It's Sydney's fastest price growth suburb over the past 12 months, so it's not surprising that one of the city's leading residential real estate agencies which is very active in the eastern suburbs and north shore prestige markets, McGrath Estate Agents, has opened a new office in Ryde. The median house price in Ryde has grown by 73 percent over the past five years to $1,225,000, according to the latest March figures from CoreLogic RP Data.

Shane Smollen, Principal of McGrath Ryde, said the office opened a few weeks ago. “Ryde is a very dynamic market and one of the emerging metropolitan centres in Sydney. We therefore felt it was important to have a local and visible presence to ensure we are able to provide the best possible service to our clients." Smollen, who has been involved in the Ryde area since 2000, said it has become very popular with the Asian market. "We have expanded our team to include both Mandarin and Cantonese language capability” said Smollen. McGrath also caters to these clients with its China Desk and Chinese language edition of the McGrath Magazine.

Smollen said Ryde has a blend of housing, combining older properties with high quality new apartments.

McGrath has been servicing the greater Ryde area for the last seven years from its Hunters Hill and Epping offices. Kim Toyer-Uttley, Margaret Cholinska and Domenic Bonavita from McGrath Hunters Hill will move to the new Ryde office. Stefon Bertram and Michael Dowling, previously Principals of Starr Partners Ryde, will also join the team, in addition to former LJ Hooker Ryde Principal Daniel Hennessey and Aram Makinadjian.

The new office will service the wider Ryde area, including North Ryde, East Ryde, West Ryde,Macquarie Park, Melrose Park and Meadowbank. McGrath Ryde will have more than 400 properties under management. The new office is located at the corner of Blaxland Road and Church Street, Ryde, in the former Starr Partners office.