Meet the woman behind Maria Selleck Properties with 65 sale records under her stylish belt

Having achieved more than 65 suburb and region record sales, it’s no surprise that the name Maria Selleck is synonymous with property in Canberra. Since opening her own agency in 2009, there’s more to this little lady than meets the eye, having earned a reputation for her undeniable passion, forming strong and personable relationships with home buyers and sellers and an even bigger drive for delivering unbeatable results.

Let’s go back to the beginning, tell me about your childhood.

I was born in, and spent much of a very happy childhood, in Malta with my caring parents and five siblings. I was educated in both Malta and Australia. My father was in the Royal Navy, so as one would expect discipline was ever present, and my mother ran a small bakery. Like my father, she too enjoyed involvement in politics. We never had never a dull moment in our home!

What was your first job?

For a very short time, I worked as a legal personal assistant but, shortly after, I was employed as the chief clerk at the Australian High Commission where I worked for four successive high commissioners including Sir Hubert Opperman, and also where I met my wonderful husband, Gordon. We are now seasoned travellers, of course, as are our children.

Did you always want to work in the real estate industry?

It had never really crossed my mind until I had a bad experience when my husband and I were selling a property. I said to my husband that when he retired from the foreign service, I was going to go into real estate and show them how it can be done!

If you weren’t an agent, what would you be doing?

I had always harboured the idea of owning a restaurant in Canberra providing great service and a fantastic atmosphere; creating beautiful memories for diners. I would like to think that I have successfully transferred that criteria to real estate, which I am passionate about.

What is it about the industry that suits your personality?

It is very much a people and relationships industry and that is how I approach what I do on a daily basis. I love helping people and there is certainly much scope for that in this industry – which I prefer to think of as more of a profession and hobby than just a job.

What do you consider your greatest achievement, outside of property?

My greatest joy is definitely raising two very beautiful, loving and talented daughters.

Most memorable sale and why?

Really, all of my sales are memorable because I put my heart and soul into all of them. Perhaps I could change the question to one of my most memorable days in real estate when I achieved two significant record price sales in a single day using two different sale methods, auction and tender. This was in 2017. The first home in Amaroo sold under the hammer, beating the previous suburb record by $245,000 and the second home in Weston was sold by tender, beating the previous suburb record by $375,000.