Noosa, Currumbin, Redcliffe: three networks open offices in one week

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Kooky

Builder of Shaka, the payment router that pays every agent their commission on closing date.

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Three of the country's larger real estate networks announced new offices on the south-east Queensland coast within three days of each other this week. Ray White confirmed a Noosa office on Monday 3 August 2026, Harcourts a Currumbin office on Tuesday 4 August, and McGrath a Redcliffe office on Wednesday 5 August, according to reports in Elite Agent and Real Estate Business on those dates.

The three openings are unrelated to each other, and each follows a different route: an established independent changing brand, an existing franchise group adding a branch, and a network entering a district for the first time. Read together, they show how agency networks keep growing in a quarter when trade press headlines are about a market turning down.

Sources: Elite Agent, 3 and 4 August 2026; Real Estate Business, 5 August 2026. The sales figures are those given by the businesses.

Noosa: an independent takes a network name

The Noosa office is the result of a conversion. Elite Agent reports that two co-principals who had run their own agency in Noosa for 15 years have joined Ray White and now trade as Ray White Noosa. The people and the local business are the same. The brand, the systems and the buyer database behind them are new.

The principals' stated reason is reach. Buyers of Noosa property often come from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and the network's offices in those cities hold their own lists of buyers. One of the principals told Elite Agent that clients' homes would be shown to those buyers before reaching the public market. The second said that what settled the decision was meeting head office staff who had been with the group for decades.

The office will adopt the network's technology, and it is already growing. "The team has already secured an additional high-profile office location," Ray White Queensland's chief executive, Jason Andrew, said in the Elite Agent report. He listed recruitment, a larger property management arm and specialist services across Noosa Shire as the next steps.

For the network, a conversion of this kind adds market share at once: the listings, the sold history and the local reputation arrive with the principals. For the principals, it replaces the cost of building their own systems and marketing with the fees a network charges its offices.

Currumbin: a franchise group adds a branch

The Currumbin office belongs to Harcourts Property Hub, a Gold Coast business that joined the Harcourts network two years ago. Its directors describe the new office as a hub between Palm Beach and Coolangatta, serving Currumbin Waters, Elanora and Tugun. The group says it has also been licensed to operate across the border at Banora Point in New South Wales, which takes its territory from the southern Gold Coast into the Tweed.

The numbers the group gave Elite Agent explain why it can open a branch without stretching. It has more than 50 people, sells more than 900 homes a year, holds more than 2,000 buyer meetings a month and says it has grown by more than half in two years. At the most recent Harcourts awards it ranked second among the network's offices in Australia and sixth internationally.

"We believe times like these create opportunities," the directors said in a joint statement reported by Elite Agent.

Harcourts Queensland's chief executive, Andrew Friebe, credited the group's growth to leadership, culture and service. A branch opened by an existing group is the lowest-risk form of expansion for a network, since the owners are known and the support staff, trust accounting and compliance systems already exist a few suburbs away.

Redcliffe: a network enters a new district

McGrath's office on the Redcliffe Peninsula is a new franchise in a district the brand did not previously cover. Real Estate Business reports that two co-principals lead it, with two further sales agents, and that it will work across seven suburbs: Redcliffe, Margate, Clontarf, Kippa-Ring, Newport, Scarborough and Woody Point.

The network's head of franchise, Chris Mourd, said McGrath's presence was strengthening across one of the country's fastest-growing regions. The case made for the peninsula is the one usually made for Moreton Bay: coastal living within commuting distance of Brisbane, the rail line to the city, investment in Redcliffe Hospital and confidence tied to the 2032 Games. The business puts annual sales across the peninsula at more than $1.7 billion.

The principals were candid about conditions. One said values across most of the peninsula had grown at double-digit rates over the past year. The other described what he was now seeing in different terms: "Here on the peninsula, I feel we're heading back to a normal market."

Why networks expand when sales slow

Opening an office as activity cools looks contrary, but it follows from how an agency earns its income. An office's revenue depends on its share of local listings more than on the total number of homes sold. When sales slow, sellers become more selective about who they appoint, and offices with scale, a large buyer list and a recognised name tend to gain share from smaller competitors. A network that wants more of a district has a better chance of winning it while other offices are cutting back.

Costs matter too. A branch opened by a business that already has property management, administration and trust accounting in place carries far less overhead than a stand-alone start-up. The Harcourts group's figures, with more than 50 staff already employed, show the kind of base that makes a further shopfront a marginal cost.

There is a recruitment argument as well. Agents consider moving when their income falls. A network that is visibly opening offices is easier to join than one that is closing them, and each experienced agent who moves brings past clients along.

None of this guarantees a new office succeeds. Each of the three is a private business, and none has published what it expects to sell.

What Queensland law requires of a new office

Whatever the brand on the window, each office is a licensed business under Queensland law, and a new shopfront triggers obligations that do not depend on the network.

The Office of Fair Trading's guidance on places of business says a principal licensee must be in charge of the business at its registered office. Every other place of business must have a licensed person in charge, or in some circumstances a registered real estate salesperson, and that person cannot be in charge of more than one place. A group that adds a branch therefore needs one more qualified person to run it, not just a lease.

The regulator must be told. The same guidance requires changes to a licensee's places of business to be notified within 14 days. No approval from the Office is needed to open, though council planning rules still apply to the premises.

The New South Wales element of the Currumbin expansion adds a second regulator. Property sold in Banora Point falls under New South Wales licensing and agency law, which is why the group refers to being licensed there separately.

What it means for sellers and landlords nearby

For a seller in Noosa, Tugun or Scarborough, a new office is one more business competing for the listing. More competition among agencies generally gives an owner more proposals to compare on commission, marketing cost and method of sale. The appointment itself is unchanged: it is made with one office on the prescribed Form 6, on terms agreed between the owner and that office.

For landlords, an office that says it will build a property management arm, as the Noosa business has, will be seeking managements. An owner who is approached is free to compare, and an existing appointment can be ended on the notice the appointment form provides.

Clients of the Noosa agency under its former name deal with the same principals. A change of brand does not by itself change who holds the licence or the trust account, and the public register kept by the Office of Fair Trading shows the licensed name behind any trading name.

What comes next

The Noosa business has flagged a second office. The Harcourts group has its New South Wales territory to develop. McGrath's franchise team has said it is building its presence across the region, which suggests further Queensland announcements.

The broader test will come with the spring selling season, when new offices find out how many listings their districts produce in a slower market than the one in which their plans were drawn up.

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.

About Kooky and Shaka →