Ray White drums up almost 10,000 new appraisals

Ray White livestreams its Real Estate of Origin event three times a year to create friendly rivalry and banter between the states and New Zealand.

Ray White Head of Recognition and Performance Bianca Denham said appraisals were the lifeblood of real estate.

“Real Estate of Origin is perennially relevant and it will set your business up for 2025. The opportunities that come out of this will ensure you are in a strong place to hit the ground running in the new year,” Ms Denham said.

“We’re so happy this time to see a huge number of offices participating with 370 registered offices (slightly lower than 368 last October) and more than 2,600 members participating today.

“We’ve seen agents generate a month worth of appraisals in just one day. It’s invaluable for your business.”

Ray White Queensland won the 17th REOO with 3,147 appraisals, followed by Ray White New Zealand who came in second with 2,836.

Ray White Manakau claimed bragging rights this year booking a whopping 817 appraisals, and Ray White Rockhampton finished in second place on 198 appraisals.

Ray White Manukau | Manurewa | Mangere Bridge | Mangere] took out the number one multi-office business with 1,062 appraisals.

Once again the top agent winner was the unstoppable Charlie Brothers (pictured above) from Ray White Manukau who booked 155 appraisals.

Bianca Denham (pictured) said Real Estate of Origin was meant to challenge us, and drive the group forward.

"One of the things we hear all the time about Real Estate of Origin is that it's really hard. And it is, it’s meant to push us out of our comfort zones," Ms Denham said.

"For some in our industry, Real Estate of Origin is just another day - hundreds of agents do this kind of work every day. But for many, it’s an extraordinary event that challenges us. We want you to show up and give it your best.

"We’ve got those who are here to win and others who want to generate a week or even a month's worth of appraisals today. But above all, it’s about energy, teamwork, and fun.

"Our goal is to have 60 per cent of the group participating, and the big question we keep hearing across the network is: why wouldn’t you take part? At the core of your role is connecting with customers, this is what Real Estate of Origin is all about.

"This is the 17th Real Estate of Origin, and as a group, we’ve booked 124,733 appraisals so far. In October 2024, we recorded our highest-ever number of appraisals at 11,500. Our goal is 16,000, so dig deep.

"If you can book three to five appraisals today, that’s a fantastic way to spend your day. If every agent can generate up to seven, it will be an outstanding result that will push businesses forward in the coming month.

"We’ve had a really strong start to the year in terms of listings and sales, and appraisals are the foundation of that success.

"Some customers might not be thinking about selling, but remember—an appraisal is a meeting with the property owner. It’s about helping them understand the value of their property while giving you the opportunity to build a relationship. It’s a high-impact touchpoint with a potential seller.

"And if you can get in the door, you have a four times greater chance of listing that property in the future."

Bianca gave Ray White Whitsunday principal Mark Beale a shout out for participating in every Real Estate of Origin to date.

Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee gave everyone an update about how the Australian and New Zealand housing markets were tracking.

“We had two sets of rate cuts last week, we had a big one in NZ which has been cutting for a while now. Australia saw their first cut in a very long time. It’s very good news for individuals and people’s budgets but also the property industry. We saw lots of stock coming online through spring which saw prices falling across Australia, but that’s now been reversed,” Ms Conisbee said.

“Interest rates play a critical role but what we have seen since the start of covid is an incredible price increase across the country. Fundamentally we do have a lot of structural drivers of pricing, particularly around supply and demand. It’s hard to supply the homes that we need which keeps prices high. There’s huge challenges to meet supply.

“We also saw a record number of people coming to Australia which increases demand, but we saw a lot of interstate migration to south east Queensland and Perth which is creating a lot of pressure in those cities.

“What we’re seeing in the market at the moment is there’s nothing to indicate prices will get cheaper any time soon. We will always see fluctuations on prices, but longer term it really seems that prices will continue to rise based on the data we’re seeing.

“At the moment the market is pricing in four more cuts this year. In New Zealand they’re looking at a 0.75 cut this year. There’s a lot of uncertainty on tariffs this year so we don't know what the outlook for 2025 will be more broadly.”

Ray White Head of Strategy (Real Estate) Mark McLeod, zoomed in from Manukau in South Auckland, where the office was a hive of activity, energised with 50 people on the phones.

