Kathy Sweeney takes RE/MAX top honour

A capacity crowd at The Star Brisbane celebrated the announcement of RE/MAX Australia’s best 2024 performances, rising to their feet with the final award for the evening.

RE/MAX Australia Managing Director Joel Davoren called popular broker owner Kathy Sweeney to the stage to claim the ultimate honour, The Eagle Award.

“This is the highest individual honour that we present,” he said. “Kathy is a leader, a role model and represents how our profession should be seen, and I’m truly delighted to present her with our Eagle Award this year.

“We acknowledge the hard work and dedication she brings to being a committed real estate business owner and industry professional, we recognise the permanent, meaningful impact she has on our network and the industry, and we thank her.”

 

Ms Sweeney opened RE/MAX Living in 2018 and the Burpengary team developed quickly into a leading business in the network and a highly respected and valued real estate office in the community.

Again this year, RE/MAX Bayside-Results won the Pinnacle Enterprise Award, the network’s highest business performance accolade, as well as Top Multi Office for both commission and transactions.

RE/MAX Success in Toowoomba and RE/MAX Regence in Robina, were the two individual top offices, awarded for transaction sides and settled commissions, respectively.

Brooke Caple, from RE/MAX Bayside-Results, was announced Young Sales Associate of the Year, an award open to agents aged 30 or under by the end of 2024.

Bribie Island agent Aisha Waver, from RE/MAX Advanced, was named RE/MAX Australia Rookie of the Year, an award for agents licensed after January of the preceding year.

 

The awards rolled out with many individual, team and office achievements:

• Top Sales Team: Jacqui Walker Team, RE/MAX Success (transactions and (commissions)
• Top Sales Agent: Kylee Harnisch, RE/MAX Bayside-Results (transactions and commissions)
• Top Commercial Agent: Chris Esdale, RE/MAX City
• Most Productive Office: RE/MAX Advantage
• Business Growth: RE/MAX Property Professionals (Office); David Cotterill (Sales associate)
• Property Management Growth: RE/MAX Bayside-Results (Net Growth); RE/MAX Pamilya Properties (% Net Growth)
• Sales Associates Net Growth: Tied – RE/MAX Extreme and RE/MAX Supreme; Sales Associates % Net Growth: RE/MAX Supreme
• Property Manager of the Year: Cheryl Head, RE/MAX Success (Platinum Plus office); Lydia Bonastre, RE/MAX Advanced (Emerging office)
• Property Management Team of the Year: RE/MAX Success
• Auction Award: Tied – RE/MAX Partners Real Estate & RE/MAX Bayside-Results (Office); Reece O’Brien, RE/MAX Partners Real Estate (Sales Associate)
• Office Support Person of the Year: Rebecca Anderson, RE/MAX Property Professionals
• Personal Assistant of the Year: Renae Spence, RE/MAX Select
• Property Management Support Staff of the Year: Bryleigh Stimpson, RE/MAX Extreme
• Business Development Manager of the Year: Kristie Clarke, RE/MAX Bayside-Results
• Special Achievement in Marketing: Jacqui Walker Team (Team or individual); RE/MAX Property Professionals (Office)
• Innovation Award: RE/MAX Bayside-Results
• Community Service Award: RE/MAX Select
• Pivotal Financial Awards (RE/MAX): Leanne Druery, Top Performing Agent; RE/MAX Results, Top Performing Office; RE/MAX Platinum, Top Market Share Office
• Pivotal Financial Awards (finance specialists): Broker of the Year – Lachlan Macdonald; Top Market Share – Lachlan Macdonald; Pivotal Asset Finance Broker of the Year – Christian Tucker; Top Performer, RE/MAX Settlements – Tim Denton

 

RE/MAX Australia acknowledged four colleagues for their 25 years of continuous service. They were June Wheeler, Paul Turner, Shirley Mapp and Ryan Smith.

Les Kelly, Karen Williams, Ric Boulter and Jason Martin were recognised with 20 Years of Service awards.

A further 21 were recognised for 15 years -Dave Neilson, Michelle Drost, Glenn Evans, Geoff Baldwin, Ric Gloede, Demo Foufas, Alana White, Brett White, Monika Culbertson, Denise Whatt, Joyce Rafferty, Phil Wiltshire, Craig Bullen, Daniel Prosser, Terry Lucas, Tamara Wecker, Chan De Silva, Daniel Burrett, Sonya Collins, Nicole Slean and Jenna Raulston; and 23 were thanked for their 10 years of service – Karl Osswald, Lorraine Carter, Warren Kapoor, Kristie Clarke, Chris Esdale, Paige Schafer, Shaun Hayes, Ellie Hood, Adam Workman, George Vuong, Hanh Vuong, Sheria Chong, Leanne Kroes, Melissa Kroes, Jackie Hardstaff, Ben Tranter, Ray Takahashi, Henry Wong, Jim Tonakis, Hugh Tonakis, Cheryl Head, Harsha Kumarasinghe and Julie Lean.

Club status, from 100% up to Triple Diamond, was acknowledged for 141 agents, with 28 Australian agents having reached or exceeded Diamond level through performance in 2024. One only Double Diamond Pls was awarded, to Toowoomba’s Jacqui Walker. Double Diamonds went to Fraser Evans, Kylee Harnisch and Melita Bell.

In addition, 16 offices were awarded Club status for service and achievements in property management.

Twenty-seven international RE/MAX career awards were announced.

Mr Davoren closed the 2025 event with heartfelt thanks and congratulations to the Australian network and the 625-plus RE/MAX members, partners and family who’d attended.

“To be here tonight, in the heart of the$3.6 billion-plus Queen’s Wharf precinct, a stunning 12 hectares of riverfront, in one of the largest ballrooms in this city, feels special, and an apt tribute to the wonderful people who make up our network,” he said.

He complimented the Australian network as a region recognised as a star performer in the global RE/MAX network.

“We performed solidly as a network through 2024, where we had strong net growth in both our agent and office numbers last year and ended the year a larger and better franchise group.

“2025 seems primed to be an environment of interest rate drops, and while this won’t result in any big shift in house values, it should thankfully help to take the pressure off the cost of living.”

Mr Davoren said ‘cautiously optimistic’ was how he felt about real estate in 2025 and saw RE/MAX Australia prepared and ready for a year of individual business and network growth.

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Media contact:

Joel Davoren, Managing Director, RE/MAX Australia – M. +61 411 435 505

Lyn Cox, RE/MAX Australia public relations – M. +61 418 793 096

About RE/MAX: From a single office that opened in 1973 in Denver, Colorado, RE/MAX® has grown into a global real estate network with over 140,000 agents in more than 110 countries and territories. Its entrepreneurial culture affords its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence.