Five women bossing it in real estate - Amber Werchon

Women working in real estate

Nearly 40 years ago, men made up almost 80%¹ of all sales agents in real estate. 20 years later, that number was down to 67%². Today, it's just 53.5%³. Suffice to say, real estate is no longer a boy's club. Women are breaking down barriers and achieving unbridled success in the property game. The REIQ took the time to reach out to five of Queensland's most prominent real estate women. And yes, it was painfully difficult narrowing down the shortlist to just five. In our opinion, there are hundreds across the State who are absolutely 'bossing it'.

Among them is the multi-award-winning, business-owning mother of three, Amber Werchon.

A born salesperson

As the daughter of a car salesman, Werchon made her first sale in the schoolyard, aged six. "Later I worked in retail and did well in that, so it was obvious to me I should work in sales," she says. "And houses are the biggest thing to sell." Werchon started in real estate aged 17 as a receptionist. She did her registration course and began selling aged 18 when a sales position became available. "My passion was to sell, and I knew I wasn't old enough but I was willing to do anything to get in the door," she says.

"As an 18-year-old, agents told me I'd be eaten up by the industry."

From there, Werchon set out on a rapid upwards trajectory. At 20 she won REIQ Rookie Salesperson of the Year, and a year later won REIQ's People's Choice Award. At 22 she won REIQ Salesperson of the Year for Sunshine Coast, and in the following three years won the same award for Queensland. Then at 26, Werchon launched her own agency: Amber Werchon Property. Six years later, the business won REIQ Medium Residential Agency of the Year. Two years after that, Werchon received the accolade she remains the most proud of: being featured on Financial Review's Fast 100 list for 2016. "It's all industries, it's national, and it's nothing to do with the individual - just how the business is performing," she says. "I was chuffed about that one."

The biggest highlight of all though? "Meeting my husband and having three beautiful boys."

The secret to longevity

"When I first started as an 18-year-old, agents told me I'd be eaten up by the industry - there were no young females in real estate then," she recalls. "It took resilience to get through that and to get through the GFC and then COVID. I went through staff leaving, major things like a death in the family, and having a baby - or three." Challenge after challenge, Werchon pressed on, always finding success on the far side of setbacks. "Ultimately, you have to be resilient to be in it for this long."

Finding the perfect balance

After nearly two dozen successive years of achievements, Werchon is finally ready to take her foot off the gas - just a little. "It's a very addictive industry and you could work around the clock if you wanted to," she explains. "For some people, being motivated enough to work that hard might be their challenge, but for me it's been about not letting it take over." Now with her husband and three children, Werchon is ready to spend fewer hours at the office, and more with her family. "I don't feel like we need to get bigger; retaining people is my passion now," she says. "The new daily and weekly challenge is maintaining a balance." To us, at least, trying to spend more time at home with a family sounds like a good challenge to have.

Want to hear more about women's success in real estate? The next of our five women taking the real estate world by storm is Jamie Billerwell. You can read her story here.

Sources:

1. https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/8663.01992-93?OpenDocument

2. https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/8663.02002-03?OpenDocument

3. https://www.payscale.com/research/AU/Job=Real_Estate_Agent/Salary

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