’re reading at the moment or anything that you can recommend to the listeners?

Nick:
I really like Dave Anderson. He’s an American speaker. I’d get onto him. He’s matter of fact. He does not sugarcoat anything. If you’re a procrastinator, he’ll cut that out of you. I love him because he says, whatever you’re doing, do it now. Don’t wait, right? Get on it. He’s wonderful. And I like Gary V because of the marketing stuff. And that’s probably more so what I’m reading at the moment. I’m always on the lookout for new stuff. 

I’ve been part of a book club, and I’m not a bookworm. I’ve got to struggle to read. But, I take an hour or a couple of hours out to try and do my best. So, yeah, get on to Dave Anderson. He’ll knock your socks off.

You have one of the more innovative brands in the local marketplace. Walk us through what you do differently and how you tackle your audience. 

Nick:
Yeah, I think it’s really important to have a point of difference and because everyone just does the normal mainstream stuff, when you go into a consumer’s house you have to have a reason that they’re going to use you. It’s really about us and it’s about getting our service, being accountable and we wanted an office and a personnel that we’re going to take that to the next level. 

So our branding needed to represent that. So we’ve got a really good marketing company that produced our logos and our marketing tools and the strategies, but really at the end of the day, it’s the people behind those strategies and what we believe. And we cater for what’s best for our sellers at that point in time because we get it, not everyone’s the same. We’re dealing with humans, we’re dealing with emotions, we’re dealing with financial situations. Now they come to a real estate agent because they’re either upgrading, downgrading, or cashing in, especially more so now with the financial pressure that they’re going to get. 

It’s understanding those consumers and being able to do the best for them to get them to the next step. So our brand is really consumer based and it’s for the benefit of the consumer. Yes, do we want to earn a commission? People say you’re a commission agent. Of course, we are. That’s how we live and that’s how we survive. But we’re still gonna give you the best advice to get you to the next step because we’re doing it every day. We know how you’re gonna get your property sold and get the best price for it. Trust us. And the people who trust us get an amazing outcome.

Ben:
I used to work with a guy who gave me some really good advice that not only applies to real estate but just business in general. And it was along the lines of, “If you give people the right advice in any situation, whether that be to sell at the time or not sell at the time, they will trust you more in that situation. And it will mean that whether you get the business there or down the track, you’ll get it uncontested versus the person that is giving basically what the customer wants to hear or the wrong information,” they have their own vested interest painted all over their face. 

So, what you guys are doing in your local marketplace is great, do the right thing for the customer and the results will follow. It’s very, very important to remember.

Nick:
There’s good and bad in every area. We’ve got some agents here that just, they just want to get the business and tell the consumer anything to make it happen. And you can quickly become undone by doing that. It’s bad business. You don’t need to do it.

We’re so consumer-focused and orientated. We just want the best for them. There’ve been instances where we’ve said, ‘we just can’t help you, we’re not going to do it your way.’ You really need to follow our service and our system. And we will get you there and I promise you’ll be happy and if you’re not, rip everything up and you can go wherever you want I’m not gonna hold you to anything

When hiring talent, what are you looking for? What specifically do you think makes a great agent? 

Nick:
It all comes back to attitude for me. They’ve got the right attitude and character. We’ll train them to do the rest. There are a lot of good people out there that have got the potential to be great real estate agents. And the beauty with real estate is it’s just, it’s human. We’ve got nothing on the shelf. It’s not a sandwich shop. We’re selling real estate and you go out and you meet people. 

And that’s what I say, just go and meet people and have fun. because everyone wants to have a laugh and have some fun. And when you’ve got the right knowledge and the experience, they’re gonna pick you as your agent, they’re gonna love you because how could they not if you’ve got the right attitude and character, you’ll get them sold and then you’ll have raving fans. And you can’t beat word-of-mouth business.

I say, just do the right thing, be nice and do the right thing every time, right? Regardless, if it doesn’t benefit you, just do the right thing. We’re marketing a property in South Yarra at the moment. I got that through a referral for one of my kids’ friends at school. The mum said, ‘we’ve got a friend, they want to sell a property in South Yarra’. And I thought, ‘sure, it’s one apartment.’ So, we met with them, they trusted me and they said, ‘Nick, do what you got to do.’ And then they said, ‘no, no, it’s not one apartment, it’s 12.’

So we’ve got two or three left and they’ve had an amazing experience. And I hope in my heart, that they give me a beautiful testimonial. That’s all I want. But it’s that simple and they’re happy and we’re happy.

