It was a night of glitz and glamour on Saturday as Canberra’s real estate industry came together at the 2021 Real Estate Institute of the ACT’s Awards for Excellence.
Twenty seven awards were handed out on the night, recognising agents, agencies and property managers from across residential and commercial sales.
“I would like to congratulate all our winners and also commend all the finalists,” said REIACT president Hannah Gill. “This year’s submissions were interrupted by the lockdown, and to have so many finalists is a testament to their standard of professionalism and how important these awards are to our nominees.
“This is the 27th year of the Institute’s Awards for Excellence and 19 of tonight’s winners are now eligible to represent the ACT at the REIA National Awards for Excellence to be held in Melbourne on April 7, 2022.”
Local franchise Independent Property Group took home the most awards, winning five gongs including Large Residential Agency of the Year and Residential Sales Team of the Year for Team Mark Wolens, Nicholas Jacob, Jock Bush and Holly Smith.
Jason Roses of Verv Property took home the Residential Salesperson of the Year award, and Guy Randell of Burgess Rawson Canberra and Alec Brown of Ray White Canberra won Commercial Salesperson of the Year and Auctioneer of the Year, respectively, for the third year in a row — just to name a few.
The presentation of the President’s Award was awarded to Matthew Herbert, of LJ Hooker Gungahlin, for his four-decade contribution to Canberra real estate.
Other highlights of the night were the induction into the REIACT Hall of Fame for Our Team (Mark, Aaron and Tania) of Independent Inner North and City for Residential Sales Team of the Year 2018, 2019 and 2020.
“To all of you, congratulations on an incredible year. Despite the stop-start nature of life in the capital amid the pandemic this year, we have really seen Canberra’s property market hit new record highs,” Allhomes general manager Danielle Harmer said in her sponsor address on the night.
“Whether it was hosting an online auction or a virtual inspection or having to sell a property that wasn’t styled, you all took it in your stride and executed it with such grace.
“Take tonight to reflect on the year that was and reflect on how resilient you and your teams are. Your contribution to helping inspire the property market and persistence through tough times hasn’t gone unnoticed.”
Full list of award winners:
Award | Agency | Name |
Achievement Award | home.by holly | Bianca Way |
Auctioneer Franchise of the Year | Independent Property Group | Independent Property Group |
Auctioneer of the Year | Ray White Canberra | Alec Brown |
Business Development Manager of the Year | HomeGround Real Estate | Maria Edwards |
Buyers’ Agent of the Year | Capital Buyers Agency | Claire Corby |
Commercial Agency of the Year | Sentia Real Estate | Sentia Real Estate |
Commercial Property Manager of the Year | Burgess Rawson Canberra | Kadison News |
Commercial Salesperson of the Year | Burgess Rawson Canberra | Guy Randell |
Community Housing Sector Property Manager of the Year | HomeGround Real Estate | Sallyanne Kelly |
Community Service Award | Sentia Real Estate | Sentia Real Estate |
Conveyancer of the Year | Lexmerca Lawyers | Rebecca Pritzler |
Hall of Fame – Residential Sales Team of the Year 2018, 2019 & 2020 | Independent Inner North & City | Our Team – Mark, Aaron & Tania |
Innovation Award | Canberra Property Partners | Canberra Property Partners |
Large Residential Agency of the Year | Independent Property Group | Independent Property Group |
Leasing Consultant of the Year | Burgess Rawson Canberra | Steve Burke |
Marketing & Communications Award | The Property Collective | The Property Collective |
Novice Auctioneer of the Year | Independent Woden & Weston | James Scott |
Operational Leadership Person of the Year | Independent Property Group | Cassandra Cumberland |
Operational Support Person of the Year | Maria Selleck Properties | Juliana Rocha |
President’s Award | L J Hooker Gungahlin | Matthew Herbert |
Property Marketer of the Year | home.by holly | Sally Strang |
Residential Property Management Team of the Year | The Property Collective | The Property Collective |
Residential Property Manager of the Year | Independent Property Group | Emily Larsen |
Residential Sales Team of the Year | Independent Property Group | Team Mark Wolens, Nicholas Jacob, Jock Bush & Holly Smith |
Residential Salesperson of the Year | Verv Property | Jason Roses |
Rookie of the Year | Verv Property | Alysia Walsh |
Small Residential Agency of the Year | HomeGround Real Estate | HomeGround Real Estate |
Solicitor of the Year | McInnes Wilson Lawyers | Matthew Carmody |