When Sarah Broad officially took the keys to Kelly & Co Property last week, she didn’t just acquire a business, she stepped into what is believed to be an extraordinarily rare position: one of the only women in Australia to own a commercial real estate agency.
For Sarah, though, the moment felt less like a dramatic leap and more like a natural arrival.
“It was almost like a natural succession, a leadership change,” she says.
“Given that I had worked in the business for so long, all of our clients knew us. It wasn’t forced or anything. The opportunity arose, and he mentioned he was looking to sell before going to the open market, and I jumped at the chance.”
That opportunity came from Pat Kelly, founder of Kelly & Co Property and a Brisbane commercial property identity who has built client relationships spanning two decades, and for Sarah, the chance to take the helm of a business she had grown to love was an easy decision.
“I love the business. I love working in real estate, and I’ve always loved property, even before working for Pat and doing their PR early on. Always had a love for property, which makes it really nice that I can now do that not only as a job, but have a business in it as well.”
From PR to property listings
Sarah’s path to agency ownership is anything but conventional. Ten years ago, she was running her own PR consultancy with young children at home, when she was recommended to handle communications for Pat’s agency, then operating under the Burgess Rawson banner.
“I started working with Pat ten years ago in 2016 doing his PR and communications,” she says. “That’s how far back we go.”
She spent five years as an external consultant before a candid conversation changed everything. When she mentioned to Pat that she was ready for a career change and was considering getting her real estate licence to work in residential property, his response was simple.
“He said, ‘No, just come work for us.’ I said, ‘Great, that would be amazing.’ So I literally went from being a PR consultant to working in-house. I got my real estate licence, did all of that, and hit the ground running in 2021.”
That was also the year the business rebranded to Kelly & Co Property.
The transition from communications to commercial real estate was less of a stretch than it might appear and Sarah says the skills translate more directly than people expect.
“In PR, you do a lot of business development. There are a lot of skills that cross over, dealing with buyers and sellers, negotiations, pitching proposals, getting listings. From that perspective, I felt like I was able to bring a lot to the table.
“And from the PR and comms perspective, I’m able to write a lot of my own articles, information memorandums, and marketing pieces. That background has really helped.”
Rising star, rising stakes
Sarah’s commercial real estate career hit its stride quickly – in 2022, she won the REIQ Awards for Excellence Rising Star Salesperson of the Year for Queensland, a win that came with a memorable twist.
“Even though it’s a Rising Star award, not a rookie award, I was up against a lot of young residential agents and I was almost 40 at the time. It was quite funny that I was the one walking up there.”
Over the years that followed, Sarah steadily became the public face of Kelly & Co Property, leading all sales campaigns and taking a hands-on role with clients on both the sales and property management sides of the business.
By the time Pat began considering his next chapter, the transition of ownership felt less like a formal handover and more like a conversation that had been a long time coming.
What makes Sarah’s acquisition particularly significant is just how few women occupy this space. When The Courier Mail looked into it ahead of their own story on Sarah, they concluded she was one of the only female commercial property agency owners in Australia.
“They went away, had a think, did some research, and came back and said they thought I was the only one in Queensland, and then ran a line saying one of the only female commercial owners in Australia,” Sarah says. “I’m not aware of any others.”
It’s a reality Sarah is keenly aware of, and one she sees as both a responsibility and an opportunity.
“There’s not a lot of women in commercial, it can be a little lonely as a female business owner.
“But with being female and having the PR and communications background, it comes down to really simple things for me: I always answer my phone. I always get back to people. I respond to emails very quickly. It’s actually really simple things, but it’s amazing how many people say, ‘I never hear back from agents. You’re always really responsive.’
“I think that’s something I can really hone in on as a point of difference.”
Building the next chapter with a tech edge
Sarah purchased the business with her husband, Ryan Broad, who works in data analytics and IT. She will serve as director and principal, while Ryan brings a capability to the business that Sarah believes sets them apart in the commercial sector.
“With his background, he’s been able to build what we’re calling a HQ platform for us. It integrates a lot of the software and different programs we’ve had multiple subscriptions for, all into one portal. We’re launching that soon as part of the business.”
The gap in the market, she says, is real.
“On the residential side, there are a lot of software programs that offer similar solutions, but there’s not a lot out there for commercial, because commercial is just that little bit different. With his background and my knowledge of what we need a system to do, we’ve been able to build one that hopefully we’d not only be able to use ourselves, but ideally roll out in the future as well.”
AI, she believes, will play an increasing role in how the business operates, though always in service of its people-first foundation.
“It’s very much a people business, which is important. You still have that face-to-face contact. But streamlining back-end systems and creating efficiencies, that’s where AI can play a huge role.”
Relationships over everything
If there’s one philosophy Sarah says she’s carried from Pat into her new chapter as owner, it’s the value of long-term relationships built on integrity.
“That’s one thing Pat has always been known for. He’ll have people ring him from fifteen or twenty years ago because they remember dealing with him and want to sell a property.
“Even in my own time, I’ve had people come back around. ‘I’ve got a property, can you manage it?’ Because we had a good interaction early on.”
The business she’s inherited has a reach that extends well beyond Brisbane. While Kelly & Co Property is Brisbane-based, its portfolio spans Queensland, from Mount Isa and Cairns to Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast, with clients who are national and international.
“That does give us a little bit of an edge in a state like Queensland. Being Brisbane-based but having that regional knowledge and reach, I think that’s actually an advantage.”
As for what comes next, Sarah is clear-eyed and energised.
“I want to continue and expand on the legacy that Pat’s built over so many years and take it to the next stage of growth. I’ve been the only sales agent for probably the last four years, so to build out that business unit, bring in more listings, and really look after our property management clients, that’s the focus.”
And residential? She won’t rule it out entirely.
“I always think you focus on one thing and do it really, really well. But I do love residential, and I always have. I would never say never.”
For now, though, Sarah has more than enough on her plate, and a glass ceiling or two left to shatter.