A level parcel of land is quite rare in Mount Colah - and being so close to the park, the schools, the shops and the station all plays into it.

As-is, based off the matterport, in the current market, I'd put it in the vicinity of $1.5m to $1.6m. I recently sold a similar Mount Colah property, but in an inferior location - down Northland, quite steep, no public transport, a hike back to the station and that fetched $1.43m. Yours sits higher purely because of the level block and the location.

If you do some work - a kitchen update, a bathroom update, a little landscaping and painting - I could see it going up to around $1.7m. And with the right competition and timing, a premium result could be north of that.

I'd keep the landscaping light - people will see how level the block is and fall in love with that parcel of land already. The value is in a kitchen update, a bathroom update, painting, and all the little pieces you find along the way.

Buyers today are time-poor and spending more time at home, so they're looking for properties they can turn the key and start living in straight away. Renovated homes are proving very attractive right now - that's where the premium is.

What's working in this market is giving people a deadline. I had three auctions in Mount Colah on the same Saturday just recently and sold every one - a 100% clearance that day.

A deadline actually helps buyers: it gives them time to work with, to get their parents, their solicitor and everyone across the documents and have a second look - rather than being pushed out or deprioritised the way they can be with an open-ended private treaty. So I'd lean toward an auction or deadline campaign - though if private treaty is your preference, we can absolutely work that way. It's a recommendation, not a rule.

On marketing, I wouldn't go over the top. A lot of heavy marketing is really about building the agent. For this property, the basics done well - photography, floor plan, copywriting, brochures, a signboard and the internet listings - are what matter.

Two main groups. Families, mostly - the level block and the opportunity to add value down the track is very attractive to them. And the odd younger downsizer who wants to do a little work and start living straight away.

We're seeing a lot of people from nearby suburbs like Wahroonga and Pennant Hills wanting to downsize and get out of the two-storey home. Across our ten offices we've got a shared database, so any buyer looking for something like your home, we can put it in front of them directly.

It really comes down to avoiding the school holidays - it'll mostly be families looking, and I'd hate for a chunk of the market to be away when we want to extract every last dollar.

Stock in Mount Colah has been low for a while, so if you can get to market sooner rather than later, that's my recommendation. If you need to do the renovations first, plan around them - just keep clear of the school holidays.

I have a real passion for Mount Colah - 95% of my business comes from this one suburb, so I know the buyers, the location and the schools inside out. That hyper-local knowledge is what lets me find the right competition for a specific home.