25th November 2018 / Beth Oleyar: Coming Soon: Fletchers Croydon

Director & Auctioneer of Fletchers Maroondah, Reilly Waterfield, talks us through details on the new Fletchers office opening in Croydon next month.

Tell us a little about yourself and your position at Fletchers.
I've spent 15 years in real estate and am the founder of Fletchers Maroondah, which opened about 5 years ago. From there, we expanded from an original team of 3 to approximately 45 people through sales, property management and our administrative support team.
As lead auctioneer, I oversee many of the team's final negotiations to assist clients in securing the best possible outcome. I also assist with the growth and development of our other property consultants and auctioneers.

What was the motivation behind Fletchers opening a new office in Croydon?
It was the next logical step in our evolution. There were a number of positive afflictions in the marketplace where we saw a position to evolve naturally. Essentially, there was an open void that bridged the gap between Ringwood, Mooroolbark and our lifestyle acreage in Warrandyte and Wonga Park. We have that cross-pollination in that sector where we've got a good client base that have a really positive perception of Fletchers. When it comes to selling homes in Croydon, we've got both high-end buyers as well as aspirational clients in Mooroolbark who are looking at taking that next step closer to the city.

What are you most looking forward to about opening in Croydon?
Well, the office positioning was too good not to make the move. We'll be located right on Main Street, opposite the chemist, near local cafes and with the cinema just down the road. The council is also opening a new park early next year, which will be directly opposite us. For us, it was very strategic as we've got a lot of foot traffic coming through.

What sort of opportunities do you see within the area?
For our clients, I see them having a better opportunity to get a wider buyer reach through our company.
We also get to continue growing within the local community and continue to show support to the local schools and sporting clubs. We're supporting the Maroondah Carols this year, as we always do. That's a big event for us and we're looking forward to bringing Croydon into the mix.

Who will be the new faces of Fletchers in Croydon and what experience do they bring?
We have a variety of experience levels and a very diverse mix of people, both mature and also young and enthusiastic, which is really exciting.
At the moment it will be the extension of the same management board, which includes myself, Rod Burton, Daniel Bolton and Robin Waterbury, totalling over 45 years' worth of combined experience in real estate.
With the addition of Simon Keele, who's recently joined the team, we've also had the opportunity to bring in more local experience to the business.

What has been a highlight at Fletchers for you and your team in recent times?
What was really exciting was the opening of our lifestyle acreage belt, just up Warrandyte way. We've had several clients looking to buy in that sector.
Over the last 5 years, our network has seen us grow to aligning markets, like Mooroolbark, which has been a huge success. The community has really welcomed and supported us as we have them, with great results. At the end of the day, we're helping people move forward in a marketplace where we've found that our competitors aren't always as successful in doing so.

What is your favourite thing about the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne?
There's much more of a community feel. People are generally more approachable. It's a lot more community minded, there is a lot more community purpose, and that's something you don't get closer to the city.