2009 wrapped up

I know that everyone is saying it, but I am very surprised that it is so very nearly December! Someone once said to me that time flies when you get older, which may be true, but I prefer to think that time flies when you are busy kicking some personal and professional goals, and having at least a little bit of fun along the way.

Looking back on the year just gone, I would say the Bond family have been doing a lot of all that. Having acquired and rebranded Rosa’s Realty and merged it with the existing All Brisbane Realty office in August last year, 2009 was our year of building our brand and really getting it out there. Rosa’s Realty had been around for some 14 years, so it could be considered by some a real challenge to get a new brand known within the local community.

Never one to brag (ok, stop laughing), however while it was of course a major challenge, we still managed to grow our database, increase the number of property managements, achieve consistent sales AND emerge from the Global Financial Crisis moderately unscathed (except for a few bumps, bruises and the occasional eye gauge!)

When it comes to local profile and number of listings, our agency now ranks firmly in New Farm’s top 3.

Another extraordinary achievement for our team this year was the successful Diabetes Australia campaign and Bond theme party we held. The idea behind the campaign was to celebrate our second year in business by giving something back to the community that supports us so generously. We decided that, for each settled sale between March and July this year, we would donate $1000 to Diabetes Australia.

Jason’s brother lives with diabetes so when deciding upon a charity to support, it was important to us to choose the organisation that works in partnership with diabetes health professionals, educators and researchers to minimise the impact of diabetes on the community.

During the three month strategically planned marketing campaign that culminated in the office’s Bond Theme Party complete with auction, together with the generous support of their local community and clients, we raised a total of $23,150 for Diabetes Australia – an enormous achievement and triumph for a small agency.

So, with all this in mind, its really no surprise we are sitting and wondering “where did this year go?”

As well as realising there are only limited weekends to get the Christmas shopping done and that the office Christmas party is only 15 sleeps away, if you haven’t already, the arrival of December also means that its more or less your last opportunity for this year to settle on a property.

While the real estate industry is a hard working bunch and we can help you at more or less any time of the year, banks and solicitors do take a Christmas break. There can be nothing more frustrating than a finance clause or settlement date falling close to, or over Christmas, and settlement forced to extend until mid January. So, our advice is, if you think you may like to review your current situation, do so now, before everyone starts to close down for their Christmas break.