‘You’re not employable’: An agent’s fight to achieve his dream

“I didn’t know I couldn’t walk until about 1977, because no one knew I had a disability, everyone just thought I was slow,” Harper said.

“Cerebral palsy was a disability that wasn’t seen or heard of back then.”

While his real estate career now spans more than 25 years, including launching his own brand as “Mr Real Estate on Wheels”, Harper got off to a rocky start and was immediately looked down on because of his disability.

“They actually said to me, ‘What good are you going to be to anyone in a wheelchair, Rob? You’re not employable.’”

Despite being written off by the industry, Harper’s determination only intensified.

“I started off my career in NSW just before the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and I took nearly four years to get recognition from the Department of Fair Trading and the Real Estate Institute of NSW (REINSW).”

The desire to help those in a similar position to his was a major motivation throughout his career, with finding accessible housing options his bread and butter.

Harper said he was seeking to create meaningful change, both in the industry and in the broader perception of people with disabilities.

“I want to try and make a difference and be a trailblazer for other people with disabilities to give their chosen career path a real go.”

“There is nothing more important to me than to be able to assist people in getting their dream home or piece of land after a major illness or injury, and I would do anything to help them.”

The Australian Dream

Harper said that his primary goal as an agent was to help people with disabilities achieve their goals of owning a home.

“I want to find ways to help other people with disabilities get their foot in the door to own their own piece of paradise,” he said.

While housing supply has been a hot topic in the industry over the past few years, little emphasis has been put on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) housing.

According to the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data from 2022, approximately 5.5 million Australians have a disability of some kind, with most in need of specialised housing.

Harper said the data painted a picture of an industry that needed to do more to provide for its most vulnerable citizens.

With an aging population, Harper said Australia desperately needed more support from the real estate and construction industries as well as the government.

“The fact of the matter is the government’s process of the Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) doesn’t go wide enough and isn’t up to scratch as far as I am concerned,” he said.

“I want to be the agent that they can come to because I have got that inside knowledge of what people would need to make their property accessible.”

Harper said he was better positioned than most to understand the needs of buyers seeking accessible housing, as many of those features were ones he himself needed in a home.

“I’ve lived needing wider doorways, bigger bathrooms, non-slip flooring, the works.”

“You just tell me what you need, I’m 95 per cent there already because I have lived it,” he said.

Overcoming obstacles

Harper has had difficulty dealing with industry bodies and government agencies throughout his career, and these difficulties persist to this day.

He said he has faced difficulties having his qualifications recognised initially and, more recently, has struggled with the NDIS over a vehicle he purchased in 2024.

Paralysed from the neck down, Harper requires modifications to his vehicle so he can continue to work and get around, with the process likely to be completed in April 2026, 22 months after its initial purchase.

That is 22 months that Harper has been unable to work.

“I’m still fighting the NDIS to get the equipment and services I need to maintain my standing in the industry.”

“I have been out of work and just want to get back out there.”

Despite the obstacles he has faced over his career, Harper said he doesn’t see himself as disabled, and the only difference between him and “95 per cent” of agents was that he uses wheels instead of his legs.

“There is nothing that I can’t do that any other agent can do; the only thing I mightn’t be able to do is get upstairs.”

What keeps him going

Despite ongoing challenges, Harper finds joy in life through his sporting connections, having represented Australia in wheelchair basketball and continuing to support the sport through sponsorship and advisory roles.

“The sport of basketball and real estate are what keep me going and working towards my goal,” he said

Harper said he felt a deep sense of pride in seeing athletes and professionals develop their skill sets and that he always wanted to be part of the process.

“I still feel like giving back, and to me, the best way to do that is to pay it forward,” he said.

“The enjoyment I get out of watching the young athletes, and upcoming agents, and agents I have worked with and saying to them, ‘Alright, guys, it’s about time someone showed you the way.’”

Harper said that he felt that a future in development could be on the cards when he decides to call time on his sales career.

“I’d like to help other agents and be an inspiration, and if I can’t physically do something personally and if my mind’s still as sharp as it is now, I’d love to be an adviser to show other people the way forward.”

Additionally, Harper said that maintaining a positive mindset, even in the face of adversity, was a key skill agents needed to develop if they hoped to have long careers in the industry.

“If you haven’t got that, you may as well get off the court or out of the industry because if you can’t be positive when hard times hit you, you are going to find it hard.”

“You can’t be negative when things get hard; that means you have got to work harder and try harder,” Harper concluded.