Harcourts were the only real estate organisation to receive a Highly Commended mention in the finalists’ announcement for the awards which will be hosted by the Australian Centre for Event Management in early October.

Harcourts International Managing Director, Mike Green is extremely proud of this achievement and believes that it is testament to the hard work and dedication of the company’s event management division.

“Harcourts events have always had an excellent reputation and it is fantastic that the quality and professionalism of our events has now been recognised at a national level,” said Mr Green.

“I am so proud of this achievement and of everyone involved in the management of our great events,” he continued.

The 2010 Harcourts Conference, which was held at Conrad Jupiters in Surfers Paradise in May this year, was truly one-of-a-kind with over 600 people from all across Australia in attendance.

Highlights included an inspirational speech from keynote speaker, Li Cunxin, author of best-selling autobiography Mao’s Last Dancer, and presentations from other high profile keynote speakers such as social media guru, Matthew Ferrarra and real estate figureheads, Ric de Luca and James Tostevin.

Mr Green is confident that Harcourts will continue to produce world-class events and may even take out an award at the next Australian Event Awards in 2011.

“I am confident that Harcourts will continue to excel in this area and will continue to produce many more exceptional events. I believe that Harcourts has a fantastic chance of being a finalist in the 2011 Australian Event Awards, so watch this space!” said Mr Green.

Ria Oxburh of the Starlight Children's Foundation with Harcourts NSW CEO, Chris Stephandellis

The Harcourts Foundation has recently granted funding approvals totalling $4,000 which will be donated to two New South Wales-based children’s charities – the Starlight Children’s Foundation and the Rainbow Club Australia. This amazing figure was raised by Harcourts staff and clients from all around New South Wales.

The Starlight Children’s Foundation, who aims to brighten the lives of seriously ill and hospitalised children and their families throughout Australia, has received a funding grant of $2,500 from The Harcourts Foundation.

The programs run by the Starlight Foundation are delivered both in and out of hospital with the aim of providing positive distraction to sick kids in their time of need.

The grant provided by The Harcourts Foundation will go towards upgrading four hospital-based ‘fun centres’ across the country which provide a unique and much needed service to seriously ill children. The upgrade will ensure that the fun centres are operable and stocked with the latest technology and equipment in order for hospitalised children to access the latest forms of entertainment.

The Rainbow Club Australia, who aims to provide children with special needs the opportunity and confidence to explore and extend their abilities through sporting and recreational activities, has received a funding grant of $1,500 from The Harcourts Foundation.

The Harcourts Foundation grant will go towards building the Rainbow Club Australia’s swimming program which encourages children of all abilities to learn to swim.

Established in August 2008 by real estate firm, Harcourts, The Harcourts Foundation aims to provide financial support that helps, grows and enriches local communities, and has received over $700,000 in donations from Harcourts staff, offices and clients around Australia and New Zealand in its first two years of operation.

Harcourts New South Wales Chief Executive Officer, Chris Stephandellis is pleased to be able to provide vital funding to these two important charities and is proud of the generosity displayed by the Harcourts team.

“The fact that these two important funding grants have been approved really highlights the generous spirit of the Harcourts NSW team and I am thrilled with the outcome. Being able to give back to our local communities is truly fantastic,” said Mr Stephandellis.

The event, which was held at the International of Brighton in Melbourne, attracted over 160 guests including many new people looking to break into the real estate industry.

Doubling as a recruitment drive for Harcourts, many fantastic career opportunities with the company were discussed with those in attendance. Harcourts Victoria Chief Executive Officer, Brent Pullar was pleased to see so many potential new recruits at the event.

“Most of the people who attended stayed back and spoke to our business owners regarding employment in their desired areas. It was fantastic to see so many people interested in a new career with Harcourts,” said Mr Pullar.

The Industry Night also attracted real estate professionals from many of Harcourts competitors who were amazed at how many tools and services the company provides to its business owners and their staff, both in sales and property management.

