In this article
Kooky
Builder of Shaka, the payment router that pays every agent their commission on closing date.
About Kooky and Shaka →Three agency networks have made moves in regional Queensland in the space of eleven days. Belle Property announced an office in Bundaberg on 29 June 2026, Coronis opened in Childers on 3 July, and a REMAX office in Mackay appointed a general manager on 9 July, according to reports published by Real Estate Business on each of those dates.
Two of the three are in the Wide Bay-Burnett region, within the same district as each other, and all three are led by people who already live and work where the office is. The pattern is a network supplying a brand and systems to a local operator, in towns where capital-city networks were until now thinly represented.
Source: Real Estate Business, 29 June, 3 July and 9 July 2026. Figures as given by the businesses in those reports.
Belle Property arrives in Bundaberg
Belle Property, a network that markets itself around lifestyle property, has opened in Bundaberg under an incoming principal who has spent his life in the city. Real Estate Business reports that he has six years in the industry and previously worked under the McGrath brand before joining Belle Property.
The principal's argument for the office is that Bundaberg is drawing buyers who want more space and better value than the capitals offer, and that a brand built around lifestyle property suits them. Belle Property's head of state for Queensland, David Holmes, made a similar case, describing demand from Australians seeking "lifestyle-driven locations that offer both value and opportunity".
For the network, Bundaberg is a step outside its usual territory. For the local market, it is one more national name competing for listings in a city where buyers from the south-east have been active.
Related readNoosa, Currumbin, Redcliffe: three networks open offices in one weekCoronis adds Childers to Bundaberg
The second move is a short drive inland. Coronis, an agency group with offices across Queensland, has opened an office in Childers, in the Wide Bay-Burnett region. It is the second office for the same agency director, who earlier established Coronis Bundaberg and, according to the report, built its property management portfolio to more than 450 properties. She has more than 20 years' experience across property management, leasing, sales and business development.
"Childers is a place I believe in," the director, Emily Gordon, said in the report.
The group's chief executive, Karuna Mazzocchi, described the opening as a result of the way Coronis is organised. A second office, she said, "reflects exactly what our partnership model is designed to make possible". The report does not set out the model's terms. In general, a partnership model gives the person running an office a share in it and the group's backing to add further offices, which is what has happened here.
The detail that stands out is the rent roll. A portfolio of more than 450 managed properties produces fee income every month whatever the sales market does. That income is what allows a regional business to take on the lease, staff and fit-out of a second shopfront before the new office has sold a single home.
A general manager for REMAX in Mackay
The third move is an appointment, not an opening. REMAX Select in Mackay has named a general manager with more than 20 years in real estate and management, including eight years as retail manager of the largest shopping centre in north Queensland. The office's principal said the appointment was intended to help drive growth and innovation.
Related readRay White Queensland keeps its one-in-four target after a split yearA general manager is an unusual hire for a single regional office, and it says something about the market the office is working in. Real Estate Business reports that Mackay's housing market has risen by more than 20 per cent in the previous 12 months. An office handling that level of activity needs someone to run recruitment, systems and compliance so that its principal can stay with clients.
| Town | Network | What happened | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bundaberg | Belle Property | New office under a local principal | 29 June |
| Childers | Coronis | Second office for the Bundaberg director | 3 July |
| Mackay | REMAX | General manager appointed at REMAX Select | 9 July |
Source: Real Estate Business reports on the dates shown.
Why the regions, and why now
The three reports share an explanation: demand that began in the capitals has moved outward. Belle Property's Queensland head points to buyers looking for value. The Mackay report cites a 12-month rise of more than 20 per cent. Networks follow turnover, and when regional towns record more sales at higher prices, the commission available in those towns grows with them.
There is also room. In inner Brisbane or on the Gold Coast, most networks already have an office in each district, and growth means taking share from an established competitor. In a town such as Childers, a national or state-wide brand may face only local independents.
The networks are careful about how they enter. None of the three has sent a manager from the city. Each relies on a principal or director with local history: a lifelong resident in Bundaberg, an operator who built the neighbouring office in Childers, a manager from the region's own retail sector in Mackay. Regional sellers tend to appoint people they know, and the networks' recruitment reflects it.
How a network office is put together
The three businesses illustrate three different arrangements between a brand and the people behind the counter.
Related readFive Darling Downs offices take one name as office groups growBelle Property and REMAX operate through franchises. The local principal owns the business and its licence, pays the network for the brand, training and technology, and keeps the rest. Coronis describes a partnership model, in which the office leader holds a share alongside the group. In both cases the office is a separate licensed business under Queensland law.
That last point is easy to miss from the street. The Office of Fair Trading licenses the person or company that carries on the agency, and its guidance on places of business sets out who must be in charge. A principal licensee has to be in charge at the registered office. Any other place of business needs its own licensed person in charge, or in some circumstances a registered salesperson, and one person cannot be in charge of two places. A director who opens a second office therefore has to put a qualified person at the head of it.
The brand on the door is not the licence holder
A franchise or partnership office is licensed in the name of the person or company that runs it. The Office of Fair Trading's free public register shows the licensed name, the place of business and whether the licence is current.
The same guidance requires a licensee to tell the Office about a new or changed place of business within 14 days. The regulator does not approve the location; local council rules about the premises apply separately.
What a rent roll does for a regional office
The Coronis report mentions property management in the same breath as expansion, and the two are connected in almost every agency.
Sales commission arrives irregularly. A regional office may settle several sales in one month and none in the next. Management fees arrive every time rent is collected. The fees on more than 450 managed properties give an office a predictable base from which wages and rent can be paid. Agencies commonly speak of the rent roll covering the office's fixed costs so that sales commission becomes the profit.
Related readREMAX has a new owner: what the Real merger means for local officesA rent roll also feeds the sales side. Landlords sell eventually, and the agency that has managed a property for years is usually the first one asked to appraise it. For a network entering a town, building or buying managements is therefore often the first objective, ahead of sales listings.
For regional landlords, more agencies seeking managements means more choice. An owner in Bundaberg now has at least two more branded offices offering the service than a few years ago. The terms are set in the appointment form each owner signs, and management fees are negotiable in Queensland.
For sellers in these towns the effect is the same as for landlords. A new branded office is one more business to invite for an appraisal, and a seller is free to compare what each proposes on commission, marketing spend and method of sale before signing an appointment with any of them. The network a business belongs to does not set those terms. The local office does, and the appointment is made with that office alone.
What comes next
Belle Property's Queensland head has spoken of continuing demand for lifestyle-driven locations. Coronis has called its director's second office a regional network in the making. The Mackay office has said its new general manager will work on growth.
None of the three has published sales targets, and each is a private business. The clearest sign of whether the regional push continues will be further openings: networks tend to announce each one, and the trade press reports them within days.
Kooky, from Shaka
Kooky edits Queensland Estate and builds Shaka, the payment router he made for Queensland property professionals. One payment comes in, and every agent, agency and party in the deal receives their signed share on closing date.
