Wham, pram, not you ma’am open for debate

Andrew Mathieson
A month-long public debate in Geelong about whether prams should be allowed inside homes open for inspection has left real estate agents considering their policies.
Two of the city’s leading agents said the industry had not set protocol or etiquette on the issue, so the decision should come down to the wishes of vendors or individual circumstances.
The issue flared late in January after a woman wrote to the Independent’s Buckets and Bouquets criticising an agent for preventing her from wheeling a pram carrying her three-month-old daughter through a house open for inspection.
“I have never been so disgusted,” the woman wrote.
Most readers supported the agent, accusing prams of bumping walls, chipping paint on corners and leaving dirty tracks on floors. One reader defended the mother, saying she was pushing a pram, not a “monster truck”.
North Geelong Real Estate agent Joe Grgic said it was a “sensitive issue”.
“I don’t know of any actual etiquette but it’s something we’ve discussed in the office,” he said.
“We will probably now put that on our checklist to ask vendors for their opinion.”
The quandary forced Mr Grgic to seek advice from his wife who said she would leave the pram outside and carry their baby into the house.
Mr Grgic said vendors would have the final say.
“In some properties, owners would say they really wouldn’t want someone wheeling something through here,” he said.
“But if there was someone in a wheelchair, you wouldn’t be stopping them.”
Buxton’s Ben Riddle said vendors had never given him explicit instructions to knock back prams.
“There is certainly no written rule against them,” he said.
Mr Riddle said many popular inner-city homes had up to 50 interested buyers at inspections, which could lead to difficulties if many brought prams.
“We don’t have any restrictions and we welcome all people,” he said.
“But sometimes we just address it at the time if it’s going to be an issue with the type of property.”