Raine & Horne Wollongong

Licensee in Charge, Company Director, Property Consultant Introducing Mathew... In truth, there will be few people in Wollongong and the wider Illawarra who don’t know Mathew, who first moved to our region in 1989 from Orange. The residential and commercial sales whiz first cut his marketing and management teeth in the retail industry as a regional manager before shifting to real estate with Raine & Horne Wollongong in 2002. He became a partner in our business in 2005 before assuming the reins entirely in 2015. A resident of Jamberoo, Mathew says the appeal of the Illawarra is that it’s a growing regional centre that ticks so many boxes that drive both the region’s residential and commercial markets. These drawcards include many excellent schools and a broad range of property choices, from one-bedroom apartments in central Wollongong to significant industrial development sites in Bellambi. Plus, who can forget the magnificent fishing, swimming, and surfing beaches? Better still, the region is exceptionally accessible to Sydney and Canberra, which is very appealing for the local small business community, driving demand for commercial real estate whether it’s a heavy industrial site Unanderra or a showroom in North Wollongong. Why can Mathew help you achieve your property goals? Mathew’s drive and consummate professionalism have helped establish Raine & Horne’s Wollongong’s residential and commercial businesses as one of the best for sales, leasing and property management across the Illawarra region. With a substantial customer focus and the intricate knowledge and experience demanded of a contemporary real estate specialist, Mathew’s resolute dedication and diligence are consistently responsible for ensuring client satisfaction. Uniquely, Mathew’s door is always open to his clients, whether they’re an SME leasing a warehouse in Bellambi or an owner occupier living in a marvellous family home in Cordeaux Heights.

A keen surfer, Dan, who grew up in the Southern Highlands, was drawn to the Illawarra soon after leaving school and has been here ever since. Now ensconced in a Wollongong CBD apartment, Dan loves the Illawarra for its magnificent beaches and the region's social vibrancy and lifestyle, including its eclectic restaurant, bar, and café culture. Before real estate, Dan, an enthusiastic snow skier, cut his business chops in the hospitality industry in the Illawarra and the snow fields of Perisher. The real estate sales whiz says his time in hospitality helped him hone his communication and negotiation skills and develop a great database of contacts that comes in handy when listing and selling a four-bedroom house for a deceased estate in Figtree or a contemporary apartment in North Wollongong.

Introducing Marnie… A resident of the Illawarra her entire life, Marnie is one of those rare breeds in real estate which operates as a sales agent and property manager simultaneously. Marnie, who has lived in Wollongong for 46 years, attended St Therese at West Wollongong for her primary education before heading to St Marys, Wollongong, for high school. After school, Marnie completed some business studies, but the lure of real estate - which she’d grown up with proved too strong. Her father, Phil, has been a successful principal and agent since 1974. An avid bushwalker, Marnie enjoys off-beaten tracks that get her outdoors, and she nominates Clover Hill at the bottom of Macquarie Pass as her favourite trek. The proximity to the beaches and ocean is another factor that keeps Marnie in Wollongong, along with the magnificent mountains such as Mt Kembla and Mt Keira. Why can Marnie help you? Two words sum up Marnie’s success as a real estate specialist, “experience” and “contacts”. Marnie has been in the Wollongong property market since 1994, first in administration, then sales and now also in property management. This experience has enabled her to build a massive database of contacts, which means around 90% of her sales and property management listings come from either repeat business or client referrals. A stellar reputation for delivering fantastic results for her vendors and buyers along with her efficiency and organisational skills set Marnie apart as a sales agent. She can sell a property anywhere from Thirroul to Albion Park, including a tiny bedsit to a magnificent multimillion-dollar waterfront. Marnie brings the same attributes as a sales agent to her role as a property manager, including time management and honest communication. But in addition to her property management competitors, as a licensed real estate agent, Marnie can help advise her landlords and vendors about the benefits of selling an investment or holding it as a rental property. If it’s a sales agent or property manager, it’s truly fair to describe Marnie as the personification of the property “one stop shop.”

Introducing Phil… It’s fair to say Phil Oppenauer has forgotten more about real estate in the Illawarra than most of his competitors will ever know. A former student of St John Vianney’s at Fairy Meadow, where his mother taught before graduating to Bellambi’s Holy Spirit (formerly St Paul’s), Phil has been a massive presence in this region’s real estate industry since 1974 when he started with a well-known independent as a partner where he stayed until 1997. At this point, he joined an office aligned with a major real estate group as a co-principal. Over time, Phil became the sole director of this business, which transferred to Raine & Horne Wollongong in 2017. Today, when not appraising, listing, and selling real estate, Phil, who grew up in Fairy Meadow and now calls the Wollongong CBD home, is hitting the fairways at Wollongong Golf Club. Why can Phil help you? Over the past five decades, there is not one aspect of the real estate industry that Phil hasn’t experienced. He’s been heavily active in residential sales and developments, land subdivisions and industrial and commercial sales. Phil’s decades-long success is due to a passion for his chosen career, which he doesn’t see as work. He delights in working with all his vendors and buyers to achieve their real estate goals. His fascination with bricks and mortar and his well-honed communication and negotiation skills also means clients keep returning to Phil for their next property sale, or referring him to their friends and family. Consequently, 90% of Phil’s sales listings are generated by either repeat business or client referrals. With Phil Oppenauer by your side, you can be sure your property is in very safe and experienced hands.