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A Melbourne agent’s journey into auctioneering stands as testament to how supportive workplaces can build careers – and bring about industry change.
When Jessica Lozanovski first entered the real estate industry, she scarcely thought that three years later she would be taking charge of a crowd, presiding over an on-street sale with confidence and thriving under the pressure to deliver the best possible result.
Yet that’s exactly what she did at the beginning of June, when she served as auctioneer for the first time, overseeing the sale of a three-bedroom Thornbury home that comfortably exceeded the seller’s reserve. At age 23, that officially made her the youngest auctioneer in Melbourne’s bustling inner north, and indeed one of the youngest auctioneers operating in the country.
It’s a step that Lozanovski readily admits she likely would not have taken without a bit of convincing from her team at Barry Plant Northcote, Thornbury and Preston, where she serves as a sales consultant.
But starting out, Lozanovski acknowledged that there weren’t a plethora of role models to make her believe that auctioneering was a natural step – it’s no secret that the career path still skews heavily male.
While noting that the industry is full of amazing people to learn from, she told REB that she had unfortunately “only ever come across a few female auctioneers”.
“Not a lot of women know that they can actually do it and I am lucky enough to be surrounded by a really supportive team and network who told me that I can, and really encouraged me to take this next step in my career.”
With what she described as a healthy nudge from her team, Lozanovsk signed up for an eight-week intensive course conducted by Barry Plant each year, which served as the jumping off point to develop the auctioneering skill set.
“Upon completion of this course, a select few are chosen to compete at the annual Barry Plant Novice Auctioneer Finals which took place in April and I was lucky enough to be chosen as a finalist and compete,” she explained.
Not long after, the agency gave her the chance to test out her newly acquired know-how by auctioneering off the Thornbury property.
Though she had negotiated sales before as an agent, she described the feeling of operating as an auctioneer and being able to serve the sellers in this new vital role as somewhat different.
“There is no better feeling than seeing a vendor so happy that you have sold their property and being a crucial part in a buyer’s journey of securing a home,” she commented.
Of course, that’s not to say that the event – or even the process of putting herself forward to become an auctioneer – was without its stress or element of intimidation. She’s hoping that as the industry changes, more women will have the confidence to take the step – and perhaps more teams will serve as that vital form of encouragement.
“Taking the next step is going to be absolutely daunting, but you have to be comfortable feeling uncomfortable and really push yourself. I feel it is important to have a supportive team to always encourage you. There is a huge opportunity in the marketplace for female auctioneers and I’d love to see more get involved,” Lozanovski said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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