The birth of a new office

When Paul Harrison joined forces with Jason Marston twelve years ago at Marston & Cook, he was coming into a real estate agency with more than 30 years of experience selling homes in the Flemington and Kensington areas – some of the best suburbs in Melbourne. Now they’re an indispensable part of the community, but are always looking for ways to expand.

How could they shore up their service and widen their network, putting years of expertise and local knowledge to wider use? Enter Nelson Alexander.

A seamless partnership

Sharing similar visions and work ethics, Paul believed that Marston & Cook joining up with Nelson Alexander was something that would have huge benefits for everyone involved.

“We were perfectly aligned with their internal processes,” he says. “We have a similar culture, the office sizes were similar and geographically the Nelson Alexander brand was extremely relevant to our market”.

“It made so much sense, we almost thought ‘why didn’t this happen earlier?'”

With a view to expanding beyond real estate in Flemington and Kensington, Marston & Cook could become part of the highly inter-connected network that Nelson Alexander provides, giving them excellent integration into a market they already worked together extensively in.

For example – over the last 12 months in Flemington and Kensington, the two agencies sold a combined 94 properties, more than twice the next biggest figure from a local agency. On top of this, the Nelson Alexander network means that a home listed with the Essendon office can end up being sold at the Flemington office.

“They grow organically as a network, and we love that kind of teamwork,” Paul added. “It’s a seamless operation working together cohesively.”

In short, it’s exactly the transition that Paul was looking for.

Expanding their roots

Paul says his former agency has no intention of leaving their local area behind. After all, they’ve been there for more than 12 years, it’s their home turf. However, becoming part of the Nelson Alexander family has opened up a wealth of opportunities for expansion. They were recently named the best large residential agency by the Real Estate Institute of Australia, which lends the Nelson Alexander brand credibility wherever they go.

He expects to see this new Nelson Alexander office boost their market presence in Flemington and Kensington, thanks to the combination of local experience, networking and brand recognition.

“I don’t know of any other company that produces these results,” Paul says. “There’s no other brand that can bring buyers from other suburbs – franchise operations don’t work that way.”

The emphasis on teamwork and providing valuable service to the communities around them is what attracted he and Jason to the Nelson Alexander brand, and it’s proven to be a great move. Prospective vendors and clients have already been thrilled with the adjustments.

“The processes and systems are so similar to ours that we could continue business without so much as a hiccup,” he says of the move.

Now, they’re bigger and better than ever, while still providing top-class real estate services to everyone in the community.