RE/MAX Success Toowoomba has celebrated a major milestone, marking 21 years in the industry on August 1.
Ian Knight opened the doors to his RE/MAX franchise in August 1998 with his eldest daughter Megan Dempsey (nee Knight).
This was early days for RE/MAX Australia and just the ninth RE/MAX office for the global real estate network to open in this country.
Mr Knight had the business for 15 years before his youngest daughter Katie Knight took up the reins after working in the business since 1999.
Daniel Burrett joined RE/MAX Success in 2009 and stepped into the role of General Manager in 2013.
Reputation and results have fuelled the growth of the real estate business with Ms Knight and Mr Burrett currently overseeing 48 team members, which includes nine top-performing sales teams and an award-winning property management department.
RE/MAX Success sold almost as many properties in the past 12 months as there are days in a year and has the leading market share in sales for Toowoomba at 17 per cent. It is the most recommended agency, rated number one Toowoomba by sellers and buyers via RateMyAgent.
As a second generation real estate professional, Ms Knight’s passion and focus is property management. Her team has leading market share, managing approximately 1500 residential and 400 commercial properties.
“Our leasing team operates seven days a week to maximise returns for our clients and provides significant convenience for prospective tenants, and we invest considerably in ongoing training and development for each of our team members,” Ms Knight said.
This year Ms Knight was also appointed the Toowoomba Zone Chair by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland and is the reigning REIQ Property Manager of the Year, having won the distinguished award a record six times.Â
She said the success the office had enjoyed over the 21 years was due to the the people in the team itself.
“A business, no matter how well structured and designed, is only as good as the people who live and work in it.”
Ms Knight reflected on her early days in the business, when she mostly looked after marketing and promotion but found herself doing “whatever jobs came my way”.
“I had to take the rolls of camera film up to the Kodak photo shop at Hooper Centre, collect the photos when they were ready, then take them to the Chronicle where I could spend up to a half a day providing direction as ads were edited and compiled.
“In those days, we regularly walked cheques to the bank for our landlord clients; and when I was typing up contracts on the typewriter, it involved three sheets of carbon paper. You soon learnt to favour accuracy over pace because if I made a mistake, I’d have to start all over again!
“I recall feeling like the coolest kid on the block when I got a multi-list key. Multi-listing was big in the ’90s.
“Of course, things have changed with so much happening online but that brings change in itself. We are now forming relationships remotely with our customers in many instances, and the immediacy of it all brings high expectations.
“We can only be of true value when we deliver what the individual customer wants – meeting them ‘where they are’ in terms of their needs and requirements, so we’re constantly adapting our delivery style to accommodate.”
The fifth generation local has seen great changes in her market.
“I recall people saying what a great place Toowoomba was to raise a family when I was growing up, and I can genuinely believe that today.Â
“There is now so much infrastructure in Toowoomba that there really is no need to look elsewhere – we’ve got it all right here at our fingertips. Even the beach is only an easy drive away.
“The region continues to expand with the Wellcamp airport buzzing and the second range crossing now finally a reality and due to open 8Â September. I’ve heard about that coming all my life and it’s pretty exciting to see it actually come to fruition,” she said.
