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McGrath recruits two top agents, continues to fill talent gap

By Tim Neary
22 February 2018 | 11 minute read
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McGrath Estate Agents has signed up two prominent Sydney eastern suburbs agents as part of the company’s plan to replace the more than 50 high-performance agents it has lost in the last two years.

Kevin Mendes and Imran Hamidi have joined the Sydney eastern suburbs sales team to specialise in the key suburbs of Paddington, Woollahra and Bondi.

McGrath Edgecliff sales manager Luke Hogan said that both signings are strategically very valuable to McGrath’s recovery.

“Kevin and Imran both have outstanding personal brands and presence in Sydney’s eastern suburbs,” the sales manager said.

“We are delighted to have them join our business and can already see the strength of the McGrath brand, coupled with their own market knowledge, reputation and experience, opening doors for them.

“They are a formidable team and I look forward to working closely with both to ensure they achieve all of their goals and more.”

Mr Mendes has more than 30 years of industry experience. He began his career as an independent, later becoming a franchisee and director at Laing+Simmons in 1996. In 2001, he opened Laing+Simmons Mascot/Alexandria, followed by Laing+Simmons Woollahra in 2009.

He is a lifelong resident of Sydney’s eastern suburbs and highly active in the local community as a member of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, the Sydney Football Stadium and the Sydney Roosters. He also volunteers at the yacht club’s Breakfast Club and is a member of Sailors with disABILITIES.

Mr Mendes said that he was attracted to McGrath for its leadership and commitment to innovation.

“The company offers a genuine collaborative team environment and technology that is a step ahead of the rest,” Mr Mendes said.

Meanwhile, Mr Hamidi also joins McGrath from Laing+Simmons Woollahra. He has been a finalist in REB Awards’ Rising Star category in 2017, and he holds a degree in marketing and communications. He is also a long-time eastern suburbs resident.

Mr Mendes and Mr Hamidi have achieved many outstanding sales results for their clients including a federation boutique block of six large apartments in North Bondi which sold for $6.33 million.

Commenting on the local market, Mr Mendes said that “the eastern suburbs is being driven by high demand and low supply, with many of my clients wanting to downsize but having very little choice to purchase. It’s now a question of finding clients the right property to buy before they can sell their larger family homes.”

Mr Hamidi said that there are significant opportunities in the area.

“Sydney’s inner city and inner west markets have decoupled from the rest of Australia, with the eastern suburbs in particular a market of its own driven by its enviable location and lifestyle,” Mr Hamidi said.

“Living in the suburbs is becoming less desirable with the younger generation, who are instead opting for ‘up and down’ living.

“Apartments located in trendy hotspots close to transport infrastructure, shops, restaurants and cafes and recreational facilities are highly sought-after.”

Earlier in the week, in the wake of McGrath announcing its $25 million dollar after-tax loss, outgoing CEO Cameron Judson said that the “brutal fact” behind the company’s run of poor results is the significant drop in company sales, due primarily to an exodus of the clutch of company’s best performing agents.

“In the company-owned residential sales business, we lost 35 high-performing sales agents at the beginning of the last calendar year. And we finished the year on a PCP basis down 52, so that will tell you that we have lost a further 17 people in the course of the calendar year,” Mr Judson told REB at the time.

“And that then reflects on the numbers that you see in both revenue and EBITDA — that is the brutal fact. So, we have more work to do on the attraction of talent and more work to do on the development of that talent.”

McGrath recruits two top agents, continues to fill talent gap
KevinMeddesImranHamidi 850x400 feb2018 1
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