There was also a lot of interest in the training programs provided by the company’s dedicated training facility, The Harcourts Academy. The Agents Representative course attracted the most interest with the next scheduled course already booked out.

The Harcourts Victoria Industry Night is one of the biggest in the state and represents the perfect opportunity to show people what the brand is all about.

“I really believe in the Harcourts brand and I am excited to share everything this company has to offer. We’re confident that the event got people interested and enthusiastic about the Harcourts brand,” said Mr Pullar.

Established in 1888 in New Zealand, Harcourts is one of the world’s fastest growing real estate companies and continues to go from strength to strength in the local and international real estate industries.

Held at the St George Motor Boat Club in San Souci on the 26^th of August, the half-day event attracted almost 100 Harcourts delegates from across New South Wales.

Harcourts New South Wales Chief Executive Officer, Chris Stephandellis was proud of the turnout and of the event overall.

“It was fantastic to see so many people from the Harcourts New South Wales team in attendance and to listen to some fantastic speakers from both within and outside Harcourts,” said Mr Stephandellis.

Three key speakers addressed the group including international author and trainer dedicated to the study of behavioural change in the corporate market, Merion Lees, Head of Specialist Divisions for Harcourts International, Julianna Forsyth, and Head of Real Estate Operations for Harcourts Australasia, Bryan Thomson.

Each speaker addressed the group individually and delivered their story which both inspired and motivated the Harcourts New South Wales team.

Following the speeches, Bryan Thomson led a question-and-answer panel discussion where three of the state’s highest performing Sales Consultants and Business Owners were asked questions by those in the audience.

This panel, consisting of Michael Garside of Dougmal Harcourts Dapto, Andrew Chrysanthou of Harcourts Unlimited Blacktown and Garth Makowski of Dougmal Campbelltown, shared their views, methods and insights into obtaining listings, marketing and selling properties in the New South Wales market.

“The event was a fantastic success and I believe everyone in the audience was inspired, motivated and enlightened by the panel discussion and the words of the great guest speakers,” said Mr Stephandellis.

Being positive, caring members of our communities is an important part of who we are at Harcourts. The Harcourts Foundation, established in 2008, enables us to better support our team in the way that they wish to support their communities. Thanks to the generosity of our staff, business owners and the Tasmanian community we are now calling for grant applications to enable us to distribute funds to recipients throughout the state.

Our Purpose:

To provide support that helps, grows, and enriches our communities.

Our vision – what we want to achieve: 

We have a clear focus on providing grants in areas where Harcourts offices operate to reputable community-based organisations which need funding for projects and initiatives designed to benefit as many people as possible.

Applications are open to all organisations that are looking for assistance with a specific event, project, item or initiative.. Visit The Harcourts Foundation and download a Grant Application Form. Grant applications close Thursday 30^th September 2010.

Contact  Candice Gillies

         Business Development Manager

         Harcourts Tasmania

Address  187 Brisbane Street Launceston

Phone        03 6331 5111

Email        candice.gillies@harcourts.com.au

Dwellings across all capital cities experienced a marked reduction in growth rates in the April to June quarter from the 3 per cent per quarter pace witnessed since the beginning of 2009. Adelaide was the only exception with dwelling prices rising by a respectable 1.1 per cent.*

Despite this negativity, CEO of Harcourts Queensland, Aaron Brooks believes that some positivity can come out of this market, especially for first home buyers and those looking to acquire a long-term investment property.

“Properties in most states are now more affordable than they have been recently which will attract new and different buyers to the market, even despite the end of the first home buyers grant,” said Mr Brooks.

“For those thinking of getting on the property ladder now is the most perfect time to buy. We haven’t seen prices like this for months and months and it probably won’t be too long before the market starts to rise again,” said Mr Brooks.

“This market will attract a lot of new entrants which will cause a new level of activity – this should eventually lift the market up again and before too long we should see a return to the growth we’ve become so used to, making now a great time to invest.”

