Meet a Zango Agent: Jess Smith from McGrath

Jess Smith, sales agent from McGrath, is proof that in real estate, age doesn’t matter.

Leaving behind a higher-paying job, Jess started out working as a junior trainee at a real estate agency back in 2011 when she was only 21 years old.

“I just loved it from day one,” says Jess.

She now leads her own team of three, with two colleagues who she recruited at a young age, and wants to encourage more young people into the industry

“I want them to know that they can flourish in the residential property market straight out of school,” says Jess.

“For a long time, real estate was something that you couldn’t be seen to be doing until you were 40 or 50, owned a house and had all the connections, and knew everybody.”

Jess’s team at McGrath includes client service manager Jessica Doolan, who she recruited at age 19, and Sam Taylor who started as a 17-year-old still completing year 12 at high school. Even as a young team, they’ve built up a reputation for outstanding service and results, and are respected for their knowledge beyond their years.

Having grown up on the south coast at Bateman’s Bay, Jess now calls Forde in Gungahlin home, and is a big advocate for the Gungahlin region.

“It's a really young, vibrant region and I think it's definitely come a long way. There’s the light rail now, and the schools are great. It’s really come into its own and it’s a beautiful little community,” says Jess.

“Even Canberra as a whole has come a long way. It's a beautiful city. It's easy to get around and the people are wonderful. And every weekend there's stuff on - I think it’s a very hard city to be bored in.”

Almost a decade into her real estate career and Jess says she still loves it just as much as she did back on day one.

“People ask me all the time, ‘How do you work the hours you do?’ I don’t feel like it’s work. We get to sit in people’s lounge rooms and talk to them about the biggest decisions in their life and help them through things, it is wonderful,” she says.