Australia Edition 5

THE MARKET

Property is a significant asset class

which continues to play a vital role

in the economic health and wealth

of Australia. In fact around 70 per

cent of Australians own a home,

one of the highest home

ownership rates in the world.

Since 1992, Australia has

enjoyed unprecedented economic

expansion – the longest

uninterrupted growth spurt in our

nation’s history. Add low levels of

unemployment and inflation along

with productivity, business

investment and stock exchange

highs, and it’s easy to see why

residential, commercial and rural

property markets have continued

to shine.

Australia’s tax laws also favour property

investment. Australia is one of only a handful of

countries which have sensibly introduced

unrestricted ‘negative gearing’. Negative gearing

was introduced in the 1980s as an initiative to

encourage income earners to become landlords and

as such support the supply of rental properties.

With 1.4 million landlords, it’s fair to say the

initiative has worked well. Indeed the appeal of

negative gearing into property was further

enhanced by the Federal Government’s decision

to halve the rate at which capital gains are taxed,

back in the late 1990s.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Raine&Horne celebrates its 125th year of offering

a complete professional Real Estate service to all

Australians in 2008. The company has enjoyed an

excellent reputation and goodwill is said to be

amongst the highest in the industry with national

sales figures amongst the best in Australia.

Since 1883, Raine&Horne has been inextricably

linked to theAustralian property market and today

boastsmore than 5,000 people and over 400 offices

Australia-wide, operating under the Raine&Horne

banner. Combine this with over 40 offices inAsia/

Pacific and Europe, and Raine & Horne is one of

the world’s most substantial real estate networks.

These worldwide offices provide an invaluable

source of local demographic andmarket information

for all Raine & Horne clients. The global network

also provides every Raine & Horne client with a

platform tomarket their property internationally in

a cost effective, direct, and well-informed way. As

with any other commercial endeavour, knowledge

is power and in the international arena, power is

everything.

Raine & Horne is a success

not only because it employs the

best people, but also because it

aligns itself with the best

organisations internationally.

This enables Raine & Horne

offices in Australia to promote

properties to the international

market place without the cost,

saving clients thousands.

HISTORY

The Raine & Horne story is closely tied to the

growth and progress of the real estate industry.

In 1883, real estate pioneers Tom Raine and

Joseph Horne opened the doors of Australia’s

iconic property firm Raine & Horne for the first

time.

Operating from Wentworth Court, Elizabeth

Street in Sydney, Raine&Horne adhered to a set of

business practices that have been

maintained to the present day. The

property pioneers committed to

personalised service and to

meeting a client’s property needs

across sales, leasing, management

and consulting services, for all

types of property.

In the 1880s, the responsibilities

of a land agent were all

encompassing and included

residential sales, valuations

consultancy and rent collection.

This broad background provided

the foundation for Raine &

Horne’s outstanding reputation

and has helped hundreds of

thousands of homebuyers buy

into the “GreatAustralianDream”.

By the 1970s and driven by the

enthusiasm of current Chairman Max Raine, the

Raine & Horne network stretched across Sydney.

Not satisfiedwith the extent of expansion, theRaine

&Horne Board decided that Raine&Horne would

become only the second property group to pursue

a franchising business model. This proved a major

watershed for Raine & Horne, which opened its

first franchised office, Raine & Horne Liverpool

NSW, in

1976.As

a result, Raine &Horne now has

offices in the Australian Capital Territory,

Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory,

Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia as well

as more than 40 offices globally.

Raine & Horne is today one of

the oldest privately owned firms in

the southern hemisphere and

through its 125 years has survived

world wars, booms, busts and

depressions. It is now into its fourth

generation of family ownershipwith

Angus Raine taking over as the

company’sCEO inDecember 2006.

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