“When I started it was a very different landscape, it was a very different format, very different demographic as well. And we’ve progressed with that as people, as mothers, fathers, we’re all of our families in this office”

How important is word of mouth, client reviews and testimonials to your business?

Nick:
I think it’s so important. Because people want to know what people are saying about you. The reviews are important. If you can get them on video or get them on, get them, we try and send them to homely, put the review on and do the, do the normal stuff. Some people are a little bit embarrassed. I don’t want to do it. But we push for it cause it helps.

It’s definitely progressed Ben because when I started it was a very different landscape, it was a very different format, very different demographic as well. And we’ve progressed with that as people, as mothers, fathers, we’re all of our families in this office. Soit’s that same old story, treat the way you want to be treated. 

So our client care is paramount. That’s like… That’s the be-all and end-all. That’s so important to be able to accommodate everyone, both our sellers and our buyers because our sellers are moving somewhere else and our buyers are moving into the area, which then become future sellers. And I think bending over backwards and doing whatever you can is crucial. Like there’s a little lady that I’ve helped from time to time. I get a garden cut, go check her mail from time to time and just say hello. And not because I want to list her house, she’s not selling, right? But she needs a little bit of help, the family’s not very close. 

And we’d like to do these little things, they feel good. And I’m not expecting anything. I think that doing something with zero expectations is the key. People just don’t give enough. I think more needs to be given to feel good.

What’s next for Nicholas Scott Real Estate?

Nick:

So the growth path is in our people. The competitors can hear it, there’s nothing to hide at all. Like I’m happy for them to ring me and ask me. It’s really growing our people, the learnings, the community learnings, they’re getting better because success begins within and growing our team. The goal is to double our sales team and our rental team. And that’s over a five-year plan. 

Things don’t happen overnight. And because we want to get the right people in the right spots, it takes time to train them, spend time with them, nurture them and get them to the space where they get success. Because you don’t need to own your own business to be successful. So the beauty of sales is that there are no financial parameters. The harder you work, the more you earn. The more sales you make, the more you earn. 

People branch out and they say, ‘I’m going to open my own office.’ And I say, ‘if I can show you how to earn whatever you want, and still have your holidays and still spend time with your family and still have a five-day week, would you do it?’ Of course, you’re going to say yes. There is no doubt. So there’s intense training, nurturing, and mentoring to get them successful, because their success is my success. And then that’s the community’s success.

Looking back, what decisions and initiatives played crucial roles in your own and your team’s development?

Nick:
I’ve failed many times. Absolutely. I’ve made mistakes and I’ve done the typical real estate agent thing. And I call it part of failing forward. And the beauty, the beauty of that was because, I believe I’m a good person in that I went back and I fixed it. And I’m the first person to say that if I’ve made a mistake, I made a mistake. ‘Mr. and Mrs. Sellar or Mr. and Mrs. Buyer and I’ll fix it.’ And I apologise and I take full responsibility. 

Was there one defining point? Probably not in terms of an error, probably multiples. And that’s just coming back to the early days of bad real estate agent behaviour. You’re caught up in what other people do. That’s one thing I learned is, don’t worry about what anyone else is doing. You just do the right thing, day in, day out, and the rest will follow. It’s what we discussed before. And I say it all the time, it’s nice to be nice. It’s nice to be nice, people love it. 

Even when we get people that are rude and grumpy and you get everything in this business. That’s just normal. And that’s okay, that’s their problem. That’s not my problem. That saying the truth will set you free. I love it.

Just tell whoever you’re dealing with, just tell them the truth. Don’t sugarcoat anything. And you learn that over time, and it gets the monkey off your back. And that’s one thing real estate agents are bad for. They’re snakes and ladders and they’re ducking and weaving and don’t duck and wait, just tell it the way it is.

Do you think people are getting angrier these days? 

Nick:
Yeah, definitely. Like, I think world pressure is just for some people, they can’t handle it. And I get it, I respect it. And we just say, ‘take a breath.’ Let’s dissect this and work it out because there is a solution to every problem. There is nothing that can’t be resolved.

And again, it comes back to attitude, having the right attitude. Seth Godin, I don’t know if anyone listens to him. He’s another great speaker, get on his YouTube channel. He talks about why people are stressed and he writes a beautiful blog which is made to decrease stress and have fun and it all relates to attitude because you can get a better attitude pretty quickly if you try.

Retaining staff in this climate can be tricky, especially in the rental industry. How are you finding that aspect of things? 

Nick:
We’ve still got a great team. The longest one has been 10 years in our system and Matthew heads up the department. He’s fantastic. I can’t stop him from having babies Ben. That’s my biggest problem.

