Leading SA real estate agent Kate Smith, Principal of Raine & Horne Semaphore was named Australia’s best at the 2018 Raine & Horne National Awards, held on the Gold Coast this week. 

Ms Smith scored gold in the competitive Top Salesperson (Principal) Number of Sales category beating home Sydney sales hotshots such as Ric Serrao, Co-Principal, Raine & Horne Double Bay and Raine & Horne Dee Why/Collaroy’s dynamic duo Peter Mosedale and Lachlan Yeates.

Also, Ms Smith scored a top 10 placing in the Top Salesperson (Principal) Dollar Value category.

“A top ten finish in Top Salesperson (Principal) Dollar Value, is particularly impressive allowing for the average sales price for a house in Semaphore is $458,817 in 2017/18, and Kate is competing against agents operating in the pricier eastern state markets such as Sydney and Melbourne,” said Angus Raine, Executive Chairman, Raine & Horne.

In Sydney’s Double Bay, the median house price is $4.2 million and $1.8 million in Collaroy on the city’s Northern Beaches.

Ms Smith, who is also a regular Real Estate Institute of SA award winner attributes her winning ways to hard work and client empathy.

“I have been hitting my sales targets for the past five years because I rarely settle. Once I achieve my numbers I look for ways to improve my service to clients to help me achieve the next goals,” explains Ms Smith.

“An innovation we introduced this year involves meeting new owners at the property for an official handover on the settlement date.

“Rather than pressing the vendors to come to our office to collect the keys to their new property, I place a red ribbon on the door and greet them. We then walk-through the property.

“Our red-ribbon greeting makes the experience more exclusive for the purchaser, giving them greater satisfaction in the process and paving the way for future business when they ultimately sell the property.”

Ms Smith also generates about 50% of her sales from repeat or referral business, which is a testimony to the level of services and the empathy she has for her clients.

Raine & Horne’s commitment to technology is also central to Ms Smith’s success.

“We are using Raine & Horne’s exclusive Amplify software that utilises social channels including Facebook, Instagram, Google Ad Network and LinkedIn to promote the properties of our vendors.

“Since launching Amplify in Semaphore in April, we’ve used it for 39 properties, with almost 50,000 viewing our website, with a click-through rate of 14%. The average click-through rate for the property industry is less than 1%.

“Moreover, people are looking at our property ads for an average of 2 minutes 21 seconds. The industry average is less than 30 seconds.

“The old methods for selling will still play a role in real estate, but with Amplify, we are embracing change.

“We need to continually accept change to stay relevant to real estate consumers today who increasingly use their phone and social media to make their buying decisions.”

Other South Australians who won recognition at the Raine & Horne National Awards include Paul Dean, Principal of Raine & Horne Victor Harbor, who placed fourth in the Top Salesperson (Principal) – Number of Sales. Sales ace, Nick Grosvenor from Raine & Horne Strathalbyn finished seventh in the Top Salesperson – Number of Sales.