Straight shooter: Jane Schumann on Elton John, stroking egos, and being a real estate superstar

Not many real estate agents have sipped cocktails in Manhattan with Billy Idol and KISS but, then again, there are not many agents like Jane Schumann.

The Di Jones superstar agent has spent almost 30 years in real estate. Before this she enjoyed a life of rock ‘n’ roll as the national publicity manager for PolyGram Records.

Schumann doesn’t wear ugg boots in front of the TV, and is married with two sons.

What’s that perfume? It’s lovely.

Opium. It’s my signature perfume. You smell me before you see me.

What was it like at PolyGram?

It was great fun. I worked there from the end of the ’70s, dealing with everyone from KISS to Elton John and Billy Idol. My favourites were Dire Straits, they were really nice guys, especially Mark Knopfler. Elton John used to love going to dinner at Tetsuya’s. We’d all go along. However, I got sick of going on harbour cruises, because I went on so many of them with Elton and his mother and father.

As a publicity manager, Schumann ‘got sick of going on harbour cruises’ with Elton John. Photo: Adam McLean

Did your years at PolyGram help you with real estate?

It was a fun time but you had to stroke a lot of egos, so it prepared me well for real estate. Sure, we’re dealing with big properties and big personal investments, but we’re not saving lives. Some agents do take themselves very seriously.

How did you get into real estate?

My husband told me he was tired of being dragged around every Saturday to look at properties. People were reluctant to give me a go at the beginning, because I was older than most interns.

What was your first sale?

It was an apartment in Elizabeth Bay. The vendor was a smoker, so all the walls were yellowed and the paint was peeling in big sheets. I sold it to an archaeologist, telling him to think of it as just another dig.

Schumann sold the Macleay Regis penthouse last year for close to $9 million. 
Photo: Supplied

Any memorable sales?

Yes, the penthouse in Macleay Regis, Potts Point, last year. I sold it to Gretel Packer for just under $9 million, after we had 450 groups through. It was such a significant property with a lot of history and was owned by the Coppleson family. The late professor Malcolm Coppleson was a gynaecologist who delivered most of the kids in the eastern suburbs.

If you weren’t in real estate, what would you do?

If I could sing, I’d be a singer. I am a bit of a rock star, in my own way. I’m cool enough for an old girl.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

I’m quite manic most of the time, so my guilty pleasure is to sloth on Sundays. I try not to do anything at all, and then I binge on Netflix.

Do you wear ugg boots in front of the TV?

No. And I don’t own a pair of thongs.

“I’m quite straightforward,” Schumann says. Photo: Jessica Hromas

Hardest thing you’ve ever done?

Burying my parents. I still miss them, but they never really leave you. Mummy was pretty extraordinary. She really encouraged me to be bigger and better than I thought I could be.

What do you consider your greatest achievement outside of property?

I’ve been married for nearly 38 years, and worked in real estate for almost 30 years. My greatest achievement is actually surviving this long. Going through the ups and downs, and still hopefully being a courageous and honourable person at the end of it. I’d like to be thought of as being resilient.

Your defining characteristic?

I’m quite straightforward.