I want them to have babies, I want them to have families, beautiful. But apart from that, the team is amazing. And I want them to have families, I want them to have kids and I’ll come back later and join the team when the kids are a little bit older. And we accommodate the moms because they need time out as well. You do ‘mum hours’ because real estate and COVID has been incredible. Where you can work from home, you can zoom from home. Gone are the days when you need to be in a ground-floor office. We’re so diverse in being able to offer the whole gamut. We could be on the Greek islands doing property management. 

It’s the way you deal with your portfolio and the way you handle your portfolio. Efficiency and speed, like anything, the quicker you get onto things, the less chance they have of blowing up.

What advice do you have for up-and-coming agents? 

Nick:
I say don’t be scared, work hard, and fail sooner rather than later because you’re going to make some mistakes. It’s okay to do it. And if you do fix them, read, get your knowledge and read negotiating books, books on ethics or listen to podcasts, listen to marketing people and you’ll be fantastic. But stick at it because you need 12 months of hard work before you start to see success.

What best advice would you give to vendors and buyers at the moment?

Ben:
And is there any advice that you would give to vendors at the moment, even buyers? So we’ll talk about the buyers and the vendors. What advice would you give to both parties in the current climate?

Nick:
Vendors, be diligent in your approach. The highest quoting agent is not always the best agent. So the agent acquired, quite at the biggest price, at the lowest fee. This concludes that they’re not the right agent. Get an agent who’s got experience, gives you comparable sales, and gives you chunky stuff because there’s enough data to show you exactly where you want to be. 

Greed is always a massive factor, for both vendors. And it’s natural to think I’m gonna get more than what my house is worth. But listen to your agent, if you trust them and you like them, give them the opportunity to show what they can do. Don’t focus on your lowest price, focus on the buyer’s highest price, and together you’ll work it out and get a satisfactory result. 

And buyers, if you’ve got a pre-approval, don’t waste it, use it. And I’m not an economist, but I believe the minute these interest rates stabilise, we’re going to get another boom. It’s, it can’t keep going where builders have stopped building. We’ve got a growing population. They’re going to let people into Australia. Tenfold. I think this year there are 900,000 approved. They’ve got to live somewhere. So the rental situation is going to get worse and so is the buying situation.

Ben:
It’s a bit of a problem, isn’t it? Particularly with all these builders going bust now, there’s no confidence on that front. So yeah, I think that’s going to prop up a lot of markets, the rental and the sales front anyway, particularly in the city markets. 

Where and how would you invest $1 million? 

If you had a million dollars, or if I give you a million dollars and you’re acting on my behalf, what are you going to do with it in the current market? Where are you buying? What are you doing for me?

Nick:
I love Footscray. Footscray is a hotspot. I still think it’s got legs. Anything along the Maribyrnong River, Cowper Street, Hyde Street. Go and buy  there if you see something, buy it. Cause it’ll make you money. I reckon it’ll double your money in the next seven, eight years.

Footscray is just, it’s changed, gentrified so much. It’s changing the bars, the cafes, the restaurants. I mean, the Vietnamese influence is amazing. The Footscray market is incredible. And with the new Western distributor going through, the government is pouring big amounts of money into that Maribyrnong River precinct. There’s a beautiful bike and walking path leading straight into the city and Docklands. Away from the roads. 

So Footscray Road is getting a massive beautification. So all the heavy artillery coming off the roads. So it’ll become an amazing suburb. I mean, Francis Street is again on my watch list. I’ll be looking at Francis Street because there’ll be no more trucks there in the 18 months to come. And there’s a lot happening in Footscray with the parks, the schools, the hospital, and the biggest hospital in the virtual inner southern hemisphere. Being built now that I think there are eight cranes, it’s never to be seen in Footscray to be eight cranes on one side. So it’s pretty special.

Ben:
Well, that sounds like there’s plenty going on, and I’m sure the money will flow with all that, I guess, investment into infrastructure and the surroundings.

Well, look, thank you so much for joining us today, Nicholas. I’ve certainly picked up a lot of value from this, and I am a big believer in customer service and putting the customer first, and that’s how you’ve built your business off the back of that mantra, and you’ve done very, very well in your marketplace. So, very well done to you. Thank you again for joining us and I look forward to catching up with you very very soon.

You can find Nick:

On the Nicholas Scott website: https://www.nicholasscott.com.au/

On socials: https://www.facebook.com/NicholasScottRealEstate/

Plus, Nick’s listings: https://www.homely.com.au/real-estate-agency/nicholas-scott-real-estate-23794/properties-for-sale