With over two decades spent working in the harbourside suburb, JT Allen Double Bay’s new general manager is back at it in the Sydney locale.

JT Allen Double Bay has revealed its appointment of Sarah Bester as the general manager of the family-owned operation.

With 20 years managing offices across Double Bay and Sydney’s Lower North Shore under her belt, these are familiar waters for Ms Bester.

The leading manager has called this the culmination of a longstanding relationship not just with the area, but with the JT Allen management team as well. Most notably, with JT Allen managing director Joshua Allen.

Ms Bester shared that she has known the operator for 16 years, before revealing: “Together, we are looking to grow JT Allen Real Estate and nurture long-term relationships with our clients.”

“I have helped launch the careers of many of the most celebrated agents in the eastern suburbs by supporting their goals, one of which was Josh Allen, whose values and ethics align with mine,” Ms Bester continued.

Mr Allen returned the sentiment, stating: “Sarah has an incredible track record of excellence, dedication and commitment to the real estate industry, and we’re beyond excited and proud to welcome her to the JT Allen team.”

“Her experience and knowledge are unmatched and her appointment to general manager at JT Allen is crucial to furthering our growth and long-term success,” he added.

A Lower North Shore local, Ms Bester has previously been reported as overseeing over $1 billion of property sales, and more than 2,000 transactions during her 20 years at Ray White Double Bay, before making a move across the bridge to Raine & Horne Lower North Shore.

The agent now wants to turn her attention towards supporting up-and-coming agencies, saying that it is her “motivation to provide support for talented, growing teams, so I’m delighted to be joining Josh and the team at this pivotal time”.

JT Allen Welcomes General Manager, Sarah Bester

Last June, art dealer Steve Nasteski snapped up two adjoining Art Deco flats on Double Bay beach for $7.9m. The amalgamated residence has now sold for an unbelievable price.

On the morning of the first open home on Saturday, the three-bedroom, three-bathroom, ground floor 145sqm residence with four-car parking at 

That equates to a whopping $96,000 per sqm — the second highest price per sqm ever in 

The sales agent, Ben Collier of The Agency, had only listed the property two days ago with a $13m guide but sources advise it was the Double Bay agent who sold Nasteski the property, Josh Allen of JT Allen, who’d introduced the buyer.

When contacted this morning, Allen refused to discuss the sale price or the purchaser.

But it’s not hard to see why the beachfront residence with a prized northern aspect won over a buyer so quickly.

The slick Italian marble kitchen and bathrooms, automated pop-up TV cleverly concealed in the living room floor, Siberian Oak chevron floors and beachside position would be enough to win over any discerning cashed-up buyer.

The proximity to Double Bay village — walking distance and flat — is also part of the appeal.

Nasteski, who is based in Byron Bay and had put the Double Bay property in his EY strategy consultant son Marcus Ace-Nasteski’s name, is becoming famous for flipping properties in the east and making huge profits.

In 2020, he sold a Darling Point apartment for $13.3m that he’d bought for $7.5m a year earlier.

But the high rate per sqm in Double Bay will no doubt be the source of much chatter in property circles this morning.

It was Josh Allen who’d achieved the current record per sqm in Double Bay, $108,000 per sqm, when a downsizer 

bought a $16m penthouse in William St last March

Allen’s vendors on the Double Bay beachfront last June had been the founders of the Doctor Juice outlets, Gary Pogson and Brad Johnson.

They’d bought the two unrenovated flats 21 years ago for $740,000 and $760,000.

Sold for $14mil – Second-Highest Price/sqm Sale in Double Bay!

Last week we came together as a team and family to celebrate our successes, reconnect, motivate each other and be inspired by others. Hosted at Bibo, in Double Bay we enjoyed celebrating our results achieved in the first half of this year.

We also heard from the incredible Bondi Rescue’s Harries, who shared his incredible stories of courage, bravery and resilience. He also enlightened us all with his insights team work, the importance of ethical work, staying true to your values and the importance of bringing it all back full circle to your community.

Our unique culture in a competitive industry and lucrative market is built on the human element where trust, loyalty, approachability and being genuine are the values that drive us and keep us grounded. We take pride in working together as a team to ensure the dedication and vision for excellence are executed in everything we do, this includes celebrating and recognising our achievements.

JT Allen Team Celebrating Our Successes

As we wrap up the first quarter of 2023, JT Allen Real Estate has been fortunate to experience success during March, selling properties in some of Sydney’s most desirable areas, including Bondi Beach, Edgecliff, Double Bay, Clovelly, Bellevue Hill, and Randwick. We recognise that our success is not solely due to the appeal of these locations, but also to our team’s hard work and dedication.

