Parramatta real estate: Broderick Wright, Ashton Beukers, Sandra Aquilina top agents

From ex-NRL players to Canadian expats, these real estate agents are at the top of their game in the ‘juggernaut’ Parramatta property market turning over top dollar. See the full list.

They’re at the top of their game in the ‘juggernaut’ Parramatta property market and share tips for househunters keen to buy in the red-hot city. See the full list of the region’s top real estate agents.

Broderick Wright, Ray White Parramatta director

After hanging up his footy boots with the Parramatta Eels and Cronulla Sharks, Broderick Wright traded the rugby league pitch for selling property on the turf where he grew up.

Armed with a marketing degree, Wright returned home from a stint competing in France in 2012 and joined Ray White Parramatta, which his dad established as one of the agency’s first franchises in 1996.

Wright is at home on the property scene and last year was named the top 3 per cent of Ray White’s elite agents across the country.

He sold 80 properties worth $65 million over the last financial year. Since July 1 he has exchanged $25 million in property and will return to North Parramatta where he and his wife will raise their two youngsters.

“Every year brings highlights; family sales and helping young families move into the area,’’ he said.

“That’s probably one of the best parts of working in an area that I have grown up in, is that I genuinely believe in the area.

“I’m someone that knows the area inside and out and I really take a lot out of being able to sell the area wholeheartedly.’’

The 34-year-old has witnessed perceptions of Parramatta change since he was a youth.

“It’s definitely gentrifying,’’ he said.

Parramatta boy: Local knowledge has helped Broderick Wright keep on top of the market. Picture: Monique Harmer

“You’d go to a party and people would think Parramatta’s the other side of the world, but now it’s become the centre of Sydney and seeing it become the CBD that it is, and the price growth … you got to a party now and say you live in Parramatta and people go ‘wow that’s such a juggernaut of a suburb’’.

Working the North Parramatta market also gives Wright a mix of property.

“I can go from a $500,000 apartment in North Parramatta to a $3 million house in Oatlands. “That’s one of the reasons I love working in the market I work in.’’

He also loves the historic abodes in North Parramatta.

“I grew up in a 1930s Californian bungalow so I really enjoy that kind of architecture,’’ he said.

“I’m a big believer of recognising where Parramatta came from. It was a settlement town and because of that I’m lucky to enough to have sold many homes that were built pre 1800s.’’

He has optimistic news for potential buyers wanting to move to Parramatta.

“If the market was ever going to decline for whatever reason, we tend to find markets closer to a CBD will be somewhat protected because there’s job stability, growth, transport, things like that that keep those markets somewhat protected,’’ he said.

“If you go out to areas in the Hills or southwest Sydney, where they’re all homes built by the same builder and they’re all very similar in their traits, then those kind of markets are more susceptible to price decline as opposed to suburbs in Parramatta where they’re so varied, so different, they have character and they’re close to a CBD.’’

Ashton Beukers, Stone Real Estate sales executive

Just like his fellow North Parramatta agent and former athlete Broderick Wright, a competitive streak is in the DNA of Ashton Beukers who was a national flyboard competitor in his native Canada, finishing third in the Dubai Flyboard World Cup in 2017.

He used that hunger to succeed when he moved to Sydney to be with his Australian partner two years ago. The 27-year-old researched top real estate markets and, with five years agent experience from Toronto, he selected the “up and coming” Parramatta CBD to continue his real estate career.

After “an aggressive learning curve” in a foreign country, the young gun soon found his feet and was voted the 2021 North Parramatta Agent of the Year after amassing 50 sales over 12 months.

Ashton Beukers has found his feet quickly despite hailing from Canada.

“A lot of my main competitors are usually selling principals so not only have they been in the industry for a while but they own businesses in the industry and the other top guys, usually it will be a family business …,’’ he said.

Concentrating exclusively in North Parramatta works in Beukers’s favour, having about 80 per cent of his core business in the suburb but he has goals to work with a team at Stone and branch out to neighbouring areas.

