On getting into real estate
I lived on the Gold Coast in my very early 20s and I had the time of my life but I was earning $30k a year and spending $60k! So when I made it back to Melbourne I needed a job that allowed me to earn good money with next to zero qualifications and would allow me to hit the ground running. Real estate fit that bill nicely.
The happiest moment in my career
I have enjoyed many aspects of real estate. The industry has been very good to me over the years and I’ve got no complaints. Having said that I’m going to be really honest here and say that the happiest moments in my career have been when I’ve been paid huge commission cheques.
The most memorable moment
I sold a house for a notorious bikie very early on in my career. I had to cancel one open because they had used the lounge room for target practise in a drunken party the night before and the wall was littered with bullet holes.
I had to talk the owner down on auction day because he wanted to bash the auctioneer who he called an “over-dressed w***er with no idea what he was doing”.
I also had to defend myself from this owner over the phone when, after a skin full of booze, he decided to dispute the advertising bill post-sale and he wanted to come to my house to chat about it.
That was a wild listing and I was very young and only in my third year of real estate, but I made it through without getting my head kicked in, so it worked out OK.
Best advice he’s received
You’re the dumbest smart person I’ve ever met. Just shut up occasionally Dave, sometimes the people around you know stuff you don’t and you’d do well to listen to them more often.
Biggest challenge
Adapting to the rapid pace of change and ensuring agents don’t find themselves irrelevant in an increasingly digital and always-connected world.
We meet this challenge head on by developing our own tech within the industry and being bold enough to try new things and experiment with the status quo.
No one in any industry ever prospered long-term by refusing to change. The only constant that any of us will ever truly know is that things change and they change quickly, often faster than we expect them to!
Change for good?
I’d like agents to connect with their local communities better. I would like them to stop trying to be another carbon copy stereotype and instead focus on their own talents and find the people in their market that resonate with what they have to offer.
Find your tribe, your people and you’ll always have a business worth fighting for.
‘Elite’ agent means
Someone who rises above the average. By definition, ‘elite’ means at the top of your field, so an agent who has taken their particular part of the real estate industry and risen to be the best practitioner of their craft possible.
#WeAreRealEstate is a series of short interviews with 140 agents all over Australia exploring the industry’s hopes, concerns, future challenges, and what it really means to be an Elite Agent.
