Professionals Real Estate 
Melissa Ferrier, a familiar face on the Hamilton real estate scene, has staked her faith in Victoria’s regional property market by stepping into a new business venture. After 14 years working in the property industry locally, Mrs Ferrier has opened her own real estate agency at Hamilton under the fast-growing Professionals banner.
Professionals Hamilton has been operating in the heart of town at 108 Brown Street. Mrs Ferrier is already eying growth plans over the next 6 to 12 months. “The Hamilton market has been quite active for some time now, so this is an exciting time to be starting a business,” said Mrs Ferrier.
“We’re a tight-knit team of two at the moment, which gives us an edge in terms of personalised service.
“However, after joining the Professionals network we’re looking to really grow the business at a time when demand for property is quite strong. Our team will expand over time to support that growth.
“We’re a new brand in town, backed by the best agency network in Australia, and we believe the timing couldn’t be better.”
Mrs Ferrier has worked locally for more than 30 years in various fields including, banking, finance and insurance. She said the Professionals network was an obvious choice for her first foray as owner of a real estate business. “I like the culture, the structure and the size of the group as It gives me a wide area to grow within the Professionals network,” she said.
“The group’s sponsorship of the National Breast Cancer Foundation is also important to me as it gives back to a cause that I have supported for a very long time.”
Mrs Ferrier described the Hamilton property market as resilient with real potential to grow. “The market locally is in a really strong position at the moment and it has been for the past 18 months,” she said.
“Buyers are coming out of larger regional areas and the city looking for reasonably priced houses. We’re seeing that with families as well as retirees who are looking to enhance their lifestyle and have money left over from their previous sale.
“It helps that we are in the most amazing place in Victoria. We’re an hour from the beach and an hour from the Grampians. We are just so central.”
Mrs Ferrier said investors were also starting to target Hamilton thanks to the strength of property yields.
“We haven’t seen a great deal of capital growth in recent times and at the moment there is a shortage of rentals which is supporting solid returns on decent properties.” Alongside Mrs Ferrier, the Professionals Hamilton team includes Sharon Jackson in property management and administration.
