Canberra local Sue paid no commission as part of the Lystr first 50 promotion, and only $3850 in marketing fees. She saved over $25,000 in costs with Lystr. Photo: Lystr.
In just four months, a Canberra startup has turned the nation’s most expensive transaction — selling your home — on its head, hitting a $5 million valuation while giving sellers back control of the process.
Lystr, the local proptech company launched earlier this year, is shaking up the traditional real estate model with smart technology, lower costs and a fixed-fee approach that saves sellers thousands.
With early traction well ahead of expectations, Lystr co-founder Chris Scullin said the success proved Australians were ready for a new, more transparent approach to buying and selling property.
“Canberra has proven to be the perfect launch market, with high digital adoption and a community that embraces innovation,” he said.
“Reaching this milestone so quickly shows Australians are ready for a fairer, smarter way to sell property.”
Lystr offers sellers a “co-selling” option — a middle ground between the DIY option and the traditional all-in-one arrangement where agents take matters completely out of sellers’ hands.
By giving homeowners greater control and expert guidance where needed, it allows users to side-step more expensive agent commissions, sometimes paying as little as a third!
In its first 12 weeks of trading, 16 property owners signed on with Lystr — well ahead of the company’s initial targets. These listings included a mix of apartments and homes ranging from $520,000 to $1.65 million.
Since its launch, Lystr has completed more than 122 valuations and 51 sales appraisals, indicating strong demand in the Canberra market.
Mr Scullin said the buy-in exceeded expectations, but the Lystr team was particularly stoked about another sign they were meeting a market need.
“The feedback we have been getting from the people we have worked with — both buyers and sellers — has been overwhelmingly positive, even more so than we anticipated,” he said.
He added that it was “just the beginning”.
“We are building a platform with the potential to disrupt the real estate market nationwide,” he said.
“It’s early days, but I could see us moving into markets similar to Canberra’s, like Wollongong and Newcastle, before expanding into capital cities.”
Lystr will use its early momentum to accelerate marketing, expand its technology platform and prepare for this national rollout, which Mr Scullin expected in 2026.
