Many soon-to-parents who want to keep their baby’s sex a surprise face the dilemma of what colour to paint baby’s room. Luckily, there’s an in-between choice for all the necessary baby gear when we don’t know if it’s a boy or girl - neutral whites and yellows are a great way to hedge our bets.

Of course, choosing the in-between option always leaves the door open for confusion. You’re wheeling your angelic yellow-clad newborn son down the street and the little old lady might say “what a beautiful little girl!”. Or someone quips “he’s going to be a rugby player for sure” when they see your gloriously chubby daughter, all wrapped in white.

Just like the boy or girl options for baby, there are really only two options for marketing property. Price or no price, private treaty or auction. Reluctant to push a nervous vendor into committing to one or the other, some agents peddle the real estate in-between. The growing array of options includes “sale by negotiation”, “price on application”, “expressions of interest” or even “sale by tender”.

But survey any buyer group and you’ll discover the two methods of sale people most expect to see are private treaty or auction. The rest is white noise. Or a yellow room.

It’s the in-between that just confuses the market.

All the best,