‘Challenger mindset’: New boss takes on Cairns real estate market
A Far North woman who started her real estate career at 16 has become the youngest female leader in her company Australia wide.
A Far North woman who started her real estate career at 16 has become the youngest female leader at Professionals Australia wide.
Emma Craig, 28, recently became the principal of Cairns’ Professionals Edge Hill.
“It wasn’t my intention to buy into a brand,” Ms Craig said.
“But when the opportunity came up to purchase a business aligned with the Professionals, I couldn’t pass it up.”
The Edge Hill agency is one of the Far North’s oldest, having been founded in 1988 by Billy Gartner.
Ms Craig started her real estate career at 16, and has worked in various roles within the industry.
“I’ve worked across reception, property management, business development and sales so I understand how a successful office needs to run from the back of house to the front,” she said.
Ms Craig said her focus was growing the business in areas of sales, team expansion, client numbers and marketing.
“We currently have a team of nine, including three property managers managing 370 properties, a business development manager and a small sales team,” Ms Craig said.
“I’ve set an ambitious goal of personally adding 100 new management clients in the first 12 months to build a strong foundation for sustainable growth.
According to the latest Cairns Chamber of Commerce’s November economic monitor report, Cairns remains one of the best-performing property markets in Australia.
House prices are up 13 per cent year-on-year to a median of $731,000, and units up 12% to $415,000.
Compounding growth over the past three years is now running at 17 per cent per annum, which is a median price increase of 62 per cent over the three years.
Vacancy rates remain critically low at 0.8%, pushing up rents and property prices.
“The Cairns market is really strong right now, and we’re seeing a lot of demand, particularly for apartments,” Ms Craig said.
Professionals CEO Sean Hanneberry said Ms Craig aligned perfectly with the company.
“Emma’s motivation, innovative thinking and challenger mindset make her a perfect fit for Professionals,” Mr Hanneberry said.
“It’s an honour to have her as part of Professionals where her fresh and collaborative approach will contribute to the growth and success of the entire network.”
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Originally published as ‘Challenger mindset’: New boss takes on Cairns real estate market
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