The multi-award-winning Laing+Simmons Double Bay, year-on-year the network’s best-performing outfit, opened for business on 1 July 1981 under the guidance of a young Bart Doff. Bart remains a Principal of the Laing+Simmons Double Bay business, along with his son Danny Doff, D’Leanne Lewis, Steven Zoellner and Sally Hampshire.

Bart had been working in the Laing+Simmons Potts Point business for about 18 months when the opportunity arose to take the reins of the new Double Bay office.

He took the opportunity, success followed, and the rest is history.

While the market today is unrecognisable to 40 years ago, some fundamentals remain true: the enduring appeal of Sydney’s prestige eastern suburbs markets, and the Doff name on the Laing+Simmons Double Bay door.

Bart remains a Principal of the Laing+Simmons Double Bay business, along with his son Danny Doff, D’Leanne Lewis, Steven Zoellner and Sally Hampshire.

Lockdown will postpone the party but it won’t dampen the celebratory atmosphere among the team, says Principal Danny Doff.

“This is the opportune time to thank our team and most importantly, our customers, many of whose property journey has aligned with our own,” Mr Doff says.

“Personally, in my 21 years in real estate, the current market is performing at a level that eclipses anything else I’ve experienced. Prices have risen steeply, houses and larger apartments in particular are in huge demand, our database of buyers looking for top-end homes is very healthy, and the only issue is the shortage of stock.

“As eager as families are to move into the local area, the willingness of locals to downsize to apartments in the east is supporting new development projects and helping the market tick over.

“At this stage, lockdown aside, there has been no evidence of any easing in demand or price growth. The outlook remains extremely positive.”

Laing+Simmons CEO Leanne Pilkington congratulated the Double Bay team on the rare milestone.

“Laing+Simmons Double Bay is an eastern suburbs icon, not just in real estate but across all industries. Few local businesses have had so measurable an impact on the growth and evolution of the local area,” Ms Pilkington says.

“For any business, 40 years is an amazing achievement, but for Laing+Simmons Double Bay, it feels as though there are many more milestones ahead,” Ms Pilkington says.

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