Raine & Horne Gladstone set to take on real estate powerhouse at national awards

After a record haul at Raine & Horne Queensland’s recent State Awards, Raine & Horne Gladstone is setting itself for more silverware at the leading real estate group’s National Awards in August in Melbourne.

At the Queensland State Awards, held at Brisbane’s premier events destination, Moda Events Portside, in Hamilton, the dynamic North Queensland firm was recognised as Raine & Horne Queensland’s Top Office – Number of Sales, which is calculated on the volume of homes sold by the firm in 2011.

Over the last decade, this hotly-contested category has been dominated at the national level by juggernaut Raine & Horne Double Bay, in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. Yet based on the latest figures, Raine & Horne Gladstone is well and truly in the hunt for Melbourne gold.

Additionally, Raine & Horne Gladstone also snared the Top Office Dollar Value award and Top Coastal Office (Dollar Value), while Richard Steele was named Raine & Horne best sales agent for number of sales and dollar value in Queensland.

According to Mark Patton, Principal of Raine & Horne Gladstone, the region’s property industry is being boosted by the area’s large number of resources projects, such as the $16.2 billion Gladstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) development.

As a result, the Gladstone property market has been extremely buoyant, with homes selling quickly once listed. “The most sought-after properties are three bedroom homes in the $400,000 to $500,000 range, and four bedroom homes for over $500,000,” Mr Patton said, adding that the competition for housing even extended to rental properties, where vacancy rates were sitting below 1%.

Other offices to shine at the Queensland awards included Raine & Horne Charters Towers, which grabbed the most improved office awards, including Top Office Business Growth for number of sales and Top Office Growth for dollar value, while principal, Lisa Palmer grabbed a top three finish in the Top Salesperson (Principal) category behind Daryl Turner from Raine & Horne Calliope/Tannum Sands.

Angus Raine, CEO, Raine & Horne, is excited with the progress of Raine & Horne’s Queensland offices and considers the success of Raine & Horne Gladstone and Raine & Horne Charters Towers justifies the real estate group’s decision to launch in Queensland in 1982.

“It’s our 30^th year in the Sunshine State and we now have more than 60 offices across Queensland, including Brisbane, and regional centres stretching from Toowoomba in the south to Port Douglas/Mossman in the north of the state,” said Mr Raine.

“Mining and resources is the heart beat of the Sunshine State and the timing of Raine & Horne’s incursion into Queensland could not have been timed better.