In profile: McVay Real Estate's managing director, Sam McVay

Agent: Sam McVay

Position: Managing director

Company: McVay Real Estate

Office Location: Sydney

How long have you been in the industry? 

12 years

What’s happening in the area you specialise in?

We focus on the sale of office buildings, hotels and shopping centres. In the last six months we've seen accelerated buyer appetite from both domestic and offshore groups, evidenced by the recent campaign and ultimate sale of the Four Seasons Hotel to a Mirae Asset Management. 

Describe the most interesting property you have sold?

I loved selling Birkenhead Point Shopping Centre a few years back. It has an interesting history and was a very complicated asset with lots of moving parts. In saying that, we are now selling the Sydney Opera House Carpark and it is an incredible feat of engineering with some amazing hidden tunnels that burrow under the Botanic Gardens.

What are the ingredients to being successful in your job?

Focus, passion, complete understanding of the property you're selling and a supportive wife.

What aspects of your role do you enjoy the most?

I enjoy the analytical and strategic side of our business but also love the human element that can dictate a deal happening or not. The closing celebrations are good fun too.

Where would you invest a spare $750,000?

There are some experienced boutique property syndicators out there who are taking advantage of the gaps in the current market.  I'd invest with those that contribute their own equity alongside that of investors and have their fees based primarily on the overall performance of the asset once it has been held for three plus years.

Which football team do you support?

Queensland Reds / Brisbane Broncos

What’s your favourite app or techno gadget?

We invested in a variety of cloud based IT systems that I discovered whilst living in the US. They have streamlined so many of our processes and allow us to adapt and scale as technology and our business evolve.

How do you use social media?

Typically for marketing of our current listings and major announcements, and to potentially find people that fit our expanding team.