Chadwick Real Estate has opened its fourth office, ready to take advantage of the high demand for residential and commercial leasing in Hornsby.
The Announcement:
Chadwick Real Estate, an independent agency that is synonymous with upmarket property in the Ku-ring-gai LGA in Sydney, has opened a fourth office in neighbouring Hornsby. The move reflects Hornsby’s growing importance to Sydney’s Upper North Shore both as a lifestyle destination and commercial centre. It also helps realise Chadwick’s ongoing strategy of sustainable and cohesive growth.
Chadwick CEO, Ben Goben, says that traditionally the Hornsby property market has operated separately from Ku-ring-gai’s. However, over the past decade or so that has been changing.
“Hornsby is the North Shore’s largest commercial centre after Chatswood and, as a result, it’s a much higher density suburb than its neighbouring areas.”
“For instance, around a third of properties in Hornsby are houses and the remainder are apartments or townhomes. Next door in Wahroonga, where we sell a lot of property, almost three-quarters of dwellings are detached homes.”
Chadwick’s core business to date has concentrated on similar terrain in Ku-ring-gai. Its three offices are based in Turramurra, St Ives and leafy Killara, which boasts the Upper North Shore’s highest median property price at $3.9 million.
However, Goben noticed that, when his agents were hosting open homes or fielding enquiries from potential buyers around these areas, prospective purchasers were increasingly giving a Hornsby address.
“This was telling us two things,” Goben says. “First, that Hornsby has become many people’s initial step in their Upper North Shore property journey. It’s a suburb with excellent transport links and access to all the same amenities as surrounding areas – the green space, cafe culture and many of the best schools Sydney has to offer. So it’s only natural to buy here if you can’t yet afford a nearby suburb.”
“Second is that, as property prices rise, Hornsby has really become an extension of Ku-ring-gai. It has great entertainment and shopping facilities, including a significant Westfield, that’s larger than Chatswood.”
“As the area continues to develop, we expect to see downsizers begin to move the other way from Ku-ring-gai into Hornsby.”
“So, if we want to be able to service our clients through their whole property journey it’s a move that makes sense.”
A third factor that Goben says made Hornsby attractive was the sheer amount of leasing that takes place in the area – both residential and commercial. Even before the move, the agency was responsible for managing many properties in Hornsby. Now, with a substantial rent roll acquisition underpinning the move, Chadwick will become one of Hornsby’s largest property managers.
Part of a bigger plan
Goben says that the move to Hornsby is the latest step in Chadwick’s plan to grow the agency’s presence in the Upper North Shore property market and cement its position as the area’s leading independent agency. This is something that he and fellow director Scott Chadwick committed to as part of a formal five year plan.
“At the time we came up with our growth strategy we had a single office in Turramurra operating under the banner of a national brand and we were very well known and regarded in the area.”
“We wanted to capitalise on this reputation but we didn’t want to lose what had built us that reputation in the first place – hiring the best people and offering a great service.”
Goben explains that, to gain even greater control over the company’s culture, the two directors decided to ‘break the shackles’ of their national branding and go independent. Rather than expanding by franchising, they began opening offices in neighbouring areas, where the Chadwick brand was already known and strong. This gave them the control they wanted over the company’s hiring, processes and marketing.
It also meant Chadwick employees could continue working as one team rather than as competing agents working out of different offices.
“We didn’t want to just start opening random offices in non-adjoining areas. We wanted to service a cohesive market with a cohesive brand and not dilute what had made us good in the first place.”
Gearing up for growth
But while Chadwick’s offices to date have been in similarly established areas with a high proportion of established homes, Goben says that Hornsby offers something unique.
“Given its transport links and lifestyle factors, we expect that Hornsby will be one of Sydney’s real growth areas over the next decade,” he explains.
“Also, with more people working from home and fewer having to commute on a daily basis, we believe those underrated areas north of Hornsby around the Hawkesbury River and Ku-ring-gai National Park, which offer a very different lifestyle, will come into their own. We’re already seeing a very affluent demographic move into these areas and prices are going up.
“Our Hornsby office gives us the opportunity to tap into these emerging markets, using our established brand.”
To make this happen, Goben says he is actively looking for great real estate agents who want to be part of a rapidly-growing real estate agency.
“Most agencies operate under a franchise model, so there’s only so far you can take your career before you need to move on and re-establish yourself elsewhere. You also find yourself often being a jack-of-all-trades.”
Chadwick Real Estate has also been selected as a finalist in the 2021 REINSW Awards for Real Estate Agency Large category.
“Because we offer a unified agency that operates as one team, there is so much more scope to really develop a career and take it in a direction or specialty that you want.”
Source: Chadwick Real Estate
