2 March 2010

Raine & Horne Marrickville wins prestigious awards

Leading Inner West property firm Raine & Horne Marrickville won seven awards at the 2009 Raine & Horne NSW/ACT Chairman’s Awards, held at the Four Seasons Hotel, Sydney on Saturday 27 February 2010.

Leading the way was Raine & Horne Marrickville proprietor Michael Smith, who received the Graeme Skarratt Award for his services to Raine & Horne.

Mr Skarratt was a long term director of Raine & Horne. The award recognises Mr Smith’s excellent service and support for Raine & Horne since joining the property group in 1983.

Other winners from Raine & Horne Marrickville include Tobi Wyman who won for Outstanding Corporate Support, while Filippo D’Arrigo finished 11^th in the Top Salesperson category. Mr D’Arrigo finished ahead of about 1000 agents and was elevated to the Chairman’s Club for his efforts.

Michael Smith said Tobi richly deserved her award.

"She gets better and better. She is an innovator who plans ahead. She has helped to leverage the results of everyone in residential sales," he said.

Paul Signorelli and Robert Alihodzic were named in the Property Managers Chairman’s Club, while sales agent Tony Day joined Mr D’Arrigo in the Chairman’s Club, an award presented by property doyen and Raine & Horne Chairman Max Raine.

While praising the whole team, Mr Smith singled out Ms Wyman and Mr D’Arrigo for special mention, he said none of the success could have been achieved without his partner of 32 years, Yvonne Smith.

Of Mr D’Arrigo, Mr Smith said his main qualities included his ability to take advice, work hard and said he had a passion for the Inner West market.

“Marrickville is a great property market and it’s never boring. The truth is that we have decent blocks of land, and open spaces. It’s close to the Sydney CBD and is well served by efficient public transport,” said Mr Smith.

“It’s popular with owner-occupiers, investors and tenants. Investors like Marrickville because for some, the share market is not producing the secure returns they were expecting.

Mr Smith said that a decent entry level two-bedroom apartment in Marrickville started at $400,000 and rents for about $350 a week. However if the unit needed some work, it was possible to pay $300,000.

Looking forward, Mr Smith said that with demand continuing to outstrip supply, it was a great time sell.

“However the year has started slowly and we need more homes to sell to meet demand," he said.

Raine & Horne is an iconic Australian property firm, with more than 370 offices worldwide. It is a recognised, official Superbrand along with the likes of Qantas, Vegemite, Woolworths and Myer. The company has four distinct property service brands including Raine & Horne Residential, Raine & Horne Commercial, Raine & Horne Financial Services and Raine & Horne Rural.

For all your property needs contact Raine & Horne Marrickville on (02) 9560 7599.

For further media information, contact Michael Smith, on 0407 703 545.