Media release - Monday 27^th August, 2012

Central Coast agent cleans up at national awards

Leading Central Coast agent, Andrew Sorensen, has walked away from Raine & Horne’s National Awards in Melbourne on Tuesday 21^st August with a swag of accolades, including the prestigious Top Principal (Number of Sales) award.

In addition, Mr Sorensen, co-Principal of Raine & Horne Charmhaven, placed fourth in the Top Salesperson (Dollar Value) award for 2012 – a sensational result given Raine & Horne’s agents operate in all capital cities and many leading regional towns around Australia.

“Andrew’s achievements this year are a reflection of his dedication, market knowledge and ability to get a sale across the line for his clients,” says Angus Raine, CEO Raine & Horne.

“By embracing the auction selling process, Andrew Sorensen and the team at Raine & Horne Charmhaven have rapidly increased their share of the competitive real estate market in the northern section of the Central Coast.”

Indeed, ‘sale by auction’ is a point of difference that is working well for Mr Sorensen, who reveals Raine & Horne Charmhaven is the only agency in the Wyong Shire hosting onsite auctions.

“We love the onsite auction process and feel it is a great way to sell a home,” says Mr Sorensen, whose success with the auction gavel resulted in his also winning the Top Salesperson (Auction Listings) award on Tuesday night.

“We’ve had a very good year for auctions, and my listings have an average of 27 days on market in 2012,” says Mr Sorensen.

Giving the result some perspective, Australian Property Monitors have calculated that Charmhaven homes spend an average of 171 days on market.[i]

Yet despite his award winning success, Mr Sorensen refuses to take all the credit.

“I have an incredibly good support team working for me – my assistant Renee Wright is brilliant and the rest of the team at Raine & Horne Charmhaven work exceptionally hard to support each other and achieve great results.

“In addition, I rely on the broad collection of Raine & Horne products and services, such as our industry-best business support system, rhcompass, to keep me organised,” adds Mr Sorensen, who is also a major supporter of junior rugby league in the Wyong Shire.

While looking forward to a consistent Spring selling season, Mr Sorensen says his team doesn’t adhere to the traditional real estate selling cycles.

“I’ve maintained a steady flow of stock and a constant stream of sales all year round but I’m confident we will enjoy a good Spring market on the back of lower interest rates and the end of the first home owners grant.”

Charmhaven’s excellent infrastructure and affordable house prices are also contributing to consistent owner-occupier and investor demand.

“With the median house price currently around $265,000, our cost of living is much lower than in Sydney and this is why we are seeing so many western Sydney-based buyers making the sea-change to the Central Coast,” says Mr Sorensen.

“We are also seeing retirees using their self-managed super funds to purchase an affordable Central Coast getaway, while there are rewards for those investors who purchase in the area, with rental yields in Charmhaven reaching as high as 7%.”

For further media information contact:

Angus Raine, CEO Raine & Horne on 0409 920 697

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

[i] http://apm.domain.com.au/Research/?AddressLine=charmhaven&LocationType=Suburb&State=NSW&SuburbId=9732

Raine & Horne Charmhaven principal gets top award