For the 20^th year in a row, Raine & Horne Double Bay/Bondi Beach led by the impressive Ric Serrao and Martin Maskin has retained its mantle as the Superbrand’s best office in NSW.

However, the Eastern Suburbs juggernaut had some company this year with Raine & Horne’s offices in Bathurst and Lane Cove among the major winners at the glittering awards held recently at Sydney’s Star Casino in Darling Harbour.

The Double Bay firm was named Top Office for Dollar Value, and equal first for Top Office Number of Sales along with NSW Central West powerhouse Raine & Horne Bathurst.

Grant Maskill-Dowton and Michelle Mackay, Co-Directors of Raine & Horne Bathurst said their team was “over the moon” by finishing on par with the Double Bay sales juggernaut. Over the past five years, Raine & Horne Bathurst has lifted its market share to 33% up from 15% in 2015.

Mr Maskill-Dowton said, “It was a huge surprise, but we’ve had an amazing year and we have very small vacancy rate of 0.4%, which is catching the eye of investors.

“We are also very big on repeat sales and have vendors who have completed as many as 12 sales with me.”

Ms Mackay added, “We are both involved in selling and wouldn’t expect our sales reps to do anything we wouldn’t do.”

“We upped the ante on the level of vendor communication in 2019 and that has been crucial to our sales success.” Raine & Horne Bathurst was named the network’s Top Country Office in NSW, while Mr Maskill-Dowton finished among the top 10 in the Top Salesperson (Principal) - Number of Sales and Top Salesperson (Principal) - Number of Sales categories.

Also, on a personal level, Double Bay’s Mr Serrao continued to dominate the personal sales awards. The Eastern Suburbs sales ace was named Top Salesperson (Principal) Dollar Value and Top Salesperson (Principal) – Number of Sales. Peter Diamantidis, Sales Manager, Raine & Horne St Marys scored the quinella of Top Salesperson Dollar Value and Top Salesperson Number of Sales.

Other leading lights from Raine & Horne Double Bay/ Bondi Beach included Hannan Bouskila who scored a spot in Top Salesperson (Dollar Value) category, and in the Top Salesperson Number of Sales criteria.

The Double Bay-based office was also named Top Multiple Office (Dollar Value) and won an award for Product Engagement (Amplify).  Raine & Horne Double Bay/Bondi Beach won the Auction Shield – Metropolitan, in recognition of its commitment to the auction process. Regularly recognised as one of Australia’s best agents, the hardworking Mr Serrao was placed second in the Top Auction Lister category behind Stuart Bourne from Raine & Horne Lane Cove.

The Double Bay-based office was also named Top Multiple Office (Dollar Value) and won an award for Product Engagement (Amplify).  Raine & Horne Double Bay/Bondi Beach won the Auction Shield – Metropolitan, in recognition of its commitment to the auction process. Regularly recognised as one of Australia’s best agents, the hardworking Mr Serrao was placed second in the Top Auction Lister category behind Stuart Bourne from Raine & Horne Lane Cove.

Mr Bourne said it was exciting to win the Auction Lister category. “It’s a privilege to have won the award as Ric Serrao has dominated the category for the last 15 years winning it every year. We love bringing some fresh competition to the big guys,” he said.

“Our teamwork is a big part of our auction success and we work very hard educating buyers and vendors in our region about the benefits of selling a property.”

Improving market conditions also played a part in Mr Bourne’s auction success. “It’s well-documented that the market on the Lower North Shore has picked up.”

“For buyers, auctions are a fair and transparent way to buy a property. With an auction you can see who your competition is. Social proof is the best reality check available.”

He concluded, “For vendors, an auction puts a timeline on the sale and can generate the best sales results. An auction can be a win/win for buyers and sellers.”

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

Top Office (Dollar Value)

Raine & Horne Double Bay/Bondi Beach

Top Office (Number of Sales)

Raine & Horne Double Bay/Bondi Beach and Raine & Horne Bathurst

Top Salesperson (Number of Sales)

Peter Diamantidis, Raine & Horne St Marys

Top Salesperson (Dollar Value)

Peter Diamantidis, Raine & Horne St Marys

Top Salesperson – Principal (Dollar Value)

Ric Serrao, Raine & Horne Double Bay/Bondi Beach

Top Salesperson – Principal (Number of Sales)

Ric Serrao, Raine & Horne Double Bay/Bondi Beach

Top Auction Lister

Stuart Bourne, Raine & Horne Lane Cove

Top Country Office (Dollar Value)

Raine & Horne Bathurst

Top Rural Office (Broadacres) Dollar Value

Raine & Horne Southern Highlands

Top Coastal Office (Dollar Value)

Raine & Horne Batemans Bay

Product Engagement – Amplify

Raine & Horne Double Bay/Bondi Beach

Product Engagement – Digikit

Raine & Horne Neutral Bay

Graeme Skarratt Award

Paul Spanoudakis and Tony Lucas, Raine & Horne Maroubra