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Raine & Horne Broadbeach is entering the new year under new ownership and in a new office space.
Former principal Bill Rex has decided the time is right to scale back, handing over his keys to Raine & Horne Broadbeach to recently recruited project sales team leader Debbie Frizelle and her husband, Tony Pell.
“I was only with the business a couple of months and was looking after all the new Gold Coast developments when Bill decided the time was right for him to scale back,” Ms Frizelle explained.
With Mr Rex’s lease being up on the firm’s previous location, the former principal had sounded out his new recruit, with Ms Frizelle then taking the opportunity to continue the operation.
“My short stint with the firm allowed me to take a look under the bonnet and get a feel for the business,” she said.
Since signing over the business, the husband-and-wife team have made some almost immediate changes: they’ve set up shop in Broadbeach’s Niecon Plaza and added an experienced sale executive, Noeline Sanderson, to the team.
Even with the alterations, they emphasise that it is still business as usual for the Broadbeach business.
As well as working in real estate on the Gold Coast for more than 15 years, Ms Frizelle credited her history of renovating properties as integral to being able to set up the new office space very quickly.
She’s also touted her and her husband’s previous experience in owning a motor dealership as pivotal in preparing her for real estate agency ownership.
“We had a showroom before transitioning the business to an online model,” the new agency owner said.
She added: “The motoring industry allowed me to hone my sales and customer services skills that have translated exceptionally well to real estate.
“Likewise, Tony’s previous experiences in motor vehicle finance and luxury boat sales serve him well in real estate, too.
“He’s itching to get out there when he’s not managing the business operations.”
It was reported that Mr Rex will remain with the team to “provide for a seamless handover with existing landlords and other aspects of the sales business”.
“We’re excited about raking on the charcoal and yellow colours and continuing Bill’s work getting them out there in the Broadbeach region,” Ms Frizelle said.
Property management a priority
One of the first goals for the new owners is to build the firm’s rent roll.
The duo will be working closely with the agency’s head of property management, Elena Vishnyakova, on significantly expanding the management business.
“Collaborating with Elena has been another benefit of working in the business for a while now,” Ms Frizelle said.
Gearing up for growth
The business foray comes as a local stock shortage coincides with strong demand across the area.
This is expected to drive up the value of properties in and around Broadbeach by at least 5 to 8 per cent, although Ms Frizelle believes it could be even higher: “Increases into the double digits would not be a surprise.”
“We could use more listings including new developments and house and land packages,” the business owner conceded, explaining how land packages are running out of stock if they meet the federal government criteria and are priced below $750,000.
She said state government first home buyer incentives mean the demographic is “very much in the market — also jumping onto the cheaper new properties”.
In addition, she flagged that the office is seeing “a lot of downsizers from Melbourne buying sight unseen, as well as investors who can earn rental yields as much as 6 per cent. These yields in Broadbeach depend on the location of the property and the quality of the development.”
“Let’s face it, for all those interstate people that historically spent a lot of money on overseas travel, they have now turned into Gold Coast property investment buyers.”
For many of those buyers, Ms Frizelle noted “they are seeking high rental yields from their holiday properties and they have a longer-term view to retire to the Gold Coast down the track”.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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