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Few agencies could claim rent roll growth of 300 to 1,300 properties in just four years, but that is exactly what general manager Alistair Shearer has achieved with LJ Hooker.
Appearing on REB’s The Key to Rapid Rent Roll Growth webcast in September, Shearer revealed that the office’s growth has been built on a combination of organic expansion and carefully chosen acquisitions, including a seamless rent roll transfer from another LJ Hooker office.
“We’ve grown from about 300–350 to around 1,300 in roughly four years,” he said. “That’s come through organic growth and a couple of acquisitions – but only where the fit was right.”
Shearer said aligning platforms and processes with the selling office ensured the transition was smooth. “That rent roll was very seamless – almost plug-and-play,” he said. “A few tweaks with software and some technology and it was off and running. From the landlords’ and tenants’ perspective, they didn’t see it any different because the same colours were on it.”
Systems and specialisation
Shearer stressed that rapid growth is impossible without strict standardisation.
“You can’t have a thousand-plus rentals with everyone doing different things,” he said. “Consistency and training are the only way to scale.”
At Hampton Park, property managers focus on landlord and tenant relationships, while business development managers drive new business and manage handovers, and a dedicated field team handles inspections and reporting. Shearer said the model allows managers to take on larger portfolios while maintaining service levels, even when staff are on leave.
Technology as an enabler
While Shearer avoids “silver bullet” promises, he said technology underpins the agency’s ability to maintain uniform processes and reduce friction during acquisitions.
“It’s about software that supports the way we work,” he said. “Uniform templates, tracked workflows and clean handovers mean the team always knows what’s next. We make small, deliberate tech changes that reinforce our processes – not the other way around.”
Alongside Shearer on the panel, Managed chief operating officer Rohith George outlined how new technology is reshaping what agencies can achieve: eliminating the need for trust accounts, automating reconciliation and enabling rental funds to land in landlords’ accounts “within 30 seconds”.
“Let PMs be people-people,” George said. “Tech should give them time back, not add more checklists.”
Flow-on to sales
Shearer said strong property management performance has delivered tangible benefits for Hampton Park’s sales team.
“I watch our sales stats closely,” he said. “Of about 30 current vacates, 20 are sales through our office – that reflects the strength of our PM relationships. We might lose a management, but we win the sale, and a portion of those loop back onto the rent roll when buyers reinvest.”
Foundation for future growth
Shearer’s advice to other agency leaders is blunt: get the basics right before chasing scale.
“Be open to change and make your foundations rock-solid,” he said. “If you grow without systems, you can be bringing on as much as you’re losing out the back door. Get the foundations right, and growth is not just possible – it’s sustainable.”
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