20 September 2018

All the winners from the REIACT awards night

| Ian Bushnell
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Peter Blackshaw Manuka’s Jenna Dunley, Alec Brown and Mario Sanfrancesco accept their award. Photo: Supplied.

Peter Blackshaw scooped seven awards at the Real Estate Institute of the ACT (REIACT) Awards for Excellence announced at the weekend.

Peter Blackshaw Manuka was named Auctioneer Franchise of the Year, with Alec Brown taking out the Auctioneer of the Year and People’s Choice Auctioneer of the Year awards, and Jenna Dunley winning Novice Auctioneer of the Year.

The Peter Blackshaw franchise won the Marketing & Communications and Community Service awards. Franchise Operations Manager, Narelle Casey, says the brand is proud to have won the Community Service Award which is presented to agencies who make a positive impact in the Canberra community.

“The community is part of our DNA. We have grown up with Canberra and are all committed to give back to this amazing city and its people. A core value of Peter Blackshaw is community, to truly make a difference to the lives of those who need it,” she said.

The Manuka agency’s Mario Sanfrancesco was also named Residential Salesperson of the Year.

Alec Brown said Peter Blackshaw Manuka was very proud of its collective achievement at the awards night.

“It’s just a reflection of continued effort, making sure that we’re maintaining a professional standard and it’s nice to be recognised for the energy and effort that we put into things,” Mr Brown said.

Winning all four auction awards reflected the firm’s strong pedigree in this area.

“We certainly have a very proud heritage having been the first residential real estate company in Canberra to introduce auctions to the Canberra marketplace – a proud tradition that we gratefully carry on,” he said.

“We have some very keen up and comers who already are more than competitive at industry standard and I think ultimately that really does benefit the consumer.”

Mr Brown said the standard of finalists this year was one of the highest the firm had encountered and the field was quite deep. If some categories lacked numbers, they did not lack for talent.

“I think we’ve all walked away counting our lucky stars considering some of the people we were up against. It adds to the sweetness of the deal in getting the nomination, and then finally to be recognised at that level is always a humbling experience,” he said.

The Independent group also had a good night out with Independent Property Management’s Zoe Wheelhouse winning the Achievement Award, while Renee Bink took out Residential Property Manager of the Year.

Independent Property Group Inner North & City was named Large Residential Agency of the Year and Residential Sales Team of the Year, and Jonathan Warren won Property Marketer of the Year, while the Innovation Award went to Independent Property Group Tuggeranong.

Principal of Independent Property Group Inner North & City Grahame O’Brien said that winning the Large Residential Agency of the Year Award showed the team members were industry leaders and helped to raise our credibility as true professionals.

“Our industry is extremely competitive, and we are always looking for ways to stand out from the crowd,” he said.

“This award is a big motivator internally, as well. Winning awards is a team effort, and the recognition makes our staff proud to be a part of our office. We’ll definitely be displaying our trophy as a continuous reminder of why we are here and what we are striving to achieve.”

REIACT President, Michael Kumm said the 27 award categories and 380-strong roll-up to the ceremony at the QT Hotel on Saturday night showed how vibrant and successful the ACT real estate sector was, with the region’s property market continuing to grow despite the decline in other capital cities.

“Our annual Awards for Excellence are a chance to reflect on the contribution the real estate sector makes to the ACT and the professionalism and dedication of all the businesses and individuals
working in this field,” he said.

“The Institute believes the continued success and growth of the Awards for Excellence is evidence of the professionalism in which ACT industry representatives conduct their daily business.”

Mr Kumm said the Institute introduced three new categories for this year’s Awards which were all well supported, as well as a new judging platform.

“I would like to commend all the finalists. As in past years, it was an exceptionally strong and tight field and, with a new judging platform introduced this year allowing judges to give a greater range of marks, many of the categories were separated by the smallest of margins,” he said.

“We were also pleased to note the increased support shown for “team” award categories which is clearly a sign of recognition by industry leaders of the importance of this growing culture within real estate to achieve excellence in customer experience for the vendors and purchasers.”

The full list of winners:

Achievement Award

Zoe Wheelhouse – Independent Property Management

Allhomes People’s Choice Auctioneer of the Year

Alec Brown – Peter Blackshaw Manuka

Auctioneer Franchise of the Year

Peter Blackshaw Manuka

Auctioneer of the Year

Alec Brown – Peter Blackshaw Manuka

Business Development Manager of the Year

Heidi Russell – Little Bird Properties

Commercial Agency of the Year

Colliers International (ACT) Pty Limited

Commercial Property Manager of the Year

Rupert Cullen – Colliers International (ACT) Pty Limited

Commercial Salesperson of the Year

Chris Antos – Laing & Simmons Commercial Property (ACT) Pty Ltd

Community Housing Sector Property Manager of the Year

Raija Purse – Argyle Housing

Community Service Award

Peter Blackshaw Real Estate

Conveyancer of the Year

Sandra Forrest – Velocity Conveyancing

Corporate Support Person of the Year

Caroline Phengrasmy – Independent Property Management

Innovation Award

Independent Property Group Tuggeranong

Large Residential Agency of the Year

Independent Property Group Inner North & City

Marketing and Communications Award

Peter Blackshaw Real Estate

Medium Residential Agency of the Year

McGrath Dickson

Novice Auctioneer of the Year

Jenna Dunley – Peter Blackshaw Manuka

Property Marketer of the Year

Jonathan Warren – Independent Property Group Inner North & City

Public Housing Sector Property Manager of the Year

Steve Ujdur – ACT Housing and Community Services

Residential Property Management Team of the Year

McIntyre Property

Residential Property Manager of the Year

Renee Bink – Independent Property Management

Residential Sales Team of the Year

Our Team – Independent Property Group Inner North & City

Residential Salesperson of the Year

Mario Sanfrancesco – Peter Blackshaw Manuka

Rookie of the Year

Kiah Lingwood – Knight Frank

Service Provider of the Year

ACT Property Inspections

Small Residential Agency of the Year

En Vogue Property Management

Solicitor of the Year

Darren Carden – Eastwoods Legal

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