A childhood dream, relentless persistence, and a willingness to defy expectations helped one industry veteran break barriers and build an award-winning career in real estate.
When Lumby Real Estate principal Kate Lumby began her real estate career more than three decades ago, the industry was dominated by men.
But that didn’t stop her from wanting to follow in her family’s footsteps and pursue a real estate career after watching and learning from her father, who was an auctioneer in Dural.
“I remember as a young girl going to one of our acreage auctions, with a 300-deep crowd of Maltese and Italian market gardeners. My father was the auctioneer, and he started the auction by digging a shovel into the soil and calling, “What am I bidding for this chunk of dirt?”
“I knew then that I wanted to be an auctioneer when I grew up,” Lumby told REB.
As a matter of fact, Lumby saw the lack of female presence in the industry as an opportunity to make her mark.
“I thought I’d pioneer in that space and get told ‘no, no, no’ by everybody, but that made me even more determined to study and master it,” she said.
“I knew that if you knocked on enough doors and got enough no’s, eventually you’d get yeses.”
An early start
Growing up around her family’s real estate business, Lumby was exposed to the sales industry at a very young age, working as a weekend receptionist at age 12, and playing a pivotal role in a property sale at just 14.
“We’d have these big maps in the office, and because it was acreage, they’d have the properties marked out, and the buyers would come in and inquire, then drive out for a look,” she said.
Having seen the process numerous times, Lumby said that when a couple came in to inquire about a property, she began by asking the usual questions and showed them a property she thought would fit their needs.
“They said they’d take a drive out to take a look, and a couple of hours later they came back and said they wanted to buy it.”
Having learned a lot in her early days in real estate, Lumby kept the tradition going with her own children.
“I dressed them up in a suit from the age of eight, and they’d hand out brochures and say thank you for coming.”
From stage lights to sales
Lumby said the combination of her familial connection to real estate and her love of drama made the move into an auctioneer role the perfect balance of the two.
“I was always doing poetry and performing on stage, doing elocution and plays, and the blend between that and real estate was really exciting.”
Lumby went on to carve out a strong career in the auction industry, earning several accolades, including REB Auctioneer of the Year awards in 2016–17 and the Excellence Award in 2016.
According to Lumby, being recognised by the industry was a career highlight, and one that she had not expected.
“It felt like all of the times when I hadn’t gone out or had been working behind the scenes or helping other agents were worth it.”
“No one sees all the time and effort you put in behind the scenes, and when I won that, it was just fulfilling.”
Finding your feet in the industry
While the industry looks vastly different from when Lumby began her career, she said the core skills and focal points had stood the test of time.
She said that, as with any industry, newcomers would find themselves challenged early on, but how they approached it would hold the key to their success.
“I’d tell young people to hone their skills and really master their craft, whether that is real estate or auctioneering,” she said.
“Get really good at all the little things.”
She said that newcomers to the industry should focus on educating themselves to the best of their ability and set themselves up for success as their careers progress.
“Because once you’ve got those skills, no one can take them away from you.”
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