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Having joined the network last November, Mr Pontey reflects on some of the lessons and triumphs he has encountered in his short stint with the brand.
Late last year, Craig Pontey and his partner, Michael Finger, departed Ray White Double Bay, a business they founded over 30 years ago, to embark on a new chapter as principals at McGrath Double Bay, a career pivot instigated by network chief executive officer and founder, John McGrath, whom Mr Pontey described as possessing a “shared vision” with himself and Mr Finger.
Crediting the agency’s smooth onboarding process for swiftly introducing the pair to McGrath’s processes and systems, he revealed the fledgling office hit the ground running, listing six properties for auction within its first three weeks.
He heralded the return of James Ledgerwood, an industry veteran of over two decades who’d previously spent six years with the network on the Gold Coast and his associate Ben Fraser, for their roles in the business’s initial auction ventures.
Since opening, McGrath Double Bay has facilitated a number of high-profile sales and listings, including the sale of the former chief financial officer at Afterpay, Luke Bortoli’s Tamarama home, for over double its 2015 purchase price of $2,885,000. Mr Pontey has also lauded a host of luxury listings in prolific eastern Sydney suburbs such as Bondi Beach and Rose Bay.
As the McGrath Double Bay team continues meeting vendors and investors and devising sales and leasing strategies, Mr Pontey shared the belief that he and Mr Finger’s duty now involves “harnessing the team’s momentum and attracting like-minded talent.”
Moving further along into 2023, he revealed his desire to expand the team with individuals who recognise “the picture is bigger than real estate.”
In Mr Pontey’s view, his current career phase is “déjà vu in a way because what we’re doing today is no different to our goal when we set about starting Ray White [35 years ago].”
“Then and now, it is about quality interactions every single day; being on hand and available to our people when they need us, for however long we are required to get a solution or plan in place,” he said.
As for his hopes for what McGrath Double Bay will cultivate over the next 100 days of operation, Mr Pontey revealed the objective is simple: “Quality interactions with quality people.”
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