A real estate firm with a hefty 55% share of its local sales market has thoroughly dominated the 2020 Raine & Horne Awards for Excellence held at the iconic Sanctuary Adelaide Zoo on Saturday 15 February 2020. 

Raine & Horne Strathalbyn headed by long-time business partners Sally Ness and Gary Dawe was named Top Office Dollar Value and Top Office Number of Sales in South Australia. The Strathalbyn office edged out Raine & Horne Salisbury in both office categories. 

Also, the Strathalbyn office’s leading salesperson, Nick Grosvenor was crowned Top Salesperson Dollar Value and Top Salesperson Number of Sales. The Strathalbyn office also confirmed its status by taking out the Outstanding Office Marketing award for 2019. 

“These awards are richly deserved as Sally and Gary reinvested heavily in the business in 2019 by adopting the latest technology, including Amplify and Digikit,” said Angus Raine, Executive Chairman of Raine & Horne, who hosted the awards event.

The Strathalbyn real estate powerhouse scored several other gongs last night with proven sales performer, Brendan Saunders elevated into the Raine & Horne Chairman’s Club along with Nick Grosvenor. Mr Saunders finished in the top five in the Top Salesperson Dollar Value and Top Salesperson Number of Sales categories.

James Trimble, General Manager, Raine & Horne said the Strathalbyn firm’s success is attributable to the formidable duo of Ms Ness and Mr Dawe, who are Co-Principals of Raine & Horne Meadows. 

“Gary and Sally instil great values in their team exemplified by their domination of the office sales categories as well as the fact that two of their agents are among the five leading agents in South Australia,” Mr Trimble said.  

Beyond her exceptional property know-how and innovative thinking, Sally brings her fresh, ‘treat-your-clients-like-royalty’ approach to real estate, Mr Trimble explains.  

“Sally’s energy, effervescent personality, and her excellent communication skills have seen her rise as a major player in the region’s real estate industry,” Mr Trimble said.

“As a team, Sally and Gary value the importance of delivering top class service to their vendors, buyers, investors and tenants within their local community.” For his local community efforts, Mr Dawe was recognised by the Superbrand with the 2019 Local Community Excellence award. 

“A founding member of the Meadows Sporting Recreation & Social Club, Gary is very involved in the development of juniors playing sport in his community,” Mr Trimble commented. 

“Apart from his recognition for his community work by our network, Gary was named ‘Citizen of the Year’ in the 2010 Australia Day Awards for the Mount Barker District Council.” Mr Dawe also received a ‘National Volunteer Award’ for a long-term commitment to community service in the Federal electorate of Mayo in 2013. 

“The team at Strathalbyn have built a magnificent local presence demonstrated by a monstrous market share of 55%, which is the envy of some of our network’s big eastern state offices.”

Mr Trimble also assigns the success of Mr Dawe and Ms Ness to their eager embrace the latest technology. “We have rolled out many initiatives over the last 18 months, including Amplify and Digikit, which Sally and Gary have adopted immediately. They are a dream to work with, and the duo are big supporters of the Raine & Horne brand.”

On the property management front, Raine & Horne Gawler led by Gwen Levesque proved the outstanding office in 2019. The Gawler office was named Outstanding Property Management Office with Ms Levesque winning Best Business Development Manager. Raine & Horne Gawler also won an award for Product Engagement – Amplify. 

Rebecca Thrussell from Gawler was named Best New Talent - Property Manager/Salesperson. Kim Shepherdson from Raine & Horne Kurralta Park broke Gawler’s grip on the Property Management categories by winning the Outstanding Property Manager award for 2019. 

The 2020 Raine & Horne SA Awards for Excellence winners include:

• Top Office $ Value - Raine & Horne Strathalbyn
• Top Office Number of Sales - Raine & Horne Strathalbyn
• Top Salesperson Dollar Value – Nick Grosvenor, Raine & Horne Strathalbyn
• Top Salesperson Number of Sales – Nick Grosvenor Raine & Horne Strathalbyn
• Outstanding Office Marketing - Raine & Horne Strathalbyn
• Outstanding Property Management Office – Raine & Horne Gawler
• Outstanding Property Manager – Kim Shepherdson, Raine & Horne Kurralta Park