“Part of what makes me good is that, unlike other agents, where they’re selling different types of property and different suburbs, I sell exclusively in North Parramatta and I’d like to call myself almost a specialist in that sense where I try to be on the market so much and have such a large market share, where I can control that market to a certain degree.

Essentially at the moment I control the largest market share in North Parramatta. I’d like to push that out and eventually move more into Northmead, which I do also sell already but definitely not on the same level. My next goal would be to build a team and push out into the Northmead area and service that as well.’’

And while a desire for home ownership is global, Sydney’s obsession with real estate surprises Beukers.

“I think taking it that next step in building and investment portfolios, even on an entry level, is something that I think is significantly stronger here than I’ve experienced anywhere else I’ve lived,’’ he said.

Sandra Aquilina, McGrath Parramatta

Oatlands is often dubbed the “Lebanese Vaucluse” of the Parramatta real estate scene and Sandra Aquilina has excelled at selling in the blue-ribbon suburb lined with palatial houses.

She has registered more than $750 million in sales over her 22-year career and is the No. 1 agent sale for Oatlands where she sold 19 York St for $5.05 million on June 15.

A month before that, 19 Wyoming Ave sold for $3.8 million and another impressive sale was 41 Albert St at North Parramatta, which fetched $2.1 million on June 19.

A simple, personable approach with her clients has spawned multiple word-of-mouth referrals and stellar results.

“My success comes from 22 years’ experience in the industry,’’ she said.

“A reputation and ongoing relationships with my clients who have entrusted me to successfully achieve their goals. An understanding of their individual needs.

“I strive for my clients best interest at all times to make it a stress free transaction with the best possible result.’’

Aquilina has worked at McGrath for 13 years after being the first agent to join McGrath Parramatta in 2008.

Chris Sahyoun, Belle Property Parramatta principal

After 18 years in real estate, Christopher Sahyoun is part of the furniture on Parramatta’s dynamic property scene but has also made his mark nationally.

Last year, he pipped hundreds of his counterparts across the country to earn second place for Belle’s second best performer for the number of sales and transactions.

He was also named the top auction lister across Belle Australia.

The 37-year-old former Parramatta Marist student sells a mix of properties in Parramatta, North Parramatta, Westmead and exclusive Oatlands.

“There’s always something happening in our region,’’ he said.

His highest-selling property was a luxury North Parramatta house at Bellevue St which sold for $3.8 million in August 2020.

Belle Property Parramatta principal Chris Sahyoun.

“Bellevue St seems to be that high-profile street in the area.’’

“Obviously we’ve seen a big shift in affordability around Sydney. North Parramatta, for example, we’ve had a couple of records for three-bedroom townhouses recently. Parramatta itself, we tend to do a lot more apartments in Parramatta.’’

He implores first homebuyers to do their research and not procrastinate.

“I see hesitation at times for first homebuyers, and I think sometimes that’s where they miss out,’’ he said.

“But I think if they’ve done enough research and looked at enough properties in the area, once you find the right one, don’t hesitate.’’

As he nears two decades in his profession, Sahyoun is happy to notch up the next 18 years.

“I think trust and transparency in the process is key for today’s agents,’’ he said.

“I think at the end of the day you have to be passionate about what you do.’’

David and Nicole Lao, Starr Partners Parramatta

David Lao has amassed 2000 clients over 13 years in real estate including a 101-year-old woman whose Guildford home of more than 60 years sold at auction in March.

“The family trusted myself and my wife Nicole with the process and we were able to achieve an outcome over $160,000 more than they expected,’’ he said.

“Seeing the vendors’ face and emotions throughout the family is something that is priceless.’’

The 2020 North Parramatta Agent of the Year’s other highlights include selling 120 properties with just one assistant in 2015.

He started working alongside his wife Nicole three years ago.

“In an industry that is male dominated having this duo dynamic means that we both work together to achieve the best possible outcome we can for our clients,’’ he said.

With a lot of experience, the Laos have plenty of tips to impart, particularly for first homebuyers.

“I think for a first homebuyer they do get caught up emotionally for their first purchase but I think it’s about finding as much information out as possible, especially strata,’’ Mr Lao said.