“They are very strategic here in Manukau, they start with investors who own multiple properties. Manukau is one of the best businesses in the group with 40 auctions on tomorrow and yet they are still here punching out the calls. They live by their motto - We are one,” he said.

“Our momentum is building, and our success is firing. We are outlisting our opposition because we are out calling our opposition.”

Top agent Charlie Brothers of Ray White Manukau, who grew up in South Auckland has frequently topped the REOO leaderboard over many years.

“I was a truck driver delivering parcels and one day someone called me and said I would be a better real estate agent and in hindsight they were right. It was a big decision as I was a single dad with five kids, and my youngest was just two years old but it was the best decision I ever made,” Charlie said.

“Where we are going is very important and making all the calls today is the right thing to do to grow.”

Ray White Manukau sales manager Richie Lewis (pictured above) said they were hoping to defend their title after winning the top office internationally at REOO last year.

“We have close to 70 people here on the phones today across all our offices,” Mr Lewis said.

“NurtureCloud has been fantastic and given us a systemised program that we can all get around.

“We have a great culture here at Ray White Manukau. One of our values is ‘we are one’ which follows through to the results we get on the ground by working together.”

Ray White Next Step business owner Jeff Poulter (pictured above right with Yvonne Johnston) said REOO was an important day for their business.

“It leads directly into more listings and directly into more sales,” he said.

“Like a lot of people we were a bit apprehensive at first, but we have 40 out of our 66 sales people here, with more coming in and out throughout the day. It’s making such a big difference to our business as a whole.”

Ray White Next Step customer service manager Yvonne Johnston said all their offices were getting involved.

“We have five offices here taking part. We had a really good turn out and we’re proud of the team for getting in, having a go, and booking those appraisals. We want to beat 137 appraisals, which is our record.”

Ray White Metro principal Richard Withy (pictured above) said their team in Christchurch loved REOO.

“We have about 20 people in here making calls today, we set a target of 100 appraisals for today,” he said.

“Our team is doing our calls and prospecting consistently through NurtureCloud now which we’re proud of.

“Christchurch is basically a brand new city after the earthquakes, and we have a lot of internal migration as it’s slightly cheaper than other major centres.”

In Queensland, Ray White’s Tiera Butkus visited the Ray White Ipswich team where she spoke with agent Ben Ramsey who said the team were keen to get in front of some people who had slipped between the cracks.

“We want to keep Ipswich on the map and beat New South Wales. We have 17 people participating with a goal of 10 appraisals per person. I think they can do it,” Ben said.

Everyone’s favourite cartoon plumbers are here, Mario and Luigi! Ray White Wilston’s Mitch Peereboom and Christian Hamilton brought a Mario Karts theme to the office for Real Estate of Origin (pictured above). The pair are going on 10 months now as business owners of the leading Brisbane office and they were ready to make the most of the day.

"Days like this bring our team together, and we feed off each other’s enthusiasm. The collaboration is incredible, we cheer each other on, and that’s what it’s all about. We’re fortunate to have these opportunities,” Mr Hamilton said.

Everyone in the office received a custom-made go-kart, with their appraisals tracked along the Rainbow Road (pictured below).

“We all see the value in a day like this - the opportunity to connect with the larger group, be inspired by what other offices and individual agents are achieving, and feel part of something bigger than ourselves,” Mr Peereboom said.

“We can easily crack over 100 today. We’ve got ambitious, driven agents, and Christian and I see our role in the business as fostering a high-performance environment.”

Mr Hamilton’s top tip? Break up call sessions by taking a short break every 45 minutes to stretch your legs before hitting the phones again. “It helps you refocus and reenergise,” he said.

Ray White West End agent Ethan Petrie makes 80 calls a day so everyday is Real Estate of Origin for him. He’s one of the fastest growing agents in the network.

“How I avoid cherry picking is through the notes I leave. Sometimes you’re told people aren’t interested and the notes you leave aren’t always pleasant so just be cautious about what you leave there,” he said.

“You may just want to call hot leads but you have to start from the bottom and go to the top because if you don’t clear them, they will just keep popping back up until you do.”

