By HEDGIE GUNDRY
After forging an early career as a successful auctioneer and real estate agent in Sydney, industry legend Hugh Bateman AM returned to his hometown of Mudgee in the 1970s to set up business on his own. The result was The Property Shop – a diverse, multi-award winning agency focusing on residential and commercial real estate, property management, business sales and auctions, including land clearing sales and antiques.
Still going strong, The Property Shop is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year in August, with a new generation of leaders who continue to focus on community and commitment to regional and rural New South Wales.
“In the early 70s, I could see a good opportunity for a real estate business in Mudgee, as the local agents were primarily involved in stock and station,” Hugh explained. “I was encouraged by a Mudgee solicitor who gave me my first listings.
"So, on 20 August 1973, I opened an office above a travel agency and garden centre. The first house I sold was at 30 Inglis Street, Mudgee for $3,000. Within two or three weeks, another agent worked for me and business just took off from there.
“I stood out in Mudgee for my unusual, outlandish colours and even bought a purple Pontiac, which became well-known with the locals.
“In the early days, I concentrated on residential and lifestyle property sales, and then began selling 25-acre lots or 10-hectare lots, which were becoming very popular in the area in the mid-70s. I then started doing clearing sales and auctions in 1974 – and in 1975 we conducted our first antique auction, which continues to be an annual event.”
New generation
Hugh expanded The Property Shop as a franchise network in the 1990s, but later scaled back and has since gone from strength to strength. Today, he is involved in a consultant capacity and Andrew Palmer, who worked with Hugh straight from school in the 1980s and returned to the business in 2010, is Licensee in charge.
Andrew is one of three directors and shareholders, along with David Goldring and Alyse Pilley, who have both been with the business for almost nine years. The longstanding agency is proudly independent, with a strong team of 23 people.
“Our team is fantastic, and full of movers and shakers,” Hugh said. “We’re now in a heritage-listed building that I’d always wanted to buy, with an auction room at the rear. I’m proud of how far we’ve come and the new generation of leaders is now in place.”
At The Property Shop, we strive to help our clients achieve their goals first and foremost. It’s our client-first mentality, combined with our community spirit, that has helped us over the last 50 years to build such a successful business and will continue to do so into the future.
– Andrew Palmer
Industry advocates
Well-known for his community spirit and tireless charitable efforts, Hugh has received numerous industry awards, including the REINSW Centenary Award in 2010 for his outstanding contribution to the industry and the prestigious John Grieg OAM Community Service Award for Excellence in 2016. He’s always been a committed REINSW member, serving on the board for six years and advocating for rural agents through numerous Chapter committees.
“I joined REINSW in 1972 – before I even started The Property Shop – so I've been a member now for 51 years,” he said.
“For me, there's no point standing on the sidelines and making comments. You’re better off being amongst it, because many people have new ideas or concerns. And certainly, given our sphere of influence in regional New South Wales, we’ve always felt compelled to contribute at the REINSW Board level, which can then influence the NSW Government and NSW Fair Trading. Providing a rural and regional voice at the table is so important.”
Andrew is equally committed to community and service, and is active in many local organisations, charities and sporting groups. He was also a Director on the REINSW Board until last year and continues to play an invaluable role.
“It’s hard to understand from the outside looking in just how much work the REINSW does on behalf of agents, including lobbying government, consulting, fighting for regulatory change, crafting guidelines and so forth that make our industry workable,” he explained.
“There are some very, very talented people in our industry who don't get involved, but I encourage them to do so and contribute where they can, because REINSW is such an essential organisation for the success of our industry.”
Long-term success
So why has The Property Shop been successful for all of these years?
“Giving back to the community has always been one of our prime objectives, and this was ingrained in me by Hugh in my early days,” Andrew explained. “We continue to be heavily involved in our local community on all levels and it’s about more than just sponsoring the local sports team. We support the arts, education, community organisations and more.
“We’re extremely conscious that when we bring people into the business, they share our community values. Over the years, this objective has created a unified team of energetic people focused on service. They all understand we’re not a business that relies on and takes from the community, but one that puts back in and supports it.
“In my view, the people who are successful in our industry are generally community-minded and understand that being successful is a long-term game; they know the important role we play as agents in our clients’ lives. On the other hand, you see others come in and out of the industry who think that what we do is just a deal. They hustle and they are takers. They don’t have that longevity and they don't have long-term success.
“People who build their businesses over a long period are generally not focused just on the deal.
“At The Property Shop, we strive to help our clients achieve their goals first and foremost. It’s our client-first mentality, combined with our community spirit, that has helped us over the last 50 years to build such a successful business and will continue to do so into the future.”
Given our sphere of influence in regional New South Wales, we’ve always felt compelled to contribute at the REINSW Board level, which can then influence the NSW Government and NSW Fair Trading. Providing a rural and regional voice at the table is so important.
– Hugh Bateman
Pink Tractor Trek
One great example of where The Property Shop has gone above and beyond when it comes to the community is Hugh’s Pink Tractor Trek in 2015, which raised $384,000 for the McGrath Foundation’s breast care nurses. Hugh purchased a tractor, painted it pink and drove around New South Wales, visiting local communities and fundraising with a network of independent real estate offices.
“I drove 3000 kilometres at 27 kilometres an hour – and, I have to admit, I did have a sore bum at the end of it,” Hugh said.
Andrew added: “Hugh organised this trek and raised so much money because of our network of community-minded agents. When Hugh announced what he was doing, everyone got on board and arranged events. It was such a great success.”
The future
So what does the future hold for The Property Shop?
“Thankfully, we benefit from a robust local economy and our market is quite stable,” Hugh said. “There’s still a lot of buyer interest in our area and we’ll continue to focus on growing and building our business organically.”
"The area we cover is quite large, all within a 100-kilometre radius of Mudgee, and includes communities like Kandos and Gulgong, as well as a lot of regional villages. So really, it's about continuing to grow within our market reach," added Andrew.
"We're also celebrating our 50th anniversary this August, which we're all looking forward to. In true The Property Shop style, this should be a memorable community event."