A new agency, a new team and a restructure: our wrap of the latest industry news

New agency: Mick Barlow Property

Mick Barlow’s been a name synonymous with property in Canberra’s north for more than 30 years.

Mick and dad Bob, along with Marge Hall, owned Elders Real Estate in Jamison in the early 1990s. Young Mick, who’d grown up on the north side, started out as a sales consultant and then made the move into property management. He loved every aspect of real estate; and still does.

After selling the Jamison office to Ray White in 2016, Mick joined the team at McGrath Estate Agents before trying his hand at something new. But real estate was in his blood and now he’s back — and it’s his own name on the door.

Mick bought the Wright Dunn Ainslie office late last year (he loves Ainslie, describing it as “a town within a town”) and is hoping the new Mick Barlow team will have a solid impact in north Canberra.

“I think having my name on the door gives it a family feel and that's what we are really, a family business,” Mick says.

“My brother John’s working with me, we’ve kept the team on board in Ainslie and we’re pretty excited.”

Mick’s original client list from the 1990s hasn’t changed much and he’s now selling third and fourth homes for many of them. Having grown up in Lyneham, then Spence, and then Hall, Mick understands the benefits and the differences of the inner north, the suburbs and rural northern Canberra.

“It’s a people business we’re in and the way you communicate is everything,” Mick says.

“I remember when I first started in real estate, they tried to say that the internet would eliminate the need for agents.

“But here we are in 2024 and in more demand than ever before; it’s about relationship building and trust and at the end of the day it's very personal.”

Mick Barlow Property offers sales and property management services.

New team: Ray White Canberra Projects

There’s an air of excitement in the Ray White Canberra office as the agency’s project marketing team expands from one to five.

The new team has a combined 40 years experience in project marketing and Ray White Canberra Chairman Ben Faulks believes the fusion of “local knowledge, national reach” will give it an edge in the capital.

“With the support of the broader Ray White Canberra network, including residential sales, property management, commercial and mortgage brokering – plus an extensive national Ray White Projects network – we offer a holistic approach that’s unmatched in the region,” Ben says.

“This transition marks a significant evolution in our approach to project marketing, allowing us to redefine industry standards and deliver exceptional results for our clients.”

EKKO in Whitlam, Hakea in Denman Prospect and G+ Residences in Giralang are just some of the stunning new developments being marketed by the new team.

“These projects highlight our ability to handle a diverse range of developments,” Ben says.

“With each project, we strive to set new standards for quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction.”

He describes the vision for Ray White Projects Canberra as “becoming the premier destination for project marketing in the region”.

“We’ll leverage the extensive network and resources of Ray White to set new benchmarks for excellence in the industry, forge strong partnerships with developers and deliver outstanding outcomes,” he says.

“Over the next 12-24 months, we want to expand our portfolio and solidify our reputation as a trusted and innovative leader in project marketing.”

Pulling together a new team offers new opportunities for growth, innovation and collaboration, Ben says.

“With diverse roles and backgrounds, each team member brings a fresh perspective and expertise to the table,” he says.

“That’s an environment ripe for creativity and success.

“The excitement for us lies in the potential to redefine project marketing in Canberra.”

New structure: Vantage Strata

With the Albanese Government committing to building 800,000 new strata-titled dwellings across the nation over the next five years, strata managers are becoming more and more critical to the property market.

But they’re “rare as hen’s teeth” says Vantage Strata CEO Rupert Cullen, with many burning out and leaving the industry.

So Vantage Strata has taken action.

The entire business is now designed around strata managers, providing them with increased support with people in highly specialised roles including trust accountants, accounts payable and receivable clerks, maintenance officers, facilities managers and building managers.

“The growth of new strata properties is accelerating and won't slow down,” Rupert says.

“Chris [Miller, Vantage Strata Business Development Manager] and I had been debating and the system's broken. The traditional structure isn't working. It's not getting the right outcomes for the building owners, the occupants or the tenants.

“It’s a really tough job being a strata manager; they've got to be an accountant and a procurement officer and pay invoices. It's morphed from where it was 15 years ago when you're doing three story walk-ups in Gungahlin to now massive complexes that have community titles, five buildings and 850 lots.

“One person cannot be the master of all. So it was born out of necessity.”

The new structure takes Vantage Strata from one very large business of 15,000 lots down to three small businesses or “pods” of 5,000 lots within the one business.

“Each pod has a pod leader and then a team of people in and around, supporting the strata managers.

“We’ve moved away from this reliance of the strata manager being Grand Central Station to making sure that when a task or an issue arises, it goes to the person that is best capable of dealing with that issue. Rather than the strata manager trying to be the jack of all trades, master of none.”

Vantage Strata launched in 2016 with “zero lots under management”. Today, the business manages just under 15,000 lots with Geocon’s Republic Precinct and Morris Property group’s Sentinel in Belconnen among the biggest clients on the books. Vantage has 83 staff, including an office in Kuala Lumpur.

“While we’ve got an excellent reputation and do manage a lot of very, very large developments, the philosophy that Chris and I have is that we need to lift the bar across the industry,” Rupert says.

“And that doesn't just mean the big end of town in terms of big developments.

“The five-packs, ten-packs, townhouses, and small complexes out in Googong for example are just as important. They need just as much good advice and demand just as much professionalism.”