Other tips are:

● Research the location or apartment complex you’re looking to buy in — you can generally tell by the presentation of the building if there are more owners vs tenants. This will provide you an idea on how the upkeep will be in years to come.

● If it’s a strata complex ask the agent if they have any information about any upcoming special levies or maintenance the building is looking to undergo.

● It can be an emotional decision but go with you gut instinct. There has been many times where the first property that I have showed a particular buyer they have loved but didn’t act fast enough or wanted to view more and regretted this as they then compared everything to the first one they missed out on.

● Finding an apartment that does need renovations is always not a bad thing as you can add your own touches and also improve the value to help you leverage and buy another or refinance.

● Make sure you have a pre-approval in place as this can take 30 days or more at the moment.

Trudy Cartledge, Best Real Estate Wentworthville

Trudy Cartledge says longevity is her career highlight. She joined Best Real Estate 28 years ago when it was known as Starr Partners and formed by her dad and co-principal Rod, who is the property management department owner.

“We’ve been there a very, very long time,’’ she said.

“We’re the longest-trading real estate office in the Wentworthville area so I would say that’s our greatest achievement.

“Hard work, being ethical, caring about the customer, following through and doing what you say you’re going to do, listen to what people actually want and making sure their needs are actually met are probably the basis of things.’’

Best Real Estate, Wentworthville, principals Rod and Trudy Cartledge.

When the internet became widely used, Cartledge’s job changed dramatically, from ferrying around house hunters in her car to most research done online

“ … Now, with the power of the internet, as soon as that’s come in, that’s kind of been a gamechanger, which you sometimes don’t have the same opportunity to get to know the buyers as what you used to be able to do previously,’’ she said.

The community profile began to alter when the Sydney Murugan Hindu Temple was built at Mays Hill in the late 1990s and members from the subcontinent community flocked to live in Wentworthville.

Now the cultural group comprises 85 to 90 per cent of tenants and homeowners locally.

“The Indian and Sri Lankan community are very community-minded and want to live very close to people they know, family and friends so that has drastically changed the area,’’ she said.

“Thirty years ago we had every nationality you could imagine, large Australian numbers of residents where as we’ve seen a huge change in the amount of Indian and Sri Lankan residents in the area.’’

Her advice to first homebuyers is to wait for the market to cool off, save a deposit and get into it.

“A lot of people could have done something five years ago and could have bought in a quieter market and now they’re even struggling to even get into the market,’’ she said.

“The key thing would be just to get in, do something, get your deposit and even if it’s a suburb that you may not necessarily be wanting to be living in, at least get into the market. You can always upgrade if you’re in the market.’’

Amit Nayak – McGrath Estate Agents Parramatta

He’s a relative newcomer to real estate but former chef and concierge Amit Nayak has proven the cream quickly rises to the top after six years in the industry.

Flexing his personable skills acquired from his previous occupations has led the Westmead resident to make the top 100 list from 50,000 agents across Australia on Rate My Agent over the past two years.

In the past financial year he sold 131 properties worth $105 million and has been named Westmead’s top agent since 2016 and crowned Wentworthville’s No.1 in 2017 but says his job is more than transactions.

“I think it’s more helping people. People have a reason to make that move, either to sell or to buy — the unfortunate deaths, or marriages, having families growing, also job relocation ... and I think about what we do rather than simply looking into the transaction or looking at the dollar sign,’’ he said.

People person: Amit Nayak switched careers to become a real estate agent.

People do this for a reason which I believe it’s obviously one of the biggest decisions that people would make.

As well as working at ANZ Stadium for major events, Nayak worked as a part-time concierge at a Chatswood apartment complex, where one of the agents he met offered him a job in real estate.

“It’s life changing,’’ he said.

It’s not a job, it’s simply a lifestyle, to meet more people. It’s very exciting, hearing new stories, meeting new people. I get to meet more and more people every single day and speak to more people than anybody else.’’

MORE NEWS

David Elliott hits back at Cumberland Mayor Steve Christou

St George Hospital doctor Harsh Priyadarshi banned from practising for 2 years