Ray White Queensland property management network specialist Brittany Krebs visited the Ray White North Lakes property management team. She spoke with business development manager Mahalia Robinson and property investment manager Ebonie Kemp who were eager to take out the property management value calls leader award.

It was Ms Robinson’s first Real Estate of Origin but that didn’t stop her from making over 100 calls and booking 18 appraisals.

People are really excited to get onboard with rental health checks, it’s been great booking those appraisals when the property is vacant,” she said.

“We’ve booked in a lot of properties that weren’t in our sales team’s scope and talked to a lot of investors they haven’t spoken to before.”

Ray White NSW/ACT head of performance Alex Pattaro tuned into the group’s livestream from the Strathfield Golf Club where more than 60 Sydney agents gathered to make calls for Real Estate of Origin (pictured above).

"Our focus for NSW and ACT in 2025 is to consistently book 15,000 appraisals per month, which will drive market share," Mr Pattaro said.

"We’re aiming for 4,000 calls and five appraisals per week per agent. Our key focus is increasing call and appraisal volume across both states.

"The word ‘consistency’ gets thrown around a lot, but what does it really mean? For us, it’s about showing up and doing the same tasks day in and day out. If every agent commits to making 100 phone calls per week, we should be able to achieve five appraisals per week per agent. That kind of consistency will double our metrics across the entire network.

"We want everyone to aim for 20 to 25 calls a day - that’s the number. It’s absolutely doable, it takes about an hour, and the goal is to book appraisals from those calls each day.

"We’re seeing agents who put call blocks in their diary achieving great results. They’re getting the hard work done early in the day, and that discipline is making all the difference."

Mr Pattaro highlighted associate Jacob Emmerton from Ray White Goulburn who also joined the Sydney agents in the room and was aiming for at least 20 appraisals by the end of the day.

He also highlighted the Ray White Albury North team who have increased their average number of appraisals per head from 10 to 23 in the space of six weeks by increasing their calls.

Ray White Upper North Shore performance manager Tom Van rallied the leading business with a ‘fun in the summer’ theme. “REOO was born to make prospecting fun, and we have thrown a lot of energy at it to make it fun. We are aiming to make 100 appraisals, which will be a record for UNS,” he said.

In Melbourne, The Ray White Taylors Lakes team, headed by principal Peter Travlos, were battling it out to see who could book the most appraisals.

The hour clock of cash was their focus for this Real Estate of Origin, $1,000 dollars was up for grabs with 10 of the business’ sales agents competing against each other to win those yellow $50 notes.

It was their personal best ever for Real Estate of Origin with the team achieving 159 booked appraisals in just four hours. By the end of the day, they had smashed out 1,234 calls with 474 connections.

The top performer for the day was sales agent Amanda Micallef who booked an amazing 41 appraisals. Sales executive Keely Bryant came in second with 27 appraisals and fellow sales executive Jelena Talia ranked third after booking 15 appraisals. Salesperson Teresa Nguyen came in at fourth place by booking 10 appraisals.

Ray White Victoria Chief Auctioneer Jermey Tyrell was with Will Munro of Ray White Ballarat, who has just clocked up 13 years with the group.

“We are in the home of prospecting with the gold rush background in Ballarat and our business has expanded dramatically since we took over in 2022. Last April we doubled our business by merging with a local business. We have 1500 properties under management with 15 sales staff and have plenty of room to grow.”

In the greater Ballarat region the team conducted 130 auctions last year, 90 per cent of all the auctions in the region. “Our days on market and clearance rates are striking.”

Ray White SA|NT auctioneer and sales performance specialist came to the group live from the Morphett Vale race track with more than 150 South Australian agents representing 25 businesses in the background.

Mr Grover said in the room there were seven Chairman’s Elite agents and two Chairman’s Elite businesses in the room. There were principals, agents, and associates all having a crack.

It was the fourth consecutive event from the South Australian network. Since its inception, they had almost tripled their number of appraisals and were aiming for 1,200 from the combined South Australian and Northern Territory networks.

"Real Estate of Origin is a powerful tool for leaders to drive their teams," Mr Grover said.

"Success leaves clues, and the best business leaders lead by example - they're on the phones, making just as many calls as their team."

