• Raine & Horne Strathalbyn/Rural SA wins Top National Rural Office (Broadacres) Sales Dollar Value in the 2023 Raine & Horne Awards for Excellence
• This is the first time in the 40 years plus history of the awards that an office outside of NSW has won the prestigious rural honour two years in a row.
• Other South Australian offices to score national awards include Raine & Horne Gawler, which won the National Outstanding Property Management Office.

In a historic first for the prestigious National Raine & Horne Awards for Excellence, an office outside of NSW scored first place for a second year in a row in the Top National Rural Office (Broadacres) Sales Dollar Value.

Raine & Horne Strathalbyn/ Rural SA, led by the dynamic trio of Nick Grosvenor, Brendan Saunders and rural property high-flyer Paul Clifford scored the historic quinella in the Rural Office (Broadacres) Sales Dollar Value award, edging out Raine & Horne Rural Gloucester on the mid-north coast of NSW and Raine & Horne Rural Mundubbera, located in Queensland’s North Burnett region. 

Angus Raine, Executive Chairman, Raine & Horne, is delighted by the win by Raine & Horne Strathalbyn/Rural SA and the fact that the top three placegetters in the category are from three different states. 

“Not only has a winner from South Australia won this award for a second year in a row, but it’s the first time that an office outside NSW has achieved this quinella of wins,” Mr Raine said.

“Significantly, the Gloucester and Mundubbera offices have never finished on the podium in this category before, and they both had a great 2022 calendar year. For instance, Graham Lohse, Principal of Raine & Horne Mundubbera, sold an acreage at 430 Perlinga Road Mundubbera for $17.9 million in October. 

“Raine & Horne Rural is an expansion of our brand offering, and I’m delighted to see that we have offices all over Australia doing well. We also recently launched a rural office in Western Australia and will soon expand into the Northern Territory.”

Mr Raine continued, “It is also fitting that our rural brand is ramping up its expansion and sales results in 2023, our 140th year of operation.

“Raine & Horne started in 1883 as land agents managing some of the biggest estates in Australia for significant colonial families such as the Wentworth and the Cooper families, and we handled sales of rural and regional properties from the outset.”

Leading the way for SA

Mr Saunders admitted his team were thrilled they had won a national award again for Raine & Horne’s office network in South Australia.

“About 18 months ago, Paul Clifford agreed to join Nick and me when we took over at Raine & Horne Strathalbyn to launch the Rural SA business,” said Mr Saunders.

“Paul came from another network and has made lifestyle and rural properties his complete focus.”

In early March, for example, Mr Clifford listed the tightly held 337-hectare “Malleebrae” at Goolwa near the mouth of the Murray River that is expected to fetch $7 million for its vendors, the Skewes family[i].

“Nick, Sally, and I always dabbled in rural transactions but primarily concentrated on residential sales,” Mr Saunders said. 

“But with Paul coming on board, his contacts database developed over almost 20 years has opened us up to rural opportunities we wouldn’t have landed, such as the Malleebrae sale.”

Other 2022 Raine & Horne National Awards for Excellence winners from South Australia include Raine & Horne Gawler/Munno Para, led by Gwen Levesque, which won the National Outstanding Property Management Office.

Dominating the SA Awards

For the first time ever, Raine & Horne is announcing its state and national award winners simultaneously, with Raine & Horne Strathalbyn/Rural SA adding South Australian domination to its national recognition. 

Raine & Horne Strathalbyn/Rural SA was named Raine & Horne’s Top Multiple Office for Dollar Value in South Australia for 2022. The star team also won Top Office for Dollar Value and Top Office for Number of Sales. 

Mr Clifford scored first as South Australia’s Top Salesperson - Highest Value Transactions and Dollar Value categories, with Mr Saunders and Mr Grosvenor scoring top-five finishes. Mr Clifford also won Top Principal - Dollar Value, with Mr Grosvenor and Mr Saunders finishing in the top five. Mr Grosvenor turned the tables by winning Top Principal - Number of sales, with Mr Saunders in fourth. Mr Grosvenor finished third in Top Salesperson – Number of sales categories.

For their stellar efforts, Mr Clifford, Mr Grosvenor, Mr Saunders, and Ms Sally Ness were named in the Raine & Horne Chairman’s Club. See the breakout below for more on the 2023 Raine & Horne SA Awards for Excellence.

The 2023 Raine & Horne SA Awards for Excellence winners include:

Top Office (Dollar Value)

Raine & Horne Strathalbyn/ Rural SA

Top Office (Number of Sales)

Raine & Horne Strathalbyn/ Rural SA

Top Salesperson (Number of Sales)

Michael Cox, Raine & Horne Murraylands

Top Salesperson (Dollar Value)

Paul Clifford, Raine & Horne Strathalbyn/ Rural SA

Top Salesperson – Principal (Dollar Value)

Paul Clifford, Raine & Horne Strathalbyn/ Rural SA

Top Salesperson – Principal (Number of Sales)

Nick Grosvenor, Raine & Horne Strathalbyn/ Rural SA

Outstanding Property Management Office

Raine & Horne Gawler Munno Para

Outstanding Business Development Manager

Gwen Levesque, Raine & Horne Gawler Munno Para