Our Property Management team has seen its lowest arrears ever experienced with no defaulting tenants and our vacancy rate is 0.83% the team continues to work hard to support our owners and tenants through these interesting times. With rents rising strongly for houses and apartments, this is a great market for Investors and Landlords.

We recognise that the real estate market is constantly evolving, and we are committed to staying ahead of the curve and adapting to new challenges and opportunities as they arise.

The first quarter of 2023 has also been eventful for JT Allen internally.

We celebrated the incredible women in our team on International Women’s Day. Each and every one of them plays a vital role in the success of JT Allen, and we’re grateful that they’re part of our team.

Our Sales Team also had the pleasure of attending ‘The Tesolin Conference’ where they spent the day listening to various experts in the Real Estate industry, gaining valuable knowledge and insights that they can bring into their day-to-day operations.

Our incredible Property Manager, Isabella Battell, and Sales Executive, Ryan Rubinstein, were both featured in The Daily Telegraph as Rising Stars in the Real Estate industry. We’re so proud of all their achievements and can’t wait to see what future successes they continue to have.

And we also welcomed Xenia Goodwin (Property Officer) and Rachael Walsh (Sales & Marketing Coordinator) to our growing team. We’re glad to have them on board!

From our JT Family to yours we want to wish you a Happy Passover and Easter and a restful, peaceful break.

Wrapping up Q1 at JT Allen

Sydney’s real estate rising stars: The best agents under the age of 35

From Bondi to Double Bay, these are the young and up-and-coming superstars of Sydney’s competitive real estate world, already making an outsized mark.

They are young, ambitious and have wasted no time making their mark in Sydney’s competitive real estate market.

Some of these top young players in the industry 

made more than $5 million in annual gross commission

While some have only a few years of experience under their belts, they are already making their mark in the competitive world — with one young gun having already sold $50m worth of stock by the age of 19.

Get ready to meet the rising stars, aged 35 and under, reaching new heights in the high-stakes eastern suburbs property market.

Ryan Rubinstein has worked as a real estate agent in Sydney’s eastern suburbs for almost four years.

By the age of 19 he had sold more than $50m worth of stock and in a short span of time became the JT Allen’s youngest agent to become its highest billing associate.

At the age of 16 Mr Rubinstein began working after school in real estate offices to learn the trade and make connections in the industry. After completing his HSC, he launched his career and quickly gained his impressive reputation.

He said counterintuitively his youth had benefited him as property sales had become more digitally focused.

“Coming into the industry where things are evolving from print-based media to digital, I think I’ve got an upper hand in regards to how I attract that property to the right clientele in a unique way, that’s going to maximise the exposure and the result,” Mr Rubinstein said.

“For them to trust me [at 17 years old] is a representation to the value I have as well as my dedication,”

Isabella Battell is a property manager at JT Allen and joined the industry two years ago after a short stint in tourism.

She said watching her father’s real estate career growing up had helped her see how she could thrive in the industry.

Ms Battell pointed to the more than 200 properties she had leased in a single month as a peak career achievement. She said honesty, loyalty, dedication and attention to detail were traits that had seen her thrive in the high pressure industry.

Read the full article by Daily Telegraph's Bianca Healey 

Sydney’s Rising Real Estate Stars!

February was a busy month at JT Allen with plenty of new stock coming to market. We had properties launch in Point Piper, Bondi Beach, Double Bay, Darling Point, and Clovelly to name a few. With more rate increases expected over the coming months to ensure inflation returns to target, those that are thinking of selling are best to capitalise now while stock levels are relatively low.

We have seen Sydney clearance rates start to improve with a recent weekend seeing the highest clearance rate in 12 months with the rate jumping to 78%, which shows that buyer sentiment is improving. AMP Chief Economist, Shane Oliver, believes the return of immigration and the tight rental market could be the main drivers behind the sudden change.

The Sydney rental market is still going through a unique period with some of the lowest levels of vacancy in recent history. We have seen rents increase 10-20% with very little push back from tenants due to lack of rental stock. With open for inspections seeing large numbers of attendees, properties that are priced correctly are being leased in one or two inspections.

February also saw the team come together to connect, learn, share and kick-off 2023 at our Success Made Real conference. At JT Allen we are all about investing in our people to support them in their journey to success and help unleash their potential.

