Chris's property story. 

Chris reckons he was consuming every book, magazine or you tube vid on property investment back in those days, he just couldn’t get enough. He found free weekend property seminars in Melbourne’s CBD, so travelled 2-hours each way to attend them, before progressing onto a 3-month open course at Melbourne’s Victoria University.

By that stage, Chris had saved enough for a 10% deposit, and after visiting at least a dozen properties with his buyer’s agent, settled on his first investment: a 50m2 unit in St Kilda,  Melbourne. The impact of that transaction changed everything.

“I can still picture it, clear as day! I signed the contract in their inner-city office, 20 floors up. My buyer’s agent had been so professional and thorough in his guidance: it was the first time anyone had really taken me seriously in a business context, and his sales approach really had an impact on me. On that day, my world changed - agriculture was now my past, and I directed all my focus to real estate”.

12-months later Chris was based on the Gold Coast, with a real estate licence gained through the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ). He attended a career evening held by Ray White, and got drafted into the Apartment Sales team. It was 2007 and he was a whopping 20 years old.

Decades later, his own sales approach is still influenced by that agent who supported him as a 19-year- old. Chris works incredibly hard to eliminate all stress for his vendors: “There’s no reason that selling your property can’t actually be a fun, relaxing experience – it’s on me to manage expectations for both my vendors and their buyers, provide excellent communication to both - and deliver huge activity to land at the best result”.

 

Chris knows that premium prices for his vendor’s come from leaving no stone unturned ...and that starts well before listing. “The best part of this job is stepping into people’s lives, even if just for a few weeks to help them realise their property goals. I always put myself in the client’s shoes and work backwards from there. Simple as that!”.

Chris specialises in investment properties and portfolio sell downs: “I’m inspired by investors that have accumulated wealth by reading markets well, holding, building, and navigating the ever-changing cycles of real estate”. But ultimately, he welcomes the variety and pace of all transactions: “A highlight for me was selling 8 properties in a month, for 4 different clients - the thrill of a property going unconditional has
never diminished for me. I just love it”.

Fair to say he made the right call then? “100%. I’ve never looked back. I totally appreciate my rural roots, but I know that this is what I was born to do. It’s just got such a strong pull for me, and I genuinely take great pride in helping people. When I get the deals done, it means they can move forward, whatever that means for them - and that’s a pretty cool thing to be able to do”.

 

It will come as absolutely no surprise that a large part of Chris’s work is via referrals and continual repeat business. As they say, actions speak much louder than words.

On this new partnership with Rakesh Champaneri, Chris explains: “As much as I love real estate for being your own boss, I want to achieve so much more than I can on my own. Partnering with Rakesh means we can deliver more service to more clients, with greater momentum. We’ve got some pretty big goals, and I’m so excited about achieving them as a team”.

Outside of real estate, you get the feeling Chris is an active relaxer, and you’d be right. His hobbies are free diving for seafood, gym and golf, and he admits he’s onto his third renovation project. He’s also got the same insatiable travel bug he had at 20, but he’s definitely moved past Oz. He’s not long back from 3-months in Latin America and has many more global adventures planned, in between real estate journeys of course.

So that’s Chris Barne’s property story – if you’d like him to help with yours, he’d love to hear from you.