About Karin
Seven years.
One coast.
One way of working.
One quiet, methodical approach to selling homes on the Hibiscus Coast — over $125 million settled and more than a hundred five-star reviews.
One quiet, methodical approach to selling homes on the Hibiscus Coast — over $125 million settled and more than a hundred five-star reviews.
I came to real estate the long way around — two decades in financial services in South Africa, across Capital Legacy, Old Mutual and the IMM Graduate School. Those years left me with a clear sense of how big decisions go wrong: when nobody slows down long enough to translate the technical into the human.
A house is a technical object — title type, CCC status, hazard overlays, body corp minutes, drainage, easements, covenants. None of that means much to a family standing in a kitchen trying to picture their lives there. The agent's job is to translate it honestly: without hiding what's hard, overselling what's good, or rushing what needs time.
Those years also taught me that trust compounds. One sale led to two, then four, then a community of clients who pass my number along — more than 70% of my listings now come from past clients or their referrals. That isn't an accident; it's the only thing I optimise for.
"Most of my clients become friends. That's the part I didn't expect when I started."Karin Blaauw
These are not negotiable. They are not specially earned by some clients and withheld from others. They are the floor.
Before a property goes to market, I gather as much of the picture as we can — from a careful walk through the home to a frank conversation about what buyers will ask. The aim is simple: nothing important goes unsaid. Buyers who see clearly bid honestly, and those offers stick.
I will not rush a vendor toward an auction date that suits the calendar. I will not push a buyer toward an offer they aren't ready to make. The right pace is whatever produces a good decision, even when it means walking away from a sale.
Silence is the agent's most common failure. I check in even on the slow weeks — especially then. Vendor or buyer, you'll know where things stand every Friday afternoon.
Whether you're a year away from selling, a month away from buying, or just trying to understand what your home might be worth — start with a conversation. No pressure to list, no scripted appraisal pitch, no obligation either way.