He also checked in with Ray White Gawler East agent Bailey Truscott (pictured above) who branched out on his own last year after learning from the best, Gawler East principal Ross Whiston.

“Our average sale price is around $550,000 to $650,000 range and we have a mix of older families and couples, and young couples. There’s also a lot of new developments in the area,” Mr Truscott said.

“My aim is to do 30 sales this financial year and I’m currently at 22 sales so far so I’m confident I should meet my goal.

“Real Estate of Origin is about creating a strong office culture. We’re also getting motivation from everyone around us.

“My weekly appraisal goal is to get around one or two a day. The next step is to double that so I need to make more calls to book more appraisals.”

Mr Grover was also with agent Ray White Port Adelaide agent Teagan Earl, who on her 25th birthday today was aiming for 25 appraisals.

“I am still loving auctions and buyers and sellers love them too. Prices are higher and days on market are as low as 16-17 days,” she said from the SA call-a-thon at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre with 170 people in the room all shooting for 600 appraisals.

He said the SA network was on track for a big day, with 25 different businesses in the call room. “We are taking it up to NSW but we’ll see what happens in that last hour.”

Ray White SA | NT CEO Matt Lindblom was with Andrew Harding and the entire team at Ray White Darwin (pictured above), where their market share was now more than 20 per cent.

“The market hasn't moved much in the last 10 years until now but with interstate buyers and low supply we are firing. We are expecting a few good years,” Andrew said.

The Ray White Rural network participated in Real Estate of Origin for the first time. Twelve members from the the Ray White Central West Group; Ray White Parkes | Forbes | Condobolin | West Wyalong office based in regional New South Wales joined in the calling action (pictured above).

Ray White Rural’s Sonya Grosso and Sophie Murphy hosted the day out at the Parkes office where there was a sporting theme and over $1,000 worth of prizes given away. In the end, they registered 118 connections and 89 appraisals, along with generating two listings and two managements.

Principal Tracie Roberston said initially her team didn't want to participate and couldn't understand why she was encouraging them to do so.

“Here we are three hours later, the energy is high and we have generated over 80 appraisals. What a fantastic day!" she said.

The standout performer was Louise Jacobsen from Ray White West Wyalong who had never worked on NurtureCloud before and usually averages three appraisals a week. Her goal yesterday was 30 appraisals, she topped this with 31 appraisals and a listing generated. Louise has now fully embraced the NurtureCloud system.

Ray White Western Australia’s Patrick Derrig spoke to Bianca from the Perth Convention Centre where they had more than 30 agents joining them.

“The big thing for Real Estate of Origin is that it’s a catch up day. All those calls that everyone was going to make tomorrow, well today is that tomorrow,” Mr Derrig said.

“We’re looking for 600 appraisals from Western Australia so it’s a bit of a lift.

“The best piece of dialogue is just asking the question - are you in a position to sell your property to buy the next one? You have to know how you can help someone.”

Ray White Western Australia’s Gayle Fitzmaurice dialled into the livestream from the Ray White Dalkeith | Claremont office with Chairman’s Elite agent Emma Milner.

“We always have the best of intentions to make calls but sometimes then you get too busy and you really don’t focus,” Ms Milner said.

“This is our chance to do that, it’s something we try and do regularly. We sit down and focus, do the calls and have some good quality conversations

“Not only do we make calls to sellers and buyers, we always do anniversary calls to maintain relationships, and offer appraisals and market updates so we’re at the forefront of people’s minds when they’re thinking of real estate.

“I don't know how we survived without NurtureCloud to help us do this, the more you put in, the more you get out.

“Our aim is always about five appraisals each. We’re going to do our best!”

Leading Ladies of Real Estate national spokesperson Nat Hortz said there were a few events coming up across the country as part of their Canapes and Conversations series. The keynote speaker is the inspirational Chelsea Pottenger from EQ Minds, with events in Brisbane (March 20), Sydney (March 28), Melbourne (April 4), plus Mackay (March 5).

Bianca Denham said while 25 per cent of the group’s sales agents were women, there were still a lot less women in leadership roles.

“We have seen a rise in the number of women joining our group, but we need more examples of women who are breaking the glass ceilings and stepping into their rightful place. You can't be what you can’t see and we definitely want to see more female auctioneers,” she said.