After 13 years in online real estate

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BwzEAki4u8]
I suppose I must have a 13 year itch. After 13 years in school teaching (3 jobs on 3 separate continents 1986-1999) I knew it was time for a change. Strangely, after a similar amount of time in online real estate (2 jobs, coFounder of aussiehome.com then reiwa.com Executive manager, 1999-2013) I also know it is time.

Not that I leave REIWA lightly. Simply put, it is the best job in Australia for what I do – working at the not for profit member organisation that is REIWA (a supreme Real Estate Institute, and one of the top member organisations in the State), and with reiwa.com taking on the might of large media-backed competitors on behalf of the industry. We all feel the weight of expectation, the support of the members and the will of everyone to succeed. We’re all proud of the history, and also excited by what we have done recently and the trajectory we are on.

reiwa.com has done amazing things in the past few years – a 30% growth in traffic over the past year alone, and a massive increase in enquiry rates from the site. The ongoing improvements to the site, and 2013 redesign will be fantastic, and I only wish I could be there to see it all through. In some ways, my job is not done, but then again I leave something on the table for the next person to add their knowledge, ideas and take it forward. reiwa.com is much more than one person anyway. I feel lucky to have be able to have made a contribution over the past 3 years. And now it is someone else’s turn.

It goes without saying that I will miss my REIWA colleagues immensely, some of whom I have worked with since aussiehome.com days for 10 or 12 years or so. I have made some great friends in the industry and have contacts all over the country, and even in other countries thanks to the wonderful Inman Real Estate Connect conferences I attended in New York and San Francisco.

I’ve learnt a lot about online in the 13 or so years since Nick and I set up aussiehome.com, a few months after graduating with our MBAs from UWA Business School. I feel confident these will translate into my new position (GM of Digital) at Business News. BN have a fantastic opportunities and I feel quite humbled to have been invited to go in there and assist with things. It is going to be a fascinating next chapter for me, and a challenge I hope I am up for.

So, this is a decision not made lightly. I wish REIWA and reiwa.com all the best, and no one will be prouder than me of the successes that lie ahead.