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2012
24 June 2012
Hugh hands over the reins after 39 years
After 39 years at the helm of Mudgee real estate agency The Property Shop, Hugh Bateman has handed over the reins.
The decision was made earlier this month as an opportunity arose for former Mudgee resident Andrew Palmer to re-join and expand the business.
Mr Bateman will remain at The Property Shop as a partner and focus on the business' marketing strategies. He has sold his major share of the agency to Mr Palmer.
"Andrew will officially join the business in August working together with our team specialising in private and commercial property sales, rental and leasing," Mr Bateman said.
"I am very pleased to welcome Andrew back to Mudgee and back into The Property Shop as director and equity partner.
"Andrew grew up in Mudgee and commenced his real estate career under my guidance at The Property Shop so I am extremely proud and excited that he has chosen to join me along with June Lewis as a partner in the business.
It is very exciting to be returning to Mudgee with my wife and young family and the opportunity to join Hugh and the team at The Property Shop is a dream come true.
"We are really proud of our reputation as a locally owned and operated real estate agency."
Mr Palmer returns to Mudgee after several years working in business and real estate in Sydney, most recently with the McGrath firm.
"It is very exciting to be returning to Mudgee with my wife and young family and the opportunity to join Hugh and the team at The Property Shop is a dream come true," Mr Palmer said.
"Mudgee is a vibrant and growing rural centre that has been extremely well serviced by The Property Shop over the past 39 years. I am looking forward to working with the team to continue that tradition of service and cater to the increasing numbers of people looking to relocate to Mudgee."
Mr Bateman said he was emotional when telling staff of the decision but knew it was the right one.
"Not only does Andrew have crucial local knowledge but he will bring with him the wealth of his experience from the Sydney real estate market," Mr Bateman said1 .
2018
25 August 2018
The Property Shop turns 45: A walk down memory lane with Hugh Bateman
The Property Shop has turned 45 years old.
The well-known real estate was founded in 1973 by current consultant, Hugh Bateman.
To celebrate, Hugh spoke to the Mudgee Guardian and took us on a walk down memory lane.
Hugh explained his journey from a 21 year old with just four hundred dollars in his pocket, to a road to success in running a real estate empire.
He was a country boy, born and bred on the land at Meroo Downs.
He learnt the ropes of realty through a cadetship with Dalgety Australia and worked with Killen & Thomas in Sydney before returning home.
On August 20, 1973 he borrowed $400 off his father, which was just the beginning for The Property Shop.
"I saw the opportunity to open an office here in Mudgee and hence I did. In the beginning I operated in an upstairs office at 73 Market street," he said.
Within the first three weeks of the office being opened, Hugh had about 40 listings.
"My first sale was a property in Inglis Street which I sold for $3000," he said.
Mudgee continued to thrive with tourism, food and wine, and mining, it was obvious prices were to soar in the property industry.
"That same house that I sold in Inglis street was subsequently renovated and I sold it again a short time later, but today that house would be worth $300,000," he said.
Hugh said he always saw potential in Mudgee, and that was why he moved back.
When he came back the population was just 5,000 and now sits at 11,000 and here was why.
"A whole new regime of lifestylers flocked to town in the 70's when a big contracting company moved in and built subdivisions of 10 ha lots," he said.
Mudgee was a place of interest as the vineyard industry boomed and Ulan coal came to town in 1978.
"I remember one weekend around then where I sold 13 houses just by myself, it was incredible!" he said.
There were different people moving to Mudgee with skills that helped develop the town, whether it was arts and crafts or technology services.
In 1988, current Director, Andrew Palmer joined The Property Shop team straight out of high school.
"I was a trainee sales person and straight away loved it to be honest," Andrew said.
He also said Hugh had given him a wonderful opportunity to enter the workforce and learn.
"There was a lot of mentorship in terms of developing a career," he said.
During his time with the business, in the 80's more people came to the region from metropolitan areas.
Many purchased lifestyle properties to either relocate or simply use for weekend or holiday spots. according to Andrew.
"My first sale in 1988 was a 25 acre block, I sold it for $15,000 out on Hayes Gap Road. That would now comfortably make about $180,000," he said.
The average residential sale price in the early 90's was around $70,000, and is now $390,000.
Andrew said Mudgee would have to be thought of as one of the most positive regional centres in the country.
He worked for Hugh for five years as a sales agent before he left to further his skills in the field of real estate.
"I gained a lot of very good experiences and lessons that I took on when I went off and travelled," he said.
Hugh knew that Andrew embraced the things that he did.
"He went on to further fields, to learn the new methods, ideas and concepts. It was very much that, I wanted to adopt," Hugh said.
Time passed and in 2012 Hugh was sure he could've sold to a big franchise group, he wanted to slowly retire.
But for Andrew, an open door called his name to come home.
