Media release - Tuesday 21^st August, 2012

Dynamic property expert to grow Raine & Horne's WA presence

• Raine & Horne appoints Rae O’Neill as Business Support and Development Manager for Western Australia
• For many Raine & Horne offices in Western Australia, the June quarter was their best in more than a year
• Perth’s median rental price has jumped by $10 in three months to around $440 a week

Leading real estate group Raine & Horne has recruited dynamic property expert, Rae O’Neill, to spearhead its growing portfolio of offices in Western Australia.

After nine years as a real estate property consultant, Ms O’Neill has been appointed as a Business Support and Development Manager for Raine & Horne Pty Limited, which has a large network of offices in Australia and overseas.

According to Angus Raine, CEO Raine & Horne, Ms O’Neill is ideally suited to the role as the real estate network’s point of contact with its office network in Western Australia, given her enthusiasm and leadership qualities.

“Rae brings to Raine & Horne a fresh approach to the real estate sector. We are excited to have her on board to lead the development of our West Australian business,” says Mr Raine.

Ms O’Neill impressed the leading real estate group after she helped a number of competitor offices successfully establish themselves across Adelaide and regional South Australia.

“Rae has a proven track record for supporting emerging offices and achieving strong sales results,” says Mr Raine.

Indeed, Ms O’Neill’s accolades include the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award with a competitor after selling over $16 million worth of property in her first 12 months in real estate.

Ms O’Neill said she was excited about the prospect of working with the 129 year old real estate firm.

“Raine & Horne is a fantastic company and I was initially attracted to the catchy charcoal and gold Raine & Horne branding,” says Ms O’Neill.

“It’s modern and fresh and represents the company’s progressive thinking to constantly reinvent itself and try new things.

“However, now that I am personally involved with the company, I feel the family-oriented ethos surrounding the brand is definitely the company’s best selling point.

“We really are a family business with fourth generation Raine family member Angus Raine at the helm.”

Ms O’Neill says her brief will be to oversee the development of the current office network in Western Australia and to maximise its success.

“I am focused on providing our current principals with recruitment tools and support that is unique to them,” says Ms O’Neill, who visits every office on a fortnightly basis.

“We recognise that every office is different and every market is unique, and I am familiarising myself with each Raine & Horne office in WA so that I can best tailor our corporate support to them.”

“Some offices have unique IT needs, while others are looking to ramp up recruitment, and it’s my responsibility to ensure their needs are met by Raine & Horne.

“Long term, the aim is to develop Raine & Horne’s reputation as a real estate network of choice for aspiring principals.”

Ms O’Neill also believes her appointment has come at a time when the Perth property market is starting to turn the corner.

“Our agents have been building strong relationships with their clients and the results are beginning to show.”

To illustrate this point, in June, nine of Raine & Horne’s offices in Western Australia posted their strongest quarters for more than a year.

“Our offices have been inundated with appraisal requests leading into the traditionally busy Spring season, and we are confident that Raine & Horne will enjoy a positive finish to 2012.”

For investors, Ms O’Neill says Western Australian real estate is also generating robust rental growth and generous yields.

“In the last three months, the median rental price has climbed by $10 a week to around $440 in Perth,” says Ms O’Neill, who attributes price growth to low vacancies in many of Perth’s inner and eastern suburbs.

-ENDS-

For further media information contact:

Angus Raine, CEO Raine & Horne on 0409 920 697

Rae O’Neill, Business Support and Development Manager on 0466 793 384

Andrew Harrington, National Marketing & Communications Coordinator on 02 9258 5400