The Double Bay office has just been made a finalist in the Diversity Office of the Year (Metropolitan) category and associate Arija McQuillan is in the running to take out the Buyer’s Agent of the Year at the Women in real estate business awards 2019.
The inaugural WREB Awards showcases excellence amongst the industry’s top female professionals and is deemed one of the most reputable events of the year for the real estate industry.
Marketing strategist for Cohen Handler, Samantha Hansana, states from the interview that being named a finalist, is a really rewarding achievement for the company especially during the last 12 months.
“We achieved this result because the company underwent a number of challenges within the last year, it was a time of transition, and the women were the glue that kept the team together,” she said. “As a team, we have managed to continue succeeding in terms of developing and growing the team culture and solid results are starting to come through.”
Cohen Handler have always supported the women in the workplace with flexible working hours and arrangements, ensuring that every situation is accommodating and comfortable for the female employees. They want to keep their employees happy and motivated and feel that by providing these arrangements, the work place remains productive and supportive from both ends.
A real mention needs to be made for Cohen Handler’s “Queen of the North”. Arija McQuillan has been a real estate professional for 18 years, including the past five as a buyer’s agent for Cohen Handler. Since becoming a buyer’s agent, Arija has reportedly been purchasing on average over $30 million worth of property every 12 months.
The figures have increased for the 2018/19 financial year, and it’s a wonder how such a hard-working individual can achieve these results and juggle motherhood at the same time.
When we asked about how she manages her time between motherhood and career woman, she answers with, “the motivation to succeed and to keep improving on these results is because of my son, and my family. To be able to support them and manage my time in a demanding industry like real estate, you must be patient and disciplined.”
Arija explains that “having a child and being a buyer’s agent means that every day is very different, and you must be prepared for all types of situations. Somedays I have to take my son around to appointments or inspections as time is limited and the schedule fills up really quickly.”
She said one of her most memorable purchases last year was helping a buyer purchase a Mosman home for $3.05 million, despite it being advertised for $250,000 above the purchase price. “You have to be prepared to work on the weeknights, and non-traditional times to see the transaction through, and I highly commend all women in all occupations who are working in these conditions.” She states.
With ethics like these, it’s no wonder why both Cohen Handler and Arija McQuillan have been made finalists. We hope they win!
The award winners will be announced at the Women in Real Estate Business awards night to be held in Sydney on June 27, stay tunes for the results!