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Harcourts Mandurah is enjoying the fruits of its labour after restructuring its office around four years ago, according to its director.
The Western Australian-based agency jumped from 28th last year to second position in the 2024 REB Top 50 Sales Offices ranking, after settling 920 properties during the 2023 calendar year for a total of $506.3 million (up from $486.3 million in 2022).
According to Harcourts Mandurah director Ben Hatch, the agency achieved one of its primary goals of increasing its market share by around 2 per cent from 2022 to 2023 to 29 per cent in the Peel region.
Mr Hatch attributed the results to appointing personal assistants to provide more administration support to its sales team, and revamping its marketing strategies, systems, and levels of communication.
He noted that while some agencies are selling properties off market, Harcourts Mandurah is selling properties for higher prices by taking them to the market.
The agency runs a campaign that last around nine days, which includes a mid-week open home where buyers are introduced to the property.
This is followed by open homes during the first weekend, after which the agents would present offers to the vendor on the Monday.
“Don't get me wrong. If we got an offer midweek that blows everybody out of the water, we ask sellers for instructions on next steps,” Mr Hatch told REB.
“We then communicate our process and results well to our community, prospective vendors, and sales team so that they have a good understanding. This is generating more leads in our office.”
Keeping up with the trends
Furthermore, strengthened communication with the sales team has contributed to the improved results, Mr Hatch said.
“I enjoy statistics and keeping up to date with market trends. I like walking around the office and chatting with my staff to find out how many groups held open homes, what types of enquiries they’ve been getting, and whether they’ve missed any appraisals,” he explained.
“I also want to know what overarching theme or message has shone through, which we hone in on during our weekly training sessions with our team.”
For example, Mr Hatch said, the agency shifted from a vendor theme last year to a buyer’s theme at the beginning of this year.
“We ran a first-to-know, first-to-own theme until the end of February. We’ve run a campaign for active buyers. We welcome them to our database,” he said.
“That way, they can access listings firsthand when or even before they go live. They’re ahead of the pack so they know when new stock is going to come into the market.”
Changing with the times
Alongside this, the team has adapted to the changing property market by changing their conversations with vendors.
For example, Mr Hatch said his agents focus on explaining the agency’s process to sellers and how that could benefit them rather than on price.
“I think this has been important because if you only focus on the outcome before you even launch the property, it could be detrimental to a seller believing in another agency that puts a higher price on,” he said.
The agency continues to advertise extensively in print media as part of its marketing strategy but has built a strong presence on social media (which is taken care of by a marketing coordinator).
Mr Hatch said the agency also advertises on several other platforms, including radio and in the cinemas.
Harcourts Mandurah largely sold properties priced between $600,000 and $800,000 in 2023, as well as investment properties valued around $550,000 and under.
The agency saw demand for top-end properties valued from $1.5 million to $3 million rising towards the last four months of 2023 after being stagnant for a period of time.
Nurturing clients is the golden ticket
Mr Hatch insisted that mastering consistent process and systems and nurturing clients have helped his agency succeed, and urged other agencies to do the same.
He concluded: “Our average days on market is around 12 days now, compared to 45 to 60 days three years ago. So, nurturing your clients is more important than ever because you don’t have as much time with them as you used to.
“If you don't make a good enough impression or don't keep them on the forefront of your marketing and nurturing processes, they're going to go to another agency and not remember you.”
Click here to download the complete REB Top 50 Sales Offices 2024 rankings and report.
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