Shut The Front Door

We live in a “Pinterest-perfect” world. Open-plan kitchens bathed in golden light. Renovated period homes where not a single tile is out of place. Scroll long enough, and you’ll start to believe that the perfect property is out there, just waiting to be found.

But let’s be honest: perfection in property is a myth. And worse, it’s a seductive one.

A Dangerous Illusion

When clients begin their property journey, many carry with them an internalised checklist shaped by Instagram, design magazines, and other people’s lives. They’re subconsciously searching for a place that aligns with a fabricated ideal, often without questioning whether that ideal is even their own.

They expect to walk into a home that ticks every box: ideal size, flawless finishes, perfect layout, dream location, all within budget. The chances of that happening? Slim. The danger in believing it should? Significant.

Because here’s the problem: chasing perfection leads to paralysis. Or worse, regret.

What’s “Perfect” Anyway?

Perfection is entirely subjective. What one person sees as an architectural gem, another might view as a renovation nightmare. Some buyers crave ornate Victorian cornicing. Others want slick, minimalist new builds. One person’s “character” is another’s “gut job.”

The real danger is assuming someone else’s version of perfect should also be yours.

Worse still, many buyers don’t separate must-haves from nice-to-haves. So they chase a mythical property that doesn’t, and may never, exist. When reality sets in, disillusionment follows. And that’s often the moment when rushed, reactive decisions get made.

The Forever Home Fallacy

There’s a peculiar mindset in property that says: “This is it. This is my forever home.” It’s a comforting narrative. But it’s also unrealistic.

Just like you evolve as a person, your needs in a home will too. Today’s “perfect” layout might become tomorrow’s bottleneck. Today’s dream garden might become tomorrow’s burden.

Instead of thinking in absolutes, think in chapters. What’s the right move for this chapter? The perfect property for right now might not tick every box, but it may serve you beautifully in this season of life.

The Imperfect Beauty of Property

Everything made by human hands has flaws. That’s not a shortcoming, it’s a feature. And often, it’s where the soul of a home lives.

Think of the older home with slightly crooked floorboards but unbeatable charm. Or the fixer-upper with great bones that becomes uniquely yours through renovation. There’s deep satisfaction in shaping something into your own vision, not just buying someone else’s ideal.

And as the film Fracture reminds us, sometimes the beauty is in the imperfection. In the story, a character carefully separates “perfect” eggs from flawed ones, only to realise, in the end, that imperfection is universal. It’s how we respond to it that defines the outcome.

A Few Actionable Takeaways:

1. Audit your criteria: What are your non-negotiables? What are nice-to-haves? And what are someone else’s ideas entirely?
   

2. Reframe the search: Instead of looking for perfect, look for potential.
   

3. Anticipate evolution: Allow space for your needs to change over time.
   

4. Avoid fatigue-driven decisions: Don’t let exhaustion lead you to settle for the wrong reasons.
   

5. Embrace the messy middle: Often, it’s where the real value, and meaning, resides.
   

The most satisfying properties aren’t always turnkey-ready or magazine-perfect. They’re the ones that meet you where you are, and grow with you from there.

Sometimes, the messy is what makes it meaningful.

Sometimes, that’s the perfect home.