Given the current conditions, Mr Brooks says that properties are tending to stay on the market for longer periods of time – however this isn’t necessarily a bad thing as a different set of buyers may be attracted to these properties and it may make sellers more aware of how the current market is reacting and trending.

*Figures sourced from http://www.rpdata.com/

The event, which celebrates real estate achievement over the April to June 2010 quarter, was held at Dalton House, Jones Bay Wharf in Pyrmont earlier this month.

The individual and office award winners competed against 40 other real estate offices and over 100 sales consultants to win their highly coveted awards.

Chris Stephandellis, Harcourts NSW CEO, is extremely proud of all the winners and their efforts.

“I am extremely proud of the winners and believe that their achievements are a testament to the amount of hard work and dedication they have put in over the quarter. These results display the fantastic team we have in New South Wales” said Mr Stephandellis.

The winners included:

CEO of Harcourts NSW’s State Office, Chris Stephandellis hopes that the Careers Night will attract well over 100 current and future real estate professionals.

The event aims to provide attendees with information on everything Harcourts, plus general details on the real estate industry, in a fun and informative manner.

As well as being informative, the event will double as a recruitment drive for Harcourts with many outstanding career opportunities available to those in attendance. Harcourts are currently looking for Sales and Property Management professionals.

“We are pleased to be able to offer this Careers Night for our next generation of real estate professionals in Sydney’s North West and the Hawkesbury region,” said Mr Stephandellis.

“Harcourts and Dougmal Harcourts is a growing real estate brand, and as part of this growth we are excited to be able to give local people the opportunity to find out more about being part of the real estate industry, the various roles, and the job opportunities that we have on offer.”

“I really believe in the Harcourts brand and I am excited to share everything this company has to offer with others. We’re hoping that this event will get people interested and enthusiastic about the Harcourts brand.”

Established in 1888 in New Zealand, Harcourts is one of the world’s fastest growing real estate companies and continues to go from strength to strength in the local and international real estate industries.

Harcourts provides industry-leading training, technology, marketing and communications solutions for its team, as well as a dynamic, well-renowned corporate culture. 

The FREE Harcourts NSW Careers Night will be held on Tuesday the 7^th of September from 6:00pm to 7:30pm at The Castle Hill Golf Club, Windsor Road, Baulkham Hills. To register for the event simply email your resume to nswstateoffice@harcourts.com.au stating which position you are interested in and why.

Established in August 2008 by real estate firm, Harcourts, The Harcourts Foundation aims to provide financial support that helps, grows and enriches local communities, and has received over $700,000 in donations from Harcourts staff, offices and clients around Australia and New Zealand in its first two years of operation.

Children’s charity, Variety Western Australia will receive a funding grant of $10,000 from the Harcourts Foundation.

The $10,000 grant will help fund the Variety Club Bush Bash, a major fund raising event for the charity which sees participants theme their cars and dress in costumes in order to raise money for sick, disadvantaged and disabled kids in Western Australia.

The grant will essentially allow Variety to reach, support and care for many more children across the state while also raising greater awareness about the charity itself.

A further funding grant of $5,000 will be provided to the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, a charity dedicated to supporting excellence and innovation in children’s healthcare at the Princess Margaret Hospital – WA’s only specialist children’s hospital.

The Harcourts Foundation’s grant will specifically go towards supporting the ‘Mont Blanc Project 2010: A Climb for Childhood Cancer’, a charity event in which all proceeds and donations will go towards raising money for a 3D imaging machine for the hospital in order to detect cancer in children.

The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation aims to raise $500,000 from the Mont Blanc Project 2010 in order to purchase the 3D imaging machine.

Harcourts Western Australia’s CEO, Andrew Moore is extremely proud of the efforts in which the WA team has gone in order to raise this extraordinary amount for charity.

“The fact that these two important funding grants have been approved really highlights the generous spirit of the Harcourts WA team and I am thrilled with the outcome,” Mr Moore said.