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The agency has beefed up its prominence in Canberra with a new office announced for Gungahlin, in the city’s north.
Residential sales, property management, and valuation will form part of Raine & Horne Gungahlin’s suite of offerings, with the team to be led by Courtnie and Zeb Alaia, who’ve been co-principals of the network’s Goulburn office for a decade.
Mrs Alaia revealed the pair’s plan to open an office in the nation’s capital has been on the cards since taking over the network’s Goulburn outfit.
“We had just had our fourth baby, and I was on maternity leave from my job, and the plan was always to return to working in property valuation in Canberra. However, Raine & Horne Goulburn took off, and I took a redundancy, and the plan was to open an office in Canberra within 10 years.”
She declared, “It’s exciting to tick that box.”
Describing the decision to enter the market, Mrs Alaia said, “We just thought it makes sense to have an office in Gungahlin to leverage off the market between Canberra and Goulburn,” adding that plans are in the works to bring a recently purchased strata business into the market.
“The great news is that there are plenty of crossovers between strata laws in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory,” she added.
Not only was the support and guidance from the network’s corporate team a major drawcard for the pair, but she also noted the family feel within the network was a contributing factor behind the decision.
Moreover, she believes Raine & Horne’s suite of proptech offerings, such as social media marketing platform Amplify, could “give vendors in Gungahlin and surrounding suburbs a competitive edge.”
James Scarlett, an area local joining the new office as its sales manager, believes the pair already possess an extensive list of local contacts due to their two sons playing in the Canberra Raiders junior development sides.
“They have rapport and relationships with many Canberra locals rather than just stepping into this town fresh,” he said.
Mr Scarlett revealed an interesting factor at play within the Canberra market is that “many suburbs will perform differently to neighbouring postcodes and the level of finance buyers need is often a defining component.”
“In the sought-after suburbs, we have seen very little change in values over the last 14 months, often because buyers are public servants or from big businesses who don’t need as much finance to secure properties,” he added.
Mrs Alaia concluded the office is looking to secure rent rolls within the region, and plan to open more offices in the national capital.
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