Originally from the UK, Douglas Driscoll now lives on Sydney Harbour, a goal he set for himself when he first moved to Australia many years ago.

Driscoll told SCHWARTZWILLIAMS that Starr Partners has been built around an unwavering commitment to the customer. The business prides itself on its equal opportunity practices and Driscoll says staff retention is double the industry average. 

How did you get into real estate?
 
I’m not sure that any child wants to be an estate agent when they grow up, so like most people in the industry, I kind of fell into it by chance. I had finished my academic studies and, like a lot of graduates, I wasn’t sure what direction to take. I liked the sound of sales and marketing, and I wanted a career more than I wanted a job. I saw an advertisement for a Junior Negotiator and I applied. I was considerably overqualified, but I landed the role and have never looked back.
 
You're the CEO of Starr Partners. What do you enjoy most about your job?
 
I genuinely appreciate the diversity of my role. It’s never mundane or boring, and there’s always something different or challenging. As CEO, Managing Director and Owner of the business, I have a high level of autonomy which demands that I be good at a number of different things. I often joke that CEO stands for Chief Everything Officer. That doesn’t mean you have to do everything, what it means is that you need to have an understanding of everything.
 
I also really enjoy getting involved and dealing with everyone. I take great pleasure in the people I work with. In an industry punctuated by egos, our people are humble, grounded and nice to deal with, even with their ongoing successes. I pinch myself on a regular basis and ask myself how I have ended up here working with such great people.
 
What makes Starr Partners different from other agencies?
 
We have an unwavering focus on customer centricity and spend an incredible amount of time around the customer experience. In fact, we understand that there is a difference between customer service and customer experience. We have a lot of ambition, but as a group, we never lose sight of what’s fundamental, and that is servicing the needs of our clients.

Our marketing and business promotion is also something that sets us apart because we don’t allow agents to overly promote themselves when it comes to selling a property; the house is the hero and the customer’s needs come before all else because today’s customer is tomorrow’s referral.
 
We also pride ourselves on being an equal opportunity employer as well as representing 22 different nationalities and having a length of tenure that is double that of the industry as a whole.
 
You’re often referred to as a ‘thought leader’ in the industry. What does that term mean to you?
 
For me, a thought leader is someone who challenges the rhetoric or status quo and gets others to think more laterally about things. I try to intrigue and challenge in equal measure, but not force ideas onto people, but rather encourage others to make improvements or at least get on the path of thought – both in day-to-day tasks but also big ticket items like social and economic policy – because it’s very easy to get out of bed in the morning and get stuck on the treadmill of life.
 
In saying this, a thought leader is someone who needs to have solutions to the questions they pose as well. You outline the situation and ask, if it needs to be improved, and if so, how. The world is but a canvas to the imagination.
 
The property market appears to be at a turning point. What do you expect to see over the next 6-12 months?
 
I think we’ll see prices in Sydney start to plateau and a readjustment of the market. I am also expecting that we will see fewer investors and more owner occupiers, a trend that is already emerging. Days on market will increase slightly, which means that agents will have to get back to basics, which is selling houses rather than just relying on people buying them.

Despite all this, I am quite positive about the outlook of the property market. I’ve always maintained that we have an obsession about prices and the market in general. Agents need to focus on what they can control and deal with what’s in front of them. We have no say, sway or control over the market so why obsess over something we have no influence on? You can control the sails but you can’t control the wind.
 
Are there any markets you think are particularly interesting at the moment, and why?
 
For me, the inner-city markets of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are the most interesting. These markets have been given the green light for scores of new apartments but this is a myopic decision based on today with little consideration of tomorrow. Economics is about supply and demand and we were feeding demand on the basis that it would continue forever. Now the reality is this: there will be fewer investors and far greater numbers of apartments so I think we may see undue stress on one, if not all, of these markets.
 
Where do you live now, and where would you live if you could live anywhere in the world?
 
I am very fortunate in that I have worked hard and knuckled down, which enabled me to create opportunity and make a good life for myself. When I decided to emigrate from the UK, I was afforded the choice to live in many places around the world but I decided that Sydney offered me the best lifestyle.
 
When I first moved to Australia, I lived in Manly and regularly caught the ferry into the city, passing Kirribilli. I set myself a goal to one day live on the harbour front and now I do, and I get to wake up to one of the world’s most iconic views. If I could live anywhere in the world, I would live where I am now, but I never take it for granted. I am not necessarily living the dream, but I am certainly living my dream.

Read more from Douglas Driscoll:

Stamp duty concessions are reverse engineering supply and demand

Investors in Sydney property drop by 20% but don’t expect a crash

Penalties for leaving properties unoccupied could improve affordability