"I saw it as a great opportunity, and it was certainly a wonderful business to be able to come back to," he said.
Hugh was proud of how business boomed in the last 45 years.
"Even with changes we have to make to accommodate people, I've got no disappointment whatsoever in the way the business is running," he said.
He was extremely proud of what they had achieved.
One of the most important facets of their business was to always give back to the community.
"That is the culture that keeps our business going."
Both business men were proud of their accomplishments and continued to thank the support of the Mudgee community.
"We are a community business, we support the community and the community supports us," Hugh said.
"It's been that way since day one, it's certainly something that I embrace and value and will continue to do so," Andrew said.
The two of them also thanked their team who worked hard day in and day out to keep The Property Shop running to meet high expectations2 .
2023
8 September 2023
Real estate milestone
Looking back on 50 years of history
Having just turned 21, a fresh-faced Hugh Bateman was ready to take on the world of real estate in the country.
On August 20, 1973 he borrowed $400 off his father, which was just the beginning for The Property Shop.
Now, 50 years later, Hugh reflected on his early career and the lessons he learned being in the business for half a century.
Bred on Meroo Farms, Hugh attended Windeyer Primary School which housed just 26 students before later attending a Sydney boarding school that boasted more than 1000 students.
"It was one hell of a deal, I was very homesick but I learned a lot and it gave me a lot of drive," Hugh said.
"It really gave me the want to do things. You'd see the day boys turning up in their parents' Rolls Royce and Mercedes and things like that," Hugh joked.
Hugh learnt the ropes of realty through a cadetship with Dalgety Australia and worked with Killen & Thomas in Sydney.
"I was lucky enough to get one of four jobs at head office on Bridge Street in Sydney and consequently I went to Homebush Saleyards twice a week... doing the Royal Easter Show and so on," he said.
"Because pigs can't travel during the day I had to take them in at night and do the deliveries at night and I slept in the pig pen overnight a few times."
After a number of transfers to places like Casino, Hugh later saw an opportunity to come back to Mudgee. A local solicitor named Walter Donnelly sold Hugh on the idea to dive headfirst into real estate.
"He said there's a great opportunity here, I'll give you a lot of work...," Hugh said.
"Back then I had an ideology of 'do it hard, do it fast and do it yourself'. That's great if you're... not going to have anyone else with you."
In three weeks Hugh had 36 listings. Things were growing quickly. "It was an opportune time to be out there marketing... I came up with a scheme of using a purple and white sign and named it The Property Shop," he said.
Things were different then, deals were done with a handshake and Hugh worked weekends and started to get a lot of business through word of mouth, which he admitted other local agencies didn't like. But it was the drive to do more that has been one of the keys to Hugh's success.
Gulgong's Bruce McGregor was on board with The Property Shop in the early days before later starting his own long-running business. However, things came full circle when it was announced in July that McGregor Real Estate would be transitioning to The Property Shop Gulgong.
Hugh talked about some of the biggest milestones in the region's history, notably the closure of the abattoirs in 2003. "
There was a big fallback when the abattoirs closed. That really - there was some 400 jobs, permanent or casual that went there - and that really hurt the town - everybody," he said.
"If it hadn't been for other areas of industry that employed people, we'd Mudgee have been in big trouble. But it was tough going and it was something that should never have happened.
"That's one, the other big change in the real estate market is the use of technology and marketing. It's a way of getting to people - for example there was always a thought that you had to be in a franchise group to get someone to come from Perth to buy in Mudgee from you but given the situation with technology now, the person in Perth logs in and says 'I want to buy a house in Mudgee for $800k' and your name comes up."
"Those are the big changes. I think just the general requirements of licensing now have made it so agents are a lot more professional now."
But building an empire takes a team, and among those is Andrew Palmer. The Property Shop now employs a team of more than twenty passionate locals.
At the beginning of his career, Andrew worked at The Property Shop for roughly five years before leaving for the big smoke and working in Sydney for "the better part of 18 years" before coming back to Mudgee in 2012 when an opportunity to buy into the business presented itself on a weekend visit to town.
"The Property Shop has been a big part of my life," Andrew said.
"Whilst I had jobs at school certainly it was my first full-time, professional job and I learned a lot. The foundations of work and also the foundations of having a business in a small community, that was really drilled into us about how we act personally in the community, but also how the business acts in the community - their role, it's always been there. So when we came in and took up the reigns we made sure that continued."
Andrew is now a Director of the business along with David Goldring and Alyse Pilley.
Hugh offered some sage advice for those chasing a dream.
"I'd say to any young person who has an idea or concept about doing something - it doesn't matter what it is - just go for it. Go for it, believe in yourself," Hugh said.
"No one else is going to do it for you- it has got to come from within and once you show that impetus, that impact to others, you get the support and you'll find that people will follow you3 ."