Mountains held high at Canberra's home.by holly

The picturesque mountains that frame Canberra make the garden city unique, and they have inspired a new way of thinking for one real estate agency.

Most property consultants service their own territory or local ‘patch’, but home.by holly is taking a different approach, defining each agent’s specialist area by the city’s five iconic mountains.

HBH principal Holly Komorowski specialises in the Mount Ainslie Region, taking in the suburbs of Ainslie, Campbell, Braddon and Reid that are overlooked by the magnificent mountain.

Other HBH agents are closely connected to their areas around the Black Mountain Region, Mount Taylor Region, Mount Majura Region and the Mount Painter Region.

Ms Komorowski says 2020 was a “year of change” for everybody, including her agency.

“Changes in the way we worked during 2020 triggered this exciting new concept,” she said.

“We like to do things differently, and this seemed like an absolutely beautiful way to define our areas.”

She says the mountains are very important to Canberra’s lifestyle, and it “made complete sense” to look to them for inspiration.

“Canberrans love our wide-open spaces, and we love our mountains that stand watch over us all,” Ms Komorowski said.

“Here at HBH, we all live and work in different areas and it is fitting for us to specialise in those areas.

“Each of the mountains is celebrated by its surrounding community and is a real focus of our outdoor lifestyle.

“Whether it’s taking in the distant views, climbing to the summit with the kids or cycling or running along the tracks for fitness, the mountains are an anchor point for our communities.”

“Our suburbs are surrounded by bush, open spaces and parklands, and this is really unique to our city.”

Holly says Canberra has always been a “city of design” since Walter Burley Griffin designed Australia’s capital nestled into the hills and valleys that surround it.

Griffin’s design for the city included a chain of lakes along the Molonglo Valley and a triangular framework for a central national area laid out along major vistas from Mount Ainslie and Black Mountain.

Lower hills in the valley were reserved for other government and national institutions, a university, military college and government buildings.

A platinum sponsor of the Design Canberra Festival, Holly says the city continues to be recognised for its creativity and design from the ground up.

“Burley Griffin’s design for Canberra was based around the mountains and the lakes, so we thought it would be fitting to use our spectacular mountains to define our regions as well,” Holly said.

“There are so many amazing, creative people in Canberra and it is really a city of design.

“The team at Home.by holly is creative and we do things differently, from photography to the way we market properties, and this is a way for us to reflect that,” she added.

The sales consultants at HBH specialise in the regions they live in, raise their family in, or have grown up in, so they have an intimate knowledge of the suburbs surrounding each mountain.

Agents and long-time friends Ash Costello and Sally Strang have teamed up to create a specialised real estate service for the Black Mountain precinct.

Bianca Way looks after the Mount Taylor Region, while husband and wife duo Jenny and Michael McReynolds specialise in the Mount Majura Region.

The suburbs surrounding Mount Painter are overseen by Cris O’Brien, who has lived in Canberra her whole life.

Contact the home.by holly team or find out more about HBH’s new mountain regions here.