Cooley partner David Holmes has won the Real Estate Institute of Queesland’s annual auctioneering competition.
David Holmes heads Cooley’s Queensland operations after joining the national auction network’s team last year.
Mr Holmes said it had been a goal of his to win Auctioneer of the Year since taking out the Rising Star award.
“I’ve come close a couple of times and it was great to kick a goal and be recognised by my industry peers,” he said.
Cooley Managing Director Damien Cooley congratulated Mr Holmes on the win and praised him for his high standards and dedication to his sellers.
“Our network of auctioneers sets the standard in best practice auctioneering because team members like Dave understand how to genuinely enhance the campaigns of their agents and their sellers,” Mr Cooley said.
“Like our entire team, Dave has stepped-up to support agents through what has been both challenging and high-paced market conditions over the last 12 months.
“His agility, counsel and ability to deliver a top call, day-in, day-out, for his agents, represents everything our team stands for.”
As head of Cooley’s Queensland operations, Mr Holmes leads a team of four servicing agents and their vendors throughout South-East Queensland.
REIQ Chief Executive Officer Antonia Mercorella said Mr Holmes was a standout amongst this year’s batch of auctioneer finalists.
“We celebrate auctioneering as part of the end-to-end service our industry offers customers,” Ms Mercorella said.
“Auctioneering requires an incredible amount of ability and concentration. Auctioneers have to be well organised, have a head for numbers, demonstrate good people and negotiation skills plus be able to work under pressure.
“A gifted auctioneer enhances the chance of a seller to achieve a premium result at selling time and allows every buyer the chance to purchase property in an open and transparent environment.
“The competitors displayed outstanding talent during the 2021 REIQ Auctioneer of the Year competition and they were a great example of the high calibre of auctioneering in Queensland.
“Auctioneers are a critical part of an agent’s team. David is an expert in the craft and a worthy recipient of the Auctioneer of the Year title.”
Hot on his heels was Runner Up Yianni Mooney from Yianni Mooney Property.
The winning auctioneers faced intense competition from Jon Smith from Cooley and Andrew Allen from Ray White Gladstone during a tough mock auction scenario staged by the REIQ.
“Congratulations to David and Yianni for taking out the top accolades on the day,” Ms Mercorella said.
Originally from Melbourne, Mr Holmes experienced the art of auctioneering first-hand in general auctions before moving into real estate sales and auctioneering.
He progressed to become the Chief Auctioneer for LJ Hooker Australia and joined the Cooley network in 2020.
According to his Cooley profile, Mr Holmes’ quick wit and calm, yet conversational style of auctioneering, sees buyers at ease and enables agents to achieve the best possible results for their vendors.
The REIQ Auctioneer of the Year competition is staged as part of the annual REIQ Awards for Excellence, which will be celebrated on the Gold Coast on 23 October.
