GROUP UPDATE
While there continues to be uncertainty and volatility in many aspects of our lives , overall it has been a strong start to the year across the real estate markets in which we operate . For the first time in a few years however , there are differences between markets . Some are experiencing continued momentum , whilst the amount of property sold in some markets has declined from 2021 peaks .
In January and February we sold $ 11.4bln of real estate , $ 1.1bln more than the same period in 2021 . Interestingly , whilst the value of property sold was 10 per cent higher , the number of properties sold was 10 per cent lower , illustrating the increase in the median price of property sold . In New Zealand , we experienced less trading activity overall when compared to the same month last year , and that market is experiencing different dynamics to those in Australia .
Communicating changing markets to our customers is always so important . That is why we have focused for so many years on our Pulse platform , Ray White Now , and Competition Creators - ensuring our members can provide the best information to their customers . Engagement by our members with these tools is at record levels .
The same information , together with notable sales results , has enabled our media team and our economics team led by Nerida Conisbee , to achieve record levels of media presence . Our media share-of-voice for real estate groups is consistently over 40 per cent .
Of course , nothing happens unless we are speaking to more of our customers at the right time . This is why so much effort is being made in the roll-out of NutureCloud . This piece of technology gives
4 us the chance to be far more productive in our prospecting , and gives all our leaders a transparent and accountable platform on which to build a high-performance environment . This is just the beginning of what we hope to develop with NutureCloud .
Speaking of high-performance , we were very proud to announce the establishment of a new performance unit within our corporate team . Tim Snell and Bianca Denham lead a team of 18 , focused on growing network productivity . The team has already re-shaped many of our development programs and content-on-demand , and are building some great momentum .
As a group , our market share has continued to rise over the past quarter to 12.6 per cent . This is at record levels , and we remain determined to remain the group that attracts and retains the finest talent in our industry . As the industry continues to evolve and develop , our commitment to our members to remain at the forefront of investment and change is as strong as it has ever been throughout our 120 year history .
Finally , our thoughts and support are with our members and communities impacted by recent flooding in Queensland and New South Wales . To support those communities impacted by the floods , we have kick started our fundraising platform that was born out of the 2020 bushfires called Beyond the Bricks .
If you would like to join our fundraising , go to www . raywhite . com / beyondthebricks / to donate to GIVIT , The Salvation Army , St Vincent de Paul ’ s flood appeal , WWF ’ s emergency flood appeal supports the rescue and care of flood affected animals or the Red Cross . We could not be prouder of the work so many of our members have done for their communities .
Dan White Ray White Group Managing Director
MILESTONE MOMENTS
The journey of our grandfather , Ray White , had been an extraordinary one .
As a teenager , he was uprooted from his comfortable home in Hobart ; he had travelled to far western Queensland ’ s Thargomindah to support his uncle ’ s ailing business . When that failed , he hit the road with his family once again with no clear idea of their destination . Finally , the family settled together in a tiny town called Crows Nest , north of Toowoomba , and his father opened a drapery store . It illuminates a lot of Ray ’ s restlessness that in his very early 20s he decided to leave his father ’ s business and go into business for himself . He hired a disused railway siding shed to engage in any business activity that might be lucrative .
The surrounding areas were dominated by German farmers who had a penchant for raising pigs . Ray White ’ s pig auctions became one of his initial pillars of achievement . He clearly had an amazing ability to communicate and suddenly he was involved in the sale of all sorts of chattels , including machinery , insurance and , inevitably , real estate .
One can only imagine how few homes there were for sale in Crows Nest but Ray persevered . Finally he married a young lady of good breeding ( society ) from Toowoomba . Photos of Ray dressed in his wedding finery were in stark contrast to the way he presented himself for the rest of his life . Ray and Florence Wilcox ’ s wedding was a society event . And then it was back to Crows Nest and the creation of their new family . Now Ray was approaching 40 years of age .
The first World War had ended and Ray decided to move his business to Brisbane .
Not many companies can pinpoint exactly where they started but we can . Some people may not realise but we only found The Shed 20 years ago as we were approaching our centenary . We were not quite sure if it still existed and , if so , where ? The railway line to Crows Nest had been torn up years ago and the sheds removed .
It was strange visiting the old goods yards and seeing hardly anything left . We created a marketing campaign in local papers to see whether we could find The Shed . To our delight , a call came in from a local farmer .
I think I might have your shed . I can see , in a very faded format , your grandfather ’ s name on the feed barn we have located on the bottom of our property . It might actually be the shed you are looking for .
And indeed it was .
One of the greatest memories of that time was a recording of Alan White revisiting The Shed , that he had not seen since he was a six year old when he visited his father ’ s office . Alan visited The Shed before we decided to move it ( to the historical village ) and , in the recording , recalls seeing his father when The Shed was full of activity and life . By that time , the phones had been connected and he remembered the hustle and bustle of all those years before , when he was a young boy .