Stefon Bertram: Never stop learning

On getting into real estate
After leaving school at 17 years old, I secured my first job in real estate and then started my own real estate business at the age of 21 which I grew and sold to McGrath five years later. My career commenced in 2007, during which time I’ve focused upon Ryde, North Ryde and East Ryde. 

The happiest moment in my career
Apart from many amazing results that surprised not only the clients but myself too, it’s been special placing in the REB top 100 Agents three times before the age of 30 years old. In 2017 I ranked #99, 2018 ranked #42 and 2019 ranked #32 in Australia. 

The most memorable moment
13 Bavin Ave, Ryde was a very exciting and memorable sale. This property had offers up to $2.7 million (at the owners’ expectations) prior to auction, although we backed ourselves and then took the property to auction and sold it for an amazing $3.4 million, setting a new Ryde house record at the time. 

Best advice he’s received
Learn from people better than you. When I first joined McGrath, I made a KPI for myself to meet face-to-face one agent or manager much more experienced than me. Sometimes I’d walk away with 10 amazing take aways, although even if you learnt one key thing the time was well invested. 

Biggest challenge
The industry has quickly shifted to a digital footprint. I feel the agents that don’t establish an online presence will really struggle in the future. 

Change for good?
I’m looking forward to seeing more transparency around pricing. Once all sale data is public and no results are withheld, the consumer will quickly be able to make more educated decisions when buying and selecting the best real estate agent to represent their sale. 

‘Elite’ agent means
An elite agent is someone who continues with the highest standards when it comes to customer service and results, independent of market conditions or workload.

With world-class systems and fantastic leverage through a team, an elite agent should be able to deliver the highest customer experience always. As the Ryde/North Ryde market experienced one of Sydney’s hardest price corrections (down 15-25 per cent since 2017), our team has sold a record number of properties in a challenging environment while never losing the focus of the client experience our customers deserve.

#WeAreRealEstate is a series of short interviews with 140 agents all over Australia exploring the industry’s hopes, concerns, future challenges, and what it really means to be an Elite Agent.