Market future: Here we grow
REAL ESTATE IS IN THE QUAID FAMILY BLOOD AND QUAID GROUP OWNER STACEY QUAID IS UPBEAT ABOUT THE RESURGENCE AND POSSIBILITIES IN THE CAIRNS PROPERTY MARKET, WRITES
Real estate is in the Quaid family blood and Quaid Group owner Stacey Quaid (right) is upbeat about the Cairns property market. If he has learnt one lesson from three decades in property it’s that local knowledge is irreplaceable.
IF Stacey Quaid has learnt one lesson from three decades in property it’s that local knowledge is irreplaceable.
He was raised at Mossman, where his dad George founded a real estate business in 1949, and boarded at St Augustine’s College in Cairns during high school.
“In Far North Queensland it’s easy to entertain yourself without spending a lot of money, which isn’t always the case in big cities,” Mr Quaid said.
“It was a good upbringing and gave me some understanding for the land.
“Mossman at the time was a major sugar producer.
“The knowledge you have of the region in which you work is what makes you valuable in the property market.”
After graduating high school he studied business in Brisbane before starting with Big W as a trainee manager.
Mr Quaid spent three years with the company, first in Cairns and then Mackay, until he one day fielded a call that changed his career.
“Dad told me there was a real estate office for sale in Innisfail and suggested I look at taking it,” he said.
“I came up and met the owner and we came to an arrangement.”
Quaid Real Estate Innisfail opened in 1987.
During his three years on the Cassowary Coast, Mr Quaid had his hands full.
“Being in such a small country town as an agent, you had to do everything,” he said.
“But I made a lot of lifelong friends and really got to understand the commercial element, particularly of farming land,” he said.
He returned to Cairns, where Quaid Real Estate had an office in the city, working primarily in the auction side of his family’s business.
Over coming years he built his business acumen, before buying the company in partnership with Ian Beattie.
In 2002 they started a new commercial arm of the company, Colliers International Cairns, which is independently owned by the Quaid Group.
“We were seeing the advantage of a global brand, particularly in the commercial sphere,” he said.
“Major projects were coming to our area and we needed people who were active in the Sydney and Melbourne markets and able to help us get the projects together.”
In 2008 he bought out Mr Beattie and has remained sole owner of Quaid Group ever since.
His 26-year-old son Tom now heads the residential sales side of the business.
QUAID GROUP HAS MORE THAN 30 EMPLOYEES ON ITS PAYROLL, WITH THE COMPANY LOOKING TO EXPAND IN THE FUTURE
“Tom has got far greater potential than I would ever have,” Mr Quaid said.
He was optimistic about Cairns’ commercial real estate market, which languished for years after the Global Financial Crisis.
“That was a scary time,” he said.
“We had situations where there wasn’t money available and an absolute loss of confidence in the marketplace.
“There was the potential for values to artificially free fall.
“I couldn’t believe the world could allow itself to get in such a mess.
“Cairns has taken longer to come out of the GFC than most.
“A lot of our major developers in Cairns at the time were caught with stock in the process of developing and a lack of funding to continue those projects. We saw some epic failures from some longstanding businesses, which created a void for the development of major projects in the city.
“The biggest gap has been in the development of units in our market ... but we will see quite a number of projects come out of the ground this coming year.”
The company has more than 30 employees on its payroll and Mr Quaid said the business would look to expand over time.
Having spent plenty of time abroad for work, he was buoyant about the potential for for- eign investment into the region.
“In China, the speed at which wealth is attaching to such a huge population and its proximity to Cairns has to make it a force in the years ahead.
“But across the whole Asian market we are seeing a mix of investment capital looking for a safe haven.
“We have only seen the tip of the iceberg in Asian investment into this region,” he said.
Mr Quaid lives at Bayview Heights with his wife Kim and their children.
THE KNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE OF THE REGION IN WHICH YOU WORK IS WHAT MAKES YOU VALUABLE IN THE PROPERTY MARKET STACEY QUAID