Michael and Julie-Anne Vella take on Harcourts branding in Bundaberg

A Bundaberg real estate duo who started small have now taken on the branding of a well-known real estate company. They share their insights into the current housing market and why the Wide Bay’s still on top.

They started off as the leaders of Andy’s real estate with five people in a tiny office space.

Now, Michael and Julie-Anne Vella have joined with property giant Harcourts.

Speaking to the NewsMail about the merger, Mr Vella also weighed in on the current property market across the region.

The former business manager said he believed media reports of a slowing housing market were not taking the bigger picture into account.

“The media’s using the 80/20 rule,” he said.

“We’re the 20, not the 80”.

The 80/20 rule Mr Vella referred to asserts that 80 per cent of outcomes result from 20 per cent of all causes.

He said issues such as slowing house sales in bigger southern cities such as Sydney and Melbourne plus flooding events interstate had led to a false perception of slowing property prices everywhere.

Mr Vella pointed to the median increase in property prices, which he derived from a range of properties, from cheaper blocks of rural land to coveted coastal properties.

The median property price for the greater Bundaberg region sat at $255,000 just a few years ago, Mr Vella said, while today, it was at $360,000.

The agents say they are closing 30 to 40 sales a month, while three years ago they closed roughly 110 a year.

The past 12 months has seen them triple the old figures with 322 sales closed.

“It’s not just that we’re closing more sales,” Mr Vella said.

“The dollar value is higher.”

Bundaberg region properties are still fetching a pretty penny, according to local real estate agent Michael Vella.

The merger with one of Australia’s most well-known real estate brands just felt right for the duo amid a thriving market.

“We’ve been an independent agent until now,” Mr Vella said.

“(But) it’s nice to have the backing of a brand.

“We were looking for the backing of quality systems, a larger digital footprint to expose our clients to a larger marketing platform, while creating better training and careers paths for the people we work with.

“We truly have the best people, we wouldn’t swap them for anything else.”

Mr Vella hasn’t always worked in real estate, but took it on when he and his wife decided it was time to do something for themselves.

It started with just drawer full of listings, no rent roll and the competition presented by established real estate agents.

“Our rent roll is maturing quickly and growing well with years of 40 to 50 per cent growth in the past few years we are also now attracting the best people and have developed a culture of ‘we can always do better’,” the Vellas said.

“Our area is a large, diverse region. We have beautiful beaches, rich horticultural land with diverse farming, grazing, lifestyle and polar opposite residential markets.”

Despite recent success the couple says they’ll still keep it humble with a cap on rentals in order to ensure they can provide old-fashioned, personalised service to tenants.

“Most of us are connected with the land,” he said.

“It puts us in a great spot.”

Harcourts Queensland CEO Mitch Peereboom recently officiated the opening of the new office in Bundaberg and welcomed the Vellas.

“Michael and Julie-Anne have built a formidable two office operation and their business aligns perfectly with the Harcourts Group and shares our same values,” he said in a release.

“Market-leading businesses need more than just a brand from their franchisor ‒ we see our relationship as a partnership, to work together and enhance the operation to better service more customers.”

The Vellas will be involved in both Harcourts Unite in Bundaberg and Bargara and Nutrien Harcourts in Childers and Woodgate.