The past year was one that many in the real estate industry will gladly forget, yet for those who claimed trophies at the annual Richardson & Wrench awards it was a chance to step up to the challenge and show their worth.
Offices and agents in growth corridors on the city fringes of both Sydney and Brisbane not only survived but thrived.
The Campbelltown/Ingleburn office took the award for most transactions, while Trevor Hall from the network’s dynamic Caboolture office north of Brisbane was named the sales person with the highest volume of transactions.
Caboolture also took the runners-up prize for transactions. Troy Nicholson took the award for the most transactions by a selling principal, indicative of his ability to increase market share and volume in one of Sydney’s growth corridors.
In dollar terms though, the night belonged to the stars of the East, with Elizabeth Bay/Potts Point claiming honours for income earned and co-director Jason Boon etching his name, for the 11th time, on the cup for the highest-earning selling principal, along with the Ronald H Pillinger Award.
James Dunn from the Double Bay office was named highest earning sales person, an award he’s rapidly turning into his own perpetual trophy.
Richardson & Wrench Managing Director Andrew Cocks said the spread of trophies across NSW and Queensland, in both affordable and prestige property locations demonstrated the strength and diversity of the network.
“It’s a tribute to the resilience of our people that so many have weathered a difficult period for real estate and adapted to the conditions,” Mr Cocks said.
“If you look at the offices who have improved their ranking within the group or consolidated their position, there is a common thread; they have all invested heavily in their communities, raising their profiles and building their networks.
“Offices like Double Bay, Elizabeth Bay/Potts Point, Bondi Junction and Bondi Beach, Noosa, Coolum, Caboolture, Narellan and Marrickville/Hurlstone Park are all standout examples of offices who are deeply immersed in their local communities.
“It’s a reminder that real estate is as much about people as it is about property and that is one of the great strengths of the R&W network.”
This year’s hotly-contested award for Excellence in Community Service was claimed by R&W Coolum, who banded together with their neighbouring office R&W Noosa to donate a $30,000 surf boat to the Noosa Surf Life Saving Club.
The office is also a major sponsor of Coolum State School’s spring fair, running the silent auction and sponsoring the piglet races.
“This is about our people giving back to their communities,” Mr Cocks said. “Not only that, it’s a great way to bind the people within the team in a common cause.”
The much-anticipated Directors’ Award was this year given to Keiran Speed, who co-founded the Bondi Junction and later Bondi Beach office.
He is the only person still with the group today who worked at its original head office at 92 Pitt Street in the city, when it was still simply Richardson & Wrench Limited.
Mr Cocks said the Bondi-born former rugby champ, active surfer and consummate real estate professional, personified the values of honesty and integrity that defined R&W.
“The measure of Keiran is not the millions of dollars in real estate he has sold over an illustrious 50- year career but the influence he has had on so many within the R&W family,” Mr Cocks said.
“People like Greg McKinley and Andrew Hoggett, co-directors of the Elizabeth Bay/Potts Point office and Jason Taylor who heads Bondi Beach, will tell you that their own workplace culture was learned from Keiran.
“He has helped to build many careers but more importantly he has instilled a set of values, such as loyalty and integrity, that have been passed down to the next generation and generations to come.”
