Five years ago, RE/MAX Living broker owner Kathy Sweeney introduced a grassroots initiative with a goal to set young adults on the pathway to home ownership.
At the time, she described the concept of the Asset Building Club (A.B.C.) as coming from a desire to empower young people on her team.
“I didn’t want to simply help them buy a home; I wanted them to learn how to run a ‘program’ of investing in property.”
She opened the first event, without a name, to young locals as well.
The fifth annual A.B.C. session, with the theme ‘The how-tos of buying your first property’, ran in early August in Burpengary, north of Brisbane, with 22 attending and real estate sales agents, property managers and finance specialists from RE/MAX Living and Pivotal Financial on board.
“The market is very different now to when we ran that first event,” Kathy said, “and that hit home when we were updating slides. For instance, what once read $400,000 now reads $700,000, and this generation has to be far more creative about finding their way into property ownership.”
She believes the success of her initiative comes from the establishment of ‘ambassadors’.
“The A.B.C concept works so well because the ambassadors are live examples of people on their real estate journey.”
A telling triumph of the program is reflected in the path of its three original ambassadors, William Sweeney, Melanie Wilks and Chanae Roma, who were all at different stages of their home ownership journey.
At the onset, Chanae was stage 1, saving for a deposit. She went on to buy her first property and, having purchased at a very good time, was able to sell that property for a substantial profit, which led to her purchase a much bigger property where she now lives.
Melanie was at stage 2 (ABC+), having saved for a deposit. She went on to purchase a property that she currently leases out while she lives with her family and works toward her second property.
William was at stage 3 (ABC-$mil) with two investment properties. He subsequently sold one for a significant profit, upgraded to the home in which he currently lives and has three properties in total.
“We invite 18-to 30-year-olds, and this year we focussed on people who were not yet thinking about property investment but should be.
Kathy reported a mix of demographics over the five events, with singles and couples at different stages of their real estate journey, and include trades people, sportspeople and university students.
“Our purpose is to break down the barriers, take fear out of the equation and show that finance brokers and real estate professionals are not scary and unapproachable; and it is very gratifying for the team to see the people who have gone on to become property owners.
“We let people know about the event mainly through social media, but we have parents regularly enquiring about when the next event might be, even asking us to give their son or daughter a call.”
Here’s what some A.B.C. members have said:
“The ABC event was extremely helpful in gaining an insight into the process of entering the property market and easing my nerves as a someone looking to be a first-time homeowner.”
“I took away a lot of great knowledge to get me ready to buy my first home and I’m also now thinking of looking into investment properties through the info I learned.”
“The ABC program is really helpful and super informative and has definitely helped me to gain an understanding of property investment and first home buying.”
“They knew exactly what they were talking about, and I found the information extremely useful.”
“The ABC event was inspirational, motivating and informative. The RE/MAX team saw us as people and not just another number.”
RE/MAX Living services the Moreton Bay and Somerset Regions in Southeast Queensland. If you want to know more about Kathy Sweeney and the Asset Building Club, contact her on mobile 0427 374 117 and email ksweeney@remaxliving.com.au.
Contact for media:
Lyn Cox, Public Relations, RE/MAX Australia – M. 0418 793 096
About RE/MAX: From a single office that opened in 1973 in Denver, Colorado, RE/MAX® has grown into a global real estate network with over 140,000 agents in more than 110 countries and territories. Its entrepreneurial culture affords its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence.
