Sydney NSW (20 November 2021) In a nod to the past, 22-year-old Jake Harrison of Raine & Horne Hurstville has just become one of the global brand’s youngest ever principals in its 138-year history, which started with another 22-year-old Tom Raine. 

Tom Raine, the great, great grandfather of current Executive Chairman Angus Raine, launched the leading real estate firm with mentor Joseph Horne in Sydney in 1883. Born in Bathurst, Tom Raine’s first client was the Wentworth family, among Sydney’s wealthiest. As owners of the Wentworth Estate, their extensive property holdings included the family home - Vaucluse House.

Mr Angus Raine, who coincidentally started his agency career as a 22-year-old, said, “Tom Raine’s business life began with his excellent connections, but he was able to transform this advantage into great success by his ability, energy and personal service.

“In 2021, and we are still attracting 20-somethings such as Jake to our Group because of our technology ecosystem that includes industry-firsts such as Amplify and Digikit and our commitment to quality customer service. 

“Real estate is a fantastic industry for twenty-somethings who are highly motivated, energetic, are customer service focussed and are early adopters. Indeed, nothing has changed since 1883.”

Proud of comparisons to a real estate legend

Mr Harrison said the parallels to Raine & Horne’s co-founder are humbling. “In 1883, Tom Raine would only have had a quill and some writing paper when listing and selling property,” said Mr Harrison. Before launching Raine & Horne Hurstville with business partner Chris Arvanis, Mr Harrison has notched up $150 million in industrial and residential real estate sales.

“Being the same age as Tom when he started Raine & Horne is very cool, and I’m very proud of myself. 

“It’s so cool to be a business owner, and this is not something that I imagined just two years ago. That said, as a 20-year-old, all I knew was that I didn’t want to reach the end of my career and not have anything to show for my work,” Mr Harrison said. 

Short-term goals – sales and rent roll

The immediate goal for Mr Harrison and Mr Arvanis is to grow Raine & Horne Hurstville’s rent roll rapidly. “We are well on the way to our rent roll target,” said Mr Harrison. “We also want to bring some more sales agents into the business too, and we want each agent selling 3-4 properties a month.”

Apart from energy and high motivation levels, Mr Harrison said that a grasp of technology is a crucial point of difference for younger real estate principals. “Chris and I work closely together and have embraced all the technology offerings provided by Raine & Horne, such as Amplify and Digikit.

“Chris leads the way on technology in our office while I’m focused on listing and selling real estate.” Mr Harrison recently listed a charming three-bedroom family home at 236 Bexley Rd, Earlwood, that will send under the hammer 4 of December, and that has a price guide of $1.55 million[i].

“We are starting to make a splash in the Hurstville sales market and surrounding suburbs while also building a rent roll simultaneously.”

As a sales agent, Mr Harrison believes his no-nonsense approach differentiates him from other agents in his sales patch. “Honesty sets me apart. If a property has a few flies on it, I’ll be upfront with the vendor, and I’m not afraid to tell it as it is, especially if it means the difference between getting a sale or not. 

“It’s about being realistic to get the job done for the vendor.”

Mr Arvanis, who is only 30 himself agrees that his business partner has all the hallmarks of a successful twenty-something business owner. “Jake has high levels of excitement and energy for the journey we only started three months ago.

“We both have plenty of fire in the belly and I’m just excited to be working with Jake. We’re both in the office early and we’re still up at night late working on the business. We’re always thinking about how we can do things differently and who can we call for a listing or property management.

“For me, it’s just perfect that Jake is the same age as Tom Raine when he launched our Group. We’re getting a lot of leads and appraisals. It’s all happening, and we’re excited for 2022.”

For all your sales and property management needs in Hurstville, and surrounding suburbs, contact Raine & Horne Hurstville on 02 9553 8053.

[i] https://www.raineandhorne.com.au/hurstville/properties/236-bexley-road-earlwood-2206-new-south-wales