Media Release
REBAA President Rich Harvey was awarded national ‘Buyers Agent of the Year’ at the prestigious Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) Awards for Excellence 2019 in Perth last night.
Rich Harvey, who is CEO and founder of propertybuyer.com.au, appeared as the celebrity buyers agent on Channel Nine’s Buying Blind last year helping six couples find their dream home on tight budgets (but the couples bought sight unseen). Harvey has served as President of the Real Estate Buyers Agent Association of Australia (REBAA) for the past four years to raise the profile of the industry and improve professional standards of buyer’s agents nationally.
“I was humbled and thrilled to receive the award. It helps to reinforce the clear message that we put buyers first in the real estate transaction and represent their loyalties 100%. We encourage any property buyer to avoid taking short cuts, seek independent advice and be careful with property selection when buying real estate,” said Harvey.
Harvey said buyers’ agents were becoming far more commonplace now as consumers understood the benefits of outsourcing the time-consuming research and negotiation function of buying real estate to a professional advocate.
“Using a buyers’ agent means that buyers can avoid emotional buying decisions, obtain independent advice on the right price to pay, speed up the search process and have a professional negotiator exclusively on their side.,” he said.
Harvey said the current market was particularly challenging for buyers and sellers as sentiment and confidence was low, but now was an ideal time for upgraders to take advantage of softer conditions.
“In the current market, we are finding an unprecedented number of off-market opportunities from vendors and agents seeking a buyer that don’t want to publicly advertise,” claimed Harvey.
Founded in 2001 and licenced in VIC, NSW and QLD, propertybuyer.com.au exclusively represents home buyers, property investors and commercial buyers find the ideal property.
Harvey was also the Chairman of the Buyers’ Agent Chapter at the Real Estate Institute of NSW for the past nine years and has achieved some significant milestones in that voluntary role.
Harvey was instrumental in 2015 in lobbying to get buyers agents recognised on the front page of the standard contract of sale and is currently lobbying for improved education and professional accreditation standards.
The awards are highly contested and recognise the highest level of excellence of service in Buyers Agency and was assessed by an independent panel of judges.
