Victoria
Suburbs to Watch in 2013
As 2013 kicks into full swing, many property industry commentators are beginning to predict which suburbs across the country will be this year’s property hot spots.
Sadhana Smiles, Chief Executive Officer of real estate group, Harcourts Victoria, has identified a number of areas around Australia to watch in 2013.
Ms Smiles believes that Hawthorn and Brighton in Melbourne’s inner-east will be suburbs to watch this year.
“Melbourne’s inner-east has always been popular with high-end buyers but as stock levels have increased significantly over the past 12-18 months, I believe there is an opportunity for further growth this year,” Ms Smiles said.
Harcourts Victoria’s data shows that the next Melbourne hot spots will be areas such as Ascot Vale, Brunswick, and Footscray. These areas are close to the CBD with properties obtaining good rental returns.
Other areas potential growth areas are Thornbury, Preston, Coburg, Newport and Yarraville and…
Tags: Harcourts Victoria, hot spots, price growth, property market, real estate, Sadhana Smiles
Top Agents Recognised at Real Estate Awards
Harcourts Victoria honoured its top performing sales consultants, offices and property managers at its Quarterly Awards event earlier this month.
The ceremony, which was held at the International of Brighton in Melbourne, celebrated the major achievements of the group over the October to December 2012 quarter.
Achievement awards were given to a number of new and existing sales consultants and offices from all areas of Victoria.
Three top sales consultants were awarded for their achievements during the quarter including John Bisignano of Harcourts Northcote who won the Top Sales Consultant – Gross Revenue award, while Brian Liston of Landmark Harcourts Albury took home second place in the same category and Shane Donovan of Harcourts Carrum Downs was awarded third place.
Harcourts Glen Waverley took home the Top Office – Total Gross Revenue award, while Harcourts Ballarat and Harcourts Frankston were awarded second and third place respectively in the same…
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Harcourts Celebrates 125 Years
2013 is an incredibly important year for real estate group, Harcourts as it marks the team’s 125 year anniversary.
The Harcourts brand, originally named Harcourt & Co, was established in 1888 by John Bateman Harcourt, head of one of Wellington’s first families.
Over the past 125 years, Harcourts has experienced astronomical growth, from becoming the largest and most recognised real estate brand in New Zealand to ranking amongst the top three real estate companies within Australia.
Harcourts has also expanded across the globe and now boasts operations in eight countries including Australia, New Zealand, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Africa, and the USA.
In the past 10 years, Harcourts has also launched its own registered training organisation, The Harcourts Academy, as well as its own charitable arm, The Harcourts Foundation which provides support that helps, grows and enriches local communities.
Mike Green, Managing Director of…
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Harcourts Victoria Launches Innovative Marketing Campaigns
Real estate group, Harcourts Victoria celebrated the start of 2013 by launching its latest marketing campaigns at the group’s quarterly awards event earlier this week.
CEO, Sadhana Smiles started gathering feedback when she joined the Harcourts Victoria team in 2012 and identified the three most common areas for improvement as brand awareness, relevance and communication.
With this feedback in mind, Ms Smiles and the Harcourts Victoria team set about developing their own story with the aim of creating marketing material that provided the group with maximum cut-through, top of mind awareness, and message consistency.
“Our ultimate goal is to gain relevance and a market leader position in the Victorian property market,” Ms Smiles said.
“To stand out you need to stand for something and that something is that we are a brand that understands our consumers’ needs better than any other agent or agency,” Ms Smiles added.
Working with…
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RBA Slashes Rates
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has reduced the official cash rate by 25 basis points, taking the cash rate to an all-time low of just three per cent.
The latest cut means that the RBA has slashed 125 basis points from the cash rate over the past 12 months.
Bryan Thomson, Head of Real Estate Operations for Harcourts, says that the RBA’s decision is a positive for Australia’s property market, particularly in the lead up to Christmas.
“Although dwelling values are 2.1 per cent higher than they were at the end of May this year, this latest interest rate cut should help to drive market activity further, particularly in the investment sector.
“Now that interest rates are at historically low levels, the cost of borrowing is low and with rents rising, the financial return on investment properties is increasing.
“I believe that this coupled with the volatility in…
Tags: Australian economy, Bryan Thomson, Harcourts Group Australia, interest rates, property market, property prices
Coaching, Accountability Imperative to Success
Harcourts Victoria are placing a strong focus on coaching their top sales consultants in order to increase accountability and drive results.
General Manager, Vanessa Kupsch provides one-on-one coaching with a number of Harcourts Victoria’s top sales consultants, including Shane Donovan, the group’s number one agent.
“I have worked with Shane for the past three years, and during that time his figures have significantly improved as a direct result of having someone to be accountable to.
“To put it in real terms, Shane’s figures have tripled since working with me and appointing a personal assistant so he can focus solely on dollar productive tasks,” Ms Kupsch said.
During the coaching process, Ms Kupsch provides the agents with prospecting plans, detailed KPIs, thorough business plans and customer services plans, and measures repeat and referral business.
“The key to a successful agent is their mindset. High levels of…
Tags: accountability, business development, coaching, Harcourts Carrum Downs, Harcourts Victoria, real estate, Sadhana Smiles, Shane Donovan, Vanessa Kupsch