Queen of the hammer
Julia Kuo was a single mother with no money and broken English when she plunged into a career in real estate, having fled to Australia as an outcast from her native country.
Unfailingly polite yet with the steely determination that comes from overcoming tough times, the Taiwanese-born 57year-old is one-half of the prestige property dream team – Sam Guo and Julia Kuo.
Their formidable partnership, working with top Gold Coast firm Kollosche since 2021, has fuelled some of Queensland’s richest deals. A French-inspired mansion at Southport sold for $24.8m in September 2023, setting an auction record. Two months earlier, a tropical resort-style property at Isle of Capri traded for $24m.
Ms Kuo’s unmatched grasp of the emotional capital that comes to play on auction day was instrumental in the campaigns.
“A good agent never gives up,” she said, noting the groundwork that goes into establishing a strong client database.
Ms Kuo introduced the buyer to Alston, the estate at 5 McMillan Court, Southport, which became the most expensive property sold under the hammer in Queensland.
“The buyer told me they liked it, but they were in China. I kept in touch with them, but they didn’t reply. Then guess what?” she said.
“They turned up halfway through the auction and bought it under the hammer. I couldn’t believe it.”
Two decades on from her first sales role, Ms Kuo said she had never felt stronger, professionally and personally.
She has the support of her long-term partner and third husband, Lambert Wang – a former broker who first encouraged her to try real estate – and is a proud grandmother to the children of her engineer son, Jerry, 32. Three generations of the family live together, and Ms Kuo sets Sundays aside with her grandson and granddaughter, aged 7 and 1.5 years.
It is a scene far removed from her formative years in the country. It was 2000, and Ms Kuo clung to the hope of a new life with her second husband, away from the stigma then attached to divorced women by traditional Chinese society.
“I was struggling in Taiwan and my husband decided we would go to Australia,” she said.
“But when I moved here, it didn’t work out and we separated.
“I had a son from my first marriage, and he was nine years old at that time. I took my son, and we walked out. I had no money, nothing.
“But I had a hunger. Because you are a mother, you need to be strong enough to protect your son.”
Working long shifts in a Chinese restaurant, she befriended Mr Wang. He recognised her talent and introduced her to industry contacts.
Ms Kuo first worked with veteran agency principal Lucy Cole for seven years, teaming with Mr Guo and chalking up a 100 per cent auction clearance rate.
At the time, auction was rarely used as a strategy to market top-tier properties.
“I became the auction queen,” she said.
“I thought creating an auction culture would be the way for me to survive (in the industry).
“I think I had the talent to see what people wanted, and with an auction campaign it is only four weeks you have to make a decision – I can see the human nature in this process and people will come and talk to you about what they need.
“The buyer doesn’t only follow the stock, they follow the agent.”
Ms Kuo and Mr Guo went on to spend seven years with Ray White, where their achievements included international agent of the year, and Queensland top agent six years straight.
With Kollosche in 2023, Ms Kuo sold 45 properties worth a total of $210,238,776. Her average sale price of $4,671,972 was the highest of any female agent in Queensland surveyed by the Courier Mail.
Reflecting on a career of stellar highs, Ms Kuo said she appreciated the lows just as much. Finding her way following mistreatment endured over the years formed the spirit that had underscored today’s successes, she said.
“I think the tough times make you strong. Now I realise, you need to be patient and always hungry, but be kind to people,” she said.
“Because that moment can push you to another level.”
“But I had a hunger. Because you are a mother, you need to be strong enough to protect your son
Julia Kuo
Kollosche