The team at Elders Real Estate Ararat won nine major awards at the Elders Real Estate Victorian Awards night at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne.

It came in first place for the Office for Growth and Property Management for Growth out of the field of 17 branches in Victoria. Elders Real Estate Ararat went on to place second and third respectively in the national competition for these awards. 

Elders Real Estate Ararat also won an award for Excellence in Marketing. Its director Garry Todd was again named an Elders Elite agents, meaning he exceeded the strict criteria to qualify for the status.

The number of auction listings and new property managements also saw it place number three in the state in these categories.

Mr Todd said these achievements were all the more impressive considering Ararat was the smallest office in the state and serviced the smallest population for residential and rural properties.

He took over the franchise 18 months ago, and said this year’s awards tally built on the team’s success last year.

“It’s the first time we’ve had such a huge success,” Mr Todd said.

Since he purchased the franchise, Mr Todd has hired an additional property manager and sales person and he said the team had “gelled”.

“It’s been fantastic.”

Mr Todd, who has been with Elders for 23 years, said there had been exceptional growth in Ararat and surrounds’ land values in the past 18 months.

“They jumped a bit last year, I’d estimate by about 25 per cent, but so far this year, they’ve jumped dramatically, by about 30 per cent,” Mr Todd said.

“I never thought I’d see those increases and they’ve been driven by supply and demand.”

Website RateMyAgent – on which property buyers and seller review real estate agents and brokers they’ve worked with – awarded Elders Real Estate Ararat Victorian agency of the year and its team member David Jennings as number one agent.