Raine & Horne Commercial Brisbane Southside was named Commercial Agency of the Year at the 2020 REIQ Awards for Excellence. 

The Brisbane office won the commercial real estate industry’s top gong at a gala event held recently at Brisbane’s Royal International Convention Centre.

The REIQ’s CEO Antonia Mercorella, said, “The quality of every entry for this year’s awards was outstanding. It’s fantastic to see the enormous passion of both business owners and their staff whose daily hard work and dedication, which truly makes the real estate sector in Queensland stand out as well as the REIQ Awards for Excellence a special event.”

Joseph Grasso, Principal / Director, Raine & Horne Brisbane Southside, said he’s excited by his team’s third win in the Commercial Agency of the Year. “It’s a little weird that we have had the pleasure of winning this award every four years, 2012, 2016 and now 2020.

“But we will take the recognition which the team fully deserves and which no other office outside Brisbane’s CBD has won as many times. We really bat above the average.”

It’s no secret that Raine & Horne Commercial Brisbane Southside’s strong office culture is central to the win. “We have a retention rate per staff member of 9.5 years, which is unheard of in the new-millennium workplace and is a statistic that makes us extremely proud,” Mr Grasso said.

“Our office has 27 staff which is more than three times the industry average and we invest heavily in robust procedures and systems. In combination these factors are delivering high levels of customer service, which is translating into significant levels of repeat and referral business. 

Mr Grasso continues, “In this age of short-termism, we play the long game. This mantra means we never cut corners. We prefer to lose a deal to maintain a client relationship.

“We don’t focus on our back pocket and this attitude flows from both directors to all our staff.”

Airbnb for commercial tenants

While the team at Raine & Horne Commercial Brisbane Southside operates to long-term principles, the business is agile enough to respond to ongoing short-term challenges such as the current CPVID-19 pandemic. 

For example, the award-winning firm has launched an online register to enable its existing tenants feeling the pinch from the downturn in business to sublet excess commercial space. 

“Our short-term leasing register is a bit like an Airbnb marketplace for commercial leasing. We’ve made it available to tenants who are feeling the pinch from a business closure or realignment, explains Mr Grasso.  

“Alternatively, some tenants might need to sublease to help manage down some costs in the short-term.” 

“We will adjust our fees for those businesses who choose to lease through the register as the service is meeting a financial need created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If a SME eventually signs a longer lease once we’ve navigated through the current dramas, then the short-term register will have played a role in helping these businesses keep the lights on and helped to protect our landlords’ cashflows.”

To find out more about Raine & Horne Commercial Brisbane Southside’s COVID-19 Short-term Leasing Register, call 07 3216 6666.