When industry leaders from our capital cities want inspiration, they often jet off to London, New York or Singapore. There’s value in those international perspectives, but Townsville local Ben Kingsberry says he has always wondered why more don’t point their navigator toward regional Australia instead.
Having run our family business in Townsville since 2011, I’ve observed that the unique challenges and opportunities of regional real estate have forged operational approaches that our metropolitan counterparts might find surprisingly valuable.
Necessity breeds efficiency
The most striking difference between regional and metropolitan operations is the economic reality.
When your average commission is significantly lower, you simply need to find ways to do more with less.
Our top performers regularly achieve 50-60 sales annually without dedicated personal assistants.
They manage this volume with our admin support, but without the extensive support teams you might see in Sydney or Melbourne offices.
In many metropolitan markets, such productivity from a single agent would be considered unattainable.
This isn’t because regional agents are inherently more talented or hardworking.
Rather, it’s because our economic reality demands we create systems and approaches that maximise individual output.
When each transaction generates less revenue, operational efficiency isn’t just desirable—it’s essential for survival.
Different market cycles demand adaptability
One source of disconnection between major cities and regional Australia is that our markets often operate at different stages of the cycle simultaneously.
While metropolitan markets might be cooling, regional Queensland could be experiencing significant growth—or vice versa.
From 2008 to approximately 2018, many regional Queensland markets experienced challenging conditions while capital cities boomed.
Today, we’re seeing relatively buoyant conditions in Townsville at a time when some major markets are softening.
This asynchronous nature means regional agencies must become proficient at adapting to changing conditions rather than riding extended booms.
We develop business models that can weather various market conditions, often maintaining more balanced sales and property management operations than might be common in metropolitan areas.
Deepening relationships in smaller communities
In regional markets, reputation carries outsized importance.
Our communities are more interconnected, meaning word travels fast—both positive and negative.
This creates a powerful incentive to prioritise relationship quality over transaction volume.
As I mentioned at a recent Harcourts conference, I believe one of the industry’s greatest opportunities lies in deepening our client relationships.
Sometimes this means embracing technology; other times, it means deliberately stepping away from digital tools to create genuine human connection.
This perspective is particularly vital in regional markets where you’re likely to encounter clients at the supermarket, at school functions, or community events.
The transaction isn’t just a business interaction—it’s embedded in our community fabric.
Embracing investor opportunities
Our market in Townsville has seen significant growth in interstate investment, with areas like Bushland Beach now having approximately 40% investor ownership.
This shift has required us to adapt our approach, moving away from the traditional mentality of “protecting” the rent roll to actively servicing these investors across the entire property ownership journey.
With around 20% annual turnover in our rent roll of approximately 3,000 properties, we’ve had to become highly skilled at backfilling this pipeline.
This has meant creating comprehensive services for interstate buyers—including pre-purchase inspections, settlement services, and ongoing management—to ensure we capture these management opportunities.
Regional markets often serve as early indicators of investor sentiment and provide testing grounds for approaches that later become relevant to metropolitan agencies as investment patterns shift.
What metropolitan agencies can learn
If I were to distill the key lessons metropolitan agencies could take from regional operations, they would include:
- Operational efficiency matters: Even in higher-value markets, the agencies that can streamline operations without sacrificing service quality will outperform their peers in the long run. Don’t assume that higher average prices justify operational inefficiency.
- Prepare for all market conditions: Building a business model that can thrive in both booming and challenging markets creates resilience. Regional agencies rarely have the luxury of decade-long growth cycles.
- Relationship depth over transaction volume: While technology offers valuable efficiency, don’t lose sight of the fundamental importance of genuine human connection in building a sustainable business.
- Support your team properly: Our regional model demonstrates that with the right support systems, individual agents can achieve remarkable productivity levels. Instead of adding more agents, consider how to make your existing team more effective.
- Market cycles are not uniform: When developing strategies, remember that different regions experience different market conditions simultaneously. A one-size-fits-all approach rarely serves all markets effectively.
The value of cross-pollination
While metropolitan and regional agencies operate in different contexts, there’s immense value in greater dialogue between these sectors.
Regional agencies can certainly learn from the innovative marketing approaches and technological adoption often pioneered in capital cities.
Similarly, metropolitan agencies might benefit from the operational efficiency, market adaptability, and relationship-focused approaches that are essential to success in regional markets.
The next time you’re looking for fresh business inspiration, consider that a flight to Townsville, Toowoomba or Tamworth might yield more practical insights than another international conference.
You might be surprised by what our regional perspective can offer.
After all, we’ve never had the luxury of inefficiency—and that necessity has fostered innovation that could benefit agencies of all sizes, regardless of location.
