Deborah Cullen, who has a background in prestige residential property, and Richard Royle, whose expertise is in rural assets, have opened a new boutique property agency, named Cullen Royle.

Sydney-based Ms Cullen and Mr Royle will assist high net worth (HNW) domestic and international clients across Australia, specialising in luxury residential, lifestyle, rural and agricultural assets.

The co-principals will draw on 30 years of collective experience in real estate and long-established relationships to provide a best in class concierge-style service for their buyer and seller clients.

Ms Cullen said now was the perfect time for Cullen Royle to launch, as the agency would fill a gap in the market by responding to the increasing demand for a unique and personalised real estate offering in the HNW sector in particular.

“Throughout 2020 it has become clear that the marketplace has changed,” she said.

“Our high net worth clients are looking for something new and different to the traditional transactional-based listing and selling model of old, giving us a mandate for an alternative bespoke service.

“The establishment of Cullen Royle is in response to this demand, and we believe it marks the start of a new trend in property services.

“Our clients want an independent agency to assist them on the sale and purchase of their properties within a trusted, private and confidential process.

“As Cullen Royle is not weighed down by large corporate structures, we have the independence and flexibility to work in a skilled, creative and private advisory role for our clients.

 “We will select complementary industry experts to assist us to represent our clients and work in a concierge style arrangement with the client’s needs at the absolute forefront of everything we do.”

Mr Royle added that being independent, nimble, connected and creative – all of which describe Cullen Royle - was the new way forward in property, especially in the HNW space.

“Creativity is one of key ingredients,” he said. “We will partner with talented marketing and advertising experts using cutting-edge methods to assist us in the storytelling we believe is necessary to underpin the value of our clients’ property assets and achieve above market results.

“I really believe we offer a product that is rare in the Australian property market. We have a wealth of experience across diverse property portfolios, which requires a special skill set, patience and personal connection.”

Over the years she has negotiated the sale of several $20 million-plus luxury assets in the city and best in class luxury country estates such as Mona Farm at Braidwood, and Bellagio Estate, Rosehill Farm, Yverdon Estate, Ripley Estate and Burradoo House in the Southern Highlands.

Mr Royle has extensive experience in the rural and agribusiness sector in Australia, most recently as director of CBRE’s NSW agriculture team, while previously leading Colliers International’s NSW agribusiness division.

Mr Royle has specialised in the divestment of family-owned farms and corporate agribusinesses, representing some of Australia's most prominent HNW clients in the sales and purchase of a range of rural and agribusiness assets. Some of the most well-publicised sales in NSW include Brudle Park, Moree (circa $50 million); Warragundy, Mudgee ($23.5 million); Glencoe, Mendooran ($30 million) and Tongy Station, Coolah (circa $20 million).

Over the past eight years, Ms Cullen and Mr Royle have represented some of Australia’s finest rural and residential properties for some of Australia’s most prominent families, and Mr Royle said it was an exciting time for the market moving forward.

“The agriculture and rural lifestyle market is experiencing unprecedented demand,” he said.

“We have a high volume of self-funded buyers who are on the lookout for opportunities which offer both business and family lifestyle. Buyers tend not to be bound by any one region, or price range, and are prepared to wait for the right property.”

Ms Cullen said the luxury residential market was also experiencing strong demand despite COVID- 19.“Demand for luxury residential assets in Australia has remained stable this year and even strengthened, as people look for lifestyle properties to ‘wait out’ the pandemic, and for investments in lieu of being able to spend money on other things, such as travel,” she said.

 “Many see this as a time of opportunity, but they need advice about where the market is headed in the future to determine what the best strategy is and to identify the most interesting and diverse opportunities to secure, add value and invest.”