Debbie Donnelley: Growing up rural, 'rock star' agents, and what keeps her coming back to property

Debbie Donnelley grew up on a chicken farm in what is today suburban Greystanes before becoming the head of the PE department at one of the eastern suburbs’ most exclusive schools.

Now a real estate agent for 29 years and partner in leading eastern-suburbs agency Phillips Pantzer Donnelley, she’s sold property for major celebrities and become a mentor to those starting out in the industry. She lives with her partner and two dogs and has two children.

What was your childhood like?

I grew up on a chicken farm my father and his brother bought in Greystanes, which developed into Australia’s largest hatchery. Living in a fibro house was freezing in winter and boiling in summer, but a great way of life.

It was very much rural; I was driving as a child on the farm. My mother used to look out the kitchen window and see my brother flying past in the ute and I’d be hot on his heels on the tractor. She would  be telling my father “Stop them, stop them” and he would just laugh as he was the one who taught us to drive.

And was real estate your first choice after school?

Before I finished my HSC I had been told I could start at the Australian College of Physical Education, so when the HSC rolled around I did zero study, it wasn’t my defining moment.

I did three years at teachers’ college, which were three of the best years of my life – I was playing sport all day and partying every night.

So why did you give up teaching?

I was head of the PE department  at Ascham for six years but I had become a bit bored. So I told the principal of the time, Rowena Danziger, that I needed a year off.

I heard about a new agency that was starting, Century 21, and after a week I loved it. I let Ms Danziger know that I wasn’t coming back. She said “That’s great” and “I’ll give you a property to sell”. That was my first sale and she was a constant source of referral.

What do you love about your work?

I really like meeting people and hearing about their life – I must be a busybody at heart. I think what is really interesting about real estate is there’s always such a back story to everyone selling a house. It’s one of the biggest decisions in a person’s life and there is always a big reason why they’ve made that decision.

I get quite involved with my clients and you can’t help but take on their emotions. However, saying that, you move in and out of a lot of lives very quickly.

After nearly 30 years in the industry, what remains a constant?

The industry is built on relationships and that hasn’t changed. My business is a referral business now – you sell for someone, they like you, they refer you.

And what has changed?

What’s different now is that, in the age of social media, some agents think they are rock stars, it’s all about the bigger the car, the flashier the watch, the Instagram accounts. It’s not really what I like.

How do you unwind?

Every morning I do a seven-kilometre walk around Lady Macquarie’s Chair with my dogs. I’m an early riser and taking the dogs for their walk is what gets me going for the day.

And your ideal weekend involves?

I’ve had a long association with Bundeena since 2003, when I bought a house on the beach there. It’s my heart and soul. There’s no pretension, my seven closest friends now have houses there and we have developed a real community.

I like to arrive after work on Saturday and leave on a Sunday night and spend holidays with the kids there, too. It really is 100 per cent my saviour.