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Ray White North Shore almost doubled its settlement values year-on-year and rose to 12th place in the REB Top 50 Sales 2024 ranking. Its director has outlined how he and his team pulled it off.
The Sydney-based agency was only one of four agencies to exceed $1 billion in settlement values in this year’s ranking.
Indeed, it sold 669 properties during the 2023 calendar year for almost $1.6 billion, up from 325 properties valued at $819.4 million the previous year.
As a result, Ray White North Shore – which sold a variety of properties from one-bedroom studio apartments to $20 million houses – jumped from 37th rank last year to 12th in this year’s ranking.
Director David Walker told REB that the agency achieved its numbers despite operating in a more challenging and tumultuous property market.
This was done by outworking their competition and ensuring that the agents were equipped with the appropriate tools and training to maximise outcomes for vendors.
The agency does this by selling the majority of the properties it lists via auctions as this promotes competition among buyers and compels them to make decisions within a certain timeframe, which yields higher prices for vendors, he said.
Using tech tools streamline operations
In addition, Mr Walker attributed the sales growth to using technological tools to streamline administrative efficiencies and increase communication within the sales team and with vendors.
For example, it implemented a process management software to allow its sales team to communicate with the administration staff in real time.
“You can see whatever you requested from the back-end. You can see that it’s getting worked on, how long it could take,” Mr Walker said.
“Whether it’s presentations, sales advice, or information entered into a database, you can see who’s doing it and how long it’s going to take. Streamlining the communication process has saved hours for our assistants and agents.”
Communication, knowledge are key
Constant communication (including face-to-face interactions) defines good customer service so that vendors can access information and reports and make optimal decisions when selling their homes, Mr Walker underscored.
“We try to be realistic on pricing,” he said.
“We also inform vendors about market trends. We use tech to identify and share different trends within price ranges. This shows them that they aren't making impulsive decisions. They're making decisions based around statistics, prices, and real-time information.”
Mr Walker also observed that as the property market softened last year, there was a “flight back to quality agencies”.
“A lot of the owners in the area wanted to sell their homes with leading agencies so that played a part in us getting more listings than we did in a better market,” he said.
“In a good market, owners think they can sell with anybody and still get a good price. When it’s a challenging market, however, they know they have to go with the best agency.”
Broadening markets and marketing
To maintain its momentum, Ray White North Shore is focusing on expanding its marketing strategies to service a wider range of clients.
“We’re looking at whether there’s feasibility within different markets. We want to make our database work for us even more efficiently than what we’ve got at the moment,” Mr Walker outlined.
With offices sprawled across different areas in Sydney (including Pennant Hills, Hornsby, Wahroonga, and Roseville), Mr Walker said the buyer pool is intertwined between these markets.
As such, the agency plans to promote properties in certain suburbs (like Roseville) to potential buyers in other suburbs (like Pennant Hills), he added.
“We’ve got the volume of buyers and we know exactly where they're coming from,” Mr Walker said.
“We’re applying hyperlocal marketing strategies around different suburbs and properties, and working out what price ranges resonate with potential buyers in different areas. This means that rather than doing shotgun marketing on individual properties, we’re focusing on how to find buyers and maximise results for our vendors.”
Mr Walker also credited his team of agents, property managers, and administrative staff for the sales office’s success in the 2024 rankings,
“All of them work in their lanes and know exactly what their jobs are. Everybody works at a high level towards a common goal of providing amazing service and business to our team,” he concluded.
Click here to download the complete REB Top 50 Sales Offices 2024 rankings and report.
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