A life-long love of real estate

By the time Sunshine Coast-based auctioneer, Yianni Mooney, was just 15 years old, he already knew his future career was going to be in real estate.

His grandmother had been a sales agent and his family had been active property buyers and sellers during his childhood, but he was a little unsure how to get a start given he was still in high school.
“So, I just door-knocked the main street of Caloundra and found a real estate agency that would employ me one day a week as a school-based trainee while I was in Year 11 and 12. As soon as I turned 18, I started as a full-time real estate agent,” he recalls.

Within four years, Yianni had launched his own real estate agency and had already fallen in love with the auction craft.

“I was a very auction-focused real estate agent in a mostly non-auction area back then,” he says.

“So, the choice to become an auctioneer was a really easy one for me. It made total sense to me.

“My first ever listing was an auction, so, I saw how beneficial it was for sellers and buyers from the start and I was just instantly hooked.”

His selling patch in Caloundra – at the southern end of the Sunshine Coast – had traditionally not been a strong auction area, so, it took some time to help educate buyers and sellers about the benefits of using the sales technique.

“Every day I would be talking to sellers about the benefits of auctions and getting them to commit to it in a non-auction area,” he says.

“I don’t think I ever went into a living room where they committed to auction straight away. Normally it was selling them on the process, which was no easy ride.”

From that time to this, Yianni has called hundreds of auctions with his skillset and expertise in the craft becoming more pronounced with each and every one.

The unconditional nature of auctions continues to be the most significant benefit for sellers, he says, with buyers having the opportunity to purchase transparently as well.

Yianni recently joined forces with Apollo Auctions and is excited about partnering with one of Australia’s leading auction houses.

“The agents that I represent will benefit from the backing and experience of the entire Apollo Auctions team,” he says.

“It’s not just a one-man band, it’s a whole team, and a whole company.

“The no-brainer for me was the fact that auctioneering independently can sometimes be a lonely world but now I have access to expert auctioneers across Southeast Queensland, around Australia, and even overseas.”

Now 24, Yianni has achieved more than most in the real estate world in less than a decade, which means his future looks bright.

He says while he doesn’t know what the future holds, the one thing he is certain of is his lifelong love of real estate.

“I love what I’m doing. I definitely want to continue to grow as an auctioneer. I want to be involved in more auction campaigns and learn as much as I can from the Apollo Auctions family,” he says.

“Winning the REIQ Auctioneer of the Year competition is definitely one of my goals.

“In the next 10 years, I just hope to be a more experienced auctioneer and agent and continue to dominate my 4551 space.”

Given the determination that Yianni showed to kick off his real estate career while still in high school, there is no question that he will keep achieving his goals in the decade ahead – and for many more years to come, too.