Shares in John McGrath's real estate company, McGrath Limited, began trading at noon on Monday. The stock opened at $1.94, an 8% discount to its $2.10 IPO price.

After reaching a high of $2.03 during trade, the stock closed down 13% at $1.83.

More than 7 million shares were traded on the day, or about 5% of the register.

The real estate company was founded in 1988 by John McGrath. Today it has 7.2% of the NSW real estate market, 23 company-owned offices, and 54 franchise offices. McGrath has 565 agents operating around Australia. Last financial year the company had turnover of $11.6 billion.

Funds raised through the IPO will be used to fund further expansion.