‘A pocket full of 20 cent coins’: Philip Kouvelis on being a Canberra agent in the 70s

Philip Kouvelis can credit his career in real estate not to a specific person, but to a specific outfit.

A 19-year-old Philip was “in awe” when, while researching career options in 1973, he met a very senior Canberra real estate agent (the boss of his sister’s friend).

“He had on riding boots and stovepipe pants. And he had full, brushed-back hair and wore a skivvy.

“Man, he looked sharp.

“I was like, ‘wow, I want to look like that’.”

Those stovepipe pants literally changed Philip’s life. He celebrates 49 years in real estate in Canberra this year, including 40 years running his own successful agency, Philip Kouvelis Real Estate.

Most of Tuggeranong and Gungahlin didn’t exist when a young Philip started out as a cadet property manager in 1973, earning $36 a week. Brand new homes in Weston Creek were averaging around $17,000 at the time.

By 1974, Philip was able to sell homes and remembers his very first deal: 27 Cosgrove Street, Curtin, which he sold for $24,000. 

“I got five per cent commission of the overall commission and I thought I was rich,” he laughs.

There were no such things as open homes in the early to mid-1970s. Philip recalls showing houses by appointment only, mostly before and after playing a game of first grade rugby for the Canberra Royals on a Saturday afternoon. He worked with a “pocket full of 20 cent coins”, often calling vendors and potential buyers from phone boxes while he was out and about. (There were no mobile phones in those days).

The other big difference in the 1970s (and 80s and 90s) was the Canberra Multi-List, a computerised system that housed the listings of every agent who had opted-in to the List. Agents could, in effect, sell any property listed, and split the commission with the original lister.

“The agents had a good bond with each other - we were a big team and we shared information,” Philip says.

“And then it all fell apart in about 1996, when some of the agents then felt listings were hard to get, which meant, ‘I want to keep it to myself’.”

Cooma-born Philip credits a strong network in Canberra to his success over almost 50 years. He moved to the ACT from Cooma with his family at the age of eight, in 1961, and attended Forrest Primary School and Telopea Park High School.

He had the Greek community on his side when he started in the property industry in the early 70s, some of whom made an excellent profit before the turn of the decade.

“In such a quick period of time from 1973 to 1979, the house prices went from $17,000 to $50,000,” Philip says.

“And people were doubling their money, making a fortune.

“I remember in the late 1970s selling a home in Kambah for $43,000, the same week I sold a house in Griffith for $43,000. 

“Today, the house in Griffith would be worth around $2m, while the house in Kambah would be around the $800,000 mark.”

Philip launched his own real estate agency with colleague Tony Stefanou in 1979, above the fruit shop in Bunda Street. He remembers rushing from Civic to The Canberra Times office at Fyshwick to meet the Saturday paper deadline: “The one and only way to advertise a property back then was in The Canberra Times, aside from a For Sale sign”.

It’s hard for Philip to pick his most memorable sale, but achieving a whole-of-Canberra record on the home at 18 Mugga Way in 2001 is at the top of the list.

The house sold for $2.26m: the highest price ever achieved in Canberra by auction at the time.

“I wasn’t the agent on the home, I was the auctioneer, but it stands out as a proud and wonderful day.”

There are some unhappy memories too. Like when the bushfires swept through south-west Canberra in 2003.

“I had sold quite a few of the homes that were lost - it was devastating,” Philip says.

“And I had to make phone calls to some of the owners whose properties we managed to let them know their house had been completely destroyed. Many were overseas and just couldn't believe it.”

Philip sold Philip Kouvelis Real Estate to Maloney’s in 2019 - after 40 years on his own - and is now happy focusing all his efforts on sales. He has no plans to retire anytime soon, and feels privileged that many clients over the years have become good friends.

“I always wanted people to think of me the way they would think of their doctor, lawyer or dentist - I’ve always worked to build clients for life,” Philip says.

“And I've been able to do that, which to me is my success as an agent and as a person,

“They give their home to me to sell because not only am I a good agent, but I’ve also become a friend.”