Perth

"‘When the market thinks your business is worth more than you do, go public. When it goes the other way, buy it back.’ It’s a variation on the real estate maxim of ‘buying right’ that he’d learned in his early days in Perth."

"Stokes & Associates came up with an angle no-one else in Perth had: they sent out hundreds of form letters, designed to scoop up any sellers unhappy with their current agents’ efforts along with house owners who had not considered selling before. This was to sidestep the hidebound ‘gentlemen’s rules’ of the established firms represented by the local real estate body. Stokes recalls: ‘The institute got its nose out of joint because you’re not supposed to contact sellers already with another agent. So I sent out letters to everyone.’ Exploiting this loophole outraged established agents"