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Ascending from 26th in 2022 to third rank in the 2023 REB Top 50 Sales Offices is no mean feat, but McGrath Parramatta has pulled it off.
Indeed, the agency rose to third spot in the Top 50 Sales Offices 2023 rankings after settling 585 properties in the 2021–22 financial year, up from 382 in the previous year.
Its sales volumes grew by almost 77 per cent year-on-year to $642.3 million, according to the 2023 rankings data.
McGrath Parramatta’s principal, Kon Stathopoulos, outlined the secrets to the agency’s success with REB, along with how it built momentum and why he believes in an “auction squad”.
How did you manage to rise through the ranks in the 2023 Top 50 Sales Offices rankings?
I think we have an internal model that says good people make great real estate agents. Firstly, we’ve assembled the best team that we could. Secondly, we’ve made sure that they’ve got the tools and resources to remove friction so they can focus on their clients. Third, we’ve ensured that there is a strong learning, development, and coaching plan for every team member.
In addition to this, we run Super Saturday at the end of each year and the beginning of every January. We are in our third year now. It is a massive onsite auction event. We ran 67 onsite auctions on 28 January this year. This gives our team the springboard and instant momentum, and we ride that throughout the course of the year.
Your agency’s settlement numbers and value grew year-on-year. What strategies did you implement to achieve this?
We worked collectively as a team. If you ever came to our open homes or auctions, you would see that we don’t have just one or two agents, but up to five or six. We call this an auction squad. We do this because our owners deserve it. The agents help with getting the open home and auction set up with the registrations. This enables the listing agent to focus on their top buyers and have great conversations with the owners during the auction.
More importantly, it demonstrates to our community that we work collectively as a team. We believe that we’re on show 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we can demonstrate that by behaviour and action. When everyone is present at an auction, the community can see that we’re all here to help, getting bids off the floor, and ensuring that we get the best price for our owners.
What sorts of properties have you been selling and what level of demand have you been seeing?
We sell studios, normal residential properties, and mansions. Our lowest price would have been around $390,000. Our highest price last year was around $6.5 million. We’re seeing demand for well-presented, well-maintained, and well-marketed properties ranging between $1 million and $1.5 million. The demand is stemming from a couple of areas. First, buyers have factored into their psyche and into their finances the interest rate rises. It’s no longer a shock to the system. Second, every time the interest rates increase, if buyer finances lapse, they have to get re-approvals, which is generally less, so buyers want to move quickly. Also, there’s not a lot of stock on the market, which is concentrating the focus of buyers on whatever is on the market.
Finally, the NSW government’s First Home Buyers Choice, which lets buyers choose between paying the stamp duty upfront or paying an annual fee, has unlocked a lot of confidence in first home buyers to move.
Did you recruit staff in 2022?
Yes, we recruited five sales agents last year, and we’ve recruited sales associates, property managers and officers, and leasing officers before. We’ve got almost 30 staff in our Parramatta office.
Did you face any challenges in recruiting talent?
We haven’t had the challenges that the rest of the industry has perhaps faced with recruitment, mainly because we’re very selective about who we recruit. When we target talent, we avoid the “spray-and-pray” approach of trying to find everyone.
What tips would you give other agencies to succeed?
Be very clear about what your vision for your office looks like. Then, build a plan that you can execute brilliantly every day. Attract the best talent and grow them so you can keep them. Finally, every time you engage with the community, ensure that it’s the best interaction that they can have with you. Repeat that every single day.
To see the full list of the Top 50 Sales Offices for 2023, click here.
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