Thanks to our incredible team for co-creating such a successful conference and to our wonderful presenters for sharing their knowledge, facilitating important discussions and motivating us! Looking forward to many more team-building days of sharing, connecting and inspiring each other as well as seeing some incredible results in March.

February recap at JT Allen

The JT Allen team has had a fast start to 2023, hitting the ground running with renewed energy, lots of new listings coming up and our new office renovation almost complete – we are ready to take on the year!

Already in January we have seen that there are lots of people with a strong interest in buying property. Buyers who missed out on purchasing at the end of 2022 are ready to buy now. Home buyers and investors have still been obtaining finance approvals, with $28 billion in finance approved across Australia last month. Following the Covid pandemic, we are also seeing a flight to quality and increased focus on liveability. With these priorities changing, some buyers are now willing to spend more on a property with more space and security, allowing them to comfortably work from home.

Now is the time to get your foot in the door of the Sydney property market while others are sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see what happens next.

Watch this space for listings coming up all over the Eastern Suburbs including Double Bay, Point Piper, Clovelly, Rose Bay and Centennial Park, to name a few, and for advice on your financial options, reach out to our finance partner, 

Looking forward to working together with our clients to create genuine and trustworthy partnerships to achieve real record-breaking results. Here’s to 2023!

https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/what-s-the-outlook-for-property-prices-in-2023-20221219-p5c7hx.html

https://propertyupdate.com.au/property-investment-sydney/

Welcoming 2023

Christmas is known as a time for giving and spreading joy. The time of year where families come together and celebrate the holiday period by sharing a meal together and exchanging gifts, generally with a main focus on spoiling the children in our lives with gifts and seeing the joy on their faces Christmas morning as they unwrap presents of all kinds.

While this is the scene for many of us on Christmas Day, others aren’t as fortunate. Many children will be spending the Christmas period in hospital, away from their families and friends during a season that should be filled with hope and laughter.

This year JT Allen will be joining the Sydney Children’s Hospital 

 campaign by collecting and donating gifts for sick kids and we would love to receive your contributions.

Please come and visit us at 418 New South Head Road in Double Bay and place your gift under our Christmas tree at reception. Please drop off your gifts by Monday, 19 December.

Gifts must be unwrapped (gift bag is fine) so hospital staff can easily deliver gifts to suit the children’s ages, which range from 0-18 years.

Please ensure the toys are suitable and safe for the patients at Sydney Children’s Hospital by following these guidelines:

All toys must meet Australian Safety Standards and for health and safety reasons must be brand new and unopened with tags still attached

Toys that resemble weapons such as nerf guns or swords will not be accepted

The hospital is unable to give out toys that have small detachable parts that can be swallowed, or button batteries


Examples of some gifts, for inspiration:

Rattles and baby toys, baby books, baby rings, soothers, soft toys, musical toys, baby rattles, sensory toys.

Play-doh, Duplo and Mega blocks, Thomas the Tank Engine, Squishmallows, books, imaginative toys (tea sets, tool kits), stickers, dolls, Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig, Bluey, Sesame Street

Lego kits, arts and crafts materials, science and medical kits, craft kits, kinetic sand, fidget toys, jigsaw puzzles, Hot Wheels cars and trucks, board games, Barbie, hair accessories and nail polish, books, superhero figurines.

Gift vouchers, arts and crafts kits, Bluetooth speakers and headphones, Lego kits, Nintendo Switch lite and games, fidget toys, jigsaw puzzles, nail polish, board games, craft and activity kits, accessories from Typo, books.

All of us at JT Allen are looking forward to being able to help give sick children the brightest Christmas possible and we’d love to thank you all in advance for any contribution you’re able to make to the cause.

Light Up Xmas with JT Allen and SCHF

For almost 10 years we have achieved high performance results for the sellers, buyers and landlords in our community. Together with our no-ego, down to earth approach, we have earned a reputation for trustworthiness, reliability and a great customer experience. Now we have reached a point where our brand needs to better reflect our ambition to be the first choice when it comes to property.

The result is a sophisticated and stand-out new look and feel that you will no doubt see throughout the Eastern Suburbs, on For Sale signs, For Lease signs and, of course, on our agency shopfront in Double Bay.

Our new positioning statement Results made real gives the world a clearer idea about our major point of difference to other agencies.

Not only does it refer to our track record of delivering record results; it also speaks to our authentic approach founded on integrity, market smarts and rock-solid values. In other words, when we walk into your home, find out more about your life, and talk to you about your dreams and aspirations, we are genuinely invested in helping you achieve your goals.