Elevate raises real estate bar to deliver social good
Ethical property owners looking to do social good have made “for-purpose” Brisbane real estate agency Elevate Residential a success story in a tough year.
The two-year-old social enterprise directs 100 per cent of profits back into the community, supporting the work of its parent company Brisbane Housing Company (BHC), which owns and manages about 1800 affordable and social housing units across Queensland.
BHC CEO Rebecca Oelkers said Elevate had experienced strong portfolio growth over the past 12 months, doubling the number of properties under management and achieving great market results for customers.
“As a result of this growth and our increasing market presence, we also launched our specialist sales offering this year and are proud to achieve consistently strong results for our vendors. Our sales offering continues to grow and we have a strong pipeline for further growth in 2021,” she said.
Brisbane couple Gayle Edmondson and Lex Creemers chose Elevate to sell their Paddington town home after learning how it directed all fees and commissions back to BHC in an ABC radio interview.
“The timing was perfect. Not long after that we decided to sell,” said Mrs Edmondson. “People are always talking about how young people just can’t get into the housing market anymore.
“I’m of the belief we need to provide for people who are not as well off as the baby boomers, a generation I’m a part of. We’ve got to change that.”
Ms Oelkers said Elevate was established to help BHC support its vision of creating more affordable homes and better outcomes for residents.
“Housing supply continues to be an issue across Australia and it is completely unacceptable that we have so many people with complex housing needs who are homeless or living in unsatisfactory accommodation,” Ms Oelkers said.
“BHC wants to continue to do more to address these needs but to do this we need to be entrepreneurial in our approach to funding service delivery.”
Ms Oelkers said Elevate Residential was a fully licensed, professional real estate agency that achieved strong results for landlords and sellers, whilst creating a new revenue stream for BHC.
“All profits generated by Elevate assist BHC to deliver services and programs to help people in housing need achieve their potential across all aspects of their lives,” she said.
“These programs respond directly to the needs of BHC residents and range from bursaries for our school children, to services for women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence and participation opportunities for residents living with disabilities.
“This is the part we are very passionate about, not just providing our residents with a home but truly helping to make a difference to their lives.”
Elevate Residential principal licensee Chris Meadmore said the agency competed on the same playing field as any other, working hard to secure the best market outcomes for landlords, tenants, vendors and property investors.
“Our clients watch the market, are looking for great service and maximum returns, all the normal things … but they also want to know they are contributing to a positive social outcome,” Mr Meadmore said.
“To know their fees and commissions will be passed on to help deliver affordable accommodation and programs for people in housing need — that’s a great bonus.”
Mr Meadmore said the agency attracted those looking for high performing real estate services that are delivered with integrity.
“Increasingly the public want to do business with ethical companies with strong social credentials and Elevate is one such business. This is a daily motivator for our team to continue to push to get the best results we can for our real estate clients and therefore in turn, for BHC’s residents,” he said.
An estimated 116 000 Australians sleep rough, couch surf or live in cars, boarding houses or crisis accommodation each night.
