Extensive experience in selling a wide variety of properties some of which he has had the privilege to sell 5, 6, 7 and even 8 times over the decades in all price ranges, townships and rural areas of the Macedon Ranges.

John’s sales include many of the best and most significant garden estate properties in Mount Macedon, among them are; Alton, Ard Rudah, Bolobek, Coolangatta, Glen Rannoch, Karori, Marnanie, Penrith, Penbryn, Sefton, Tieve Tara and Viewfield, all of which he has sold twice!

He has also twice sold many of the largest rural acreage and best equine properties in the area, including; Gisborne Park, Glenfern Park, Flint Hill, Tylden Waters, Shirley Park and Yungaburra.

John conducted his first auction on 15 June 1973 in the Kerrie Hall for an 81 acre former pig farm in the Kerrie Valley. The reserve price was $60,000 and it sold for $74,500. He has conducted over 1500 auctions, setting many records including the first $1m auction sale outside of Melbourne ($1,125,000 in 1988) and the highest ever, at the time, under the hammer auction sale in Victoria for a residential property ($8,175,000 in 2005) - for Sefton at Mount Macedon.

In 1993, John auctioned “Arundel Farm” an 80 square, two storey bluestone home on 292 acres at Keilor only 1.2km from the southern end of the north-south runway at Melbourne Airport. In planning for the auction, he negotiated an agreement with Air Traffic Control that if wind speeds at the time of the auction were less than 15 knots so air safety would not be compromised, all flights would only use the east-west runway for one hour before the auction and half an hour after the auction to shield the auction venue from the noise of jumbo jets taking off on the north-south runway!

Since 2003, he has proudly been leading the way in Victoria conducting totally transparent declared reserve price auctions.

John’s clients have included many high-net-worth private families, executors, trustee companies, churches, public and private companies including the Pratt Group, Coles Myer and Fosters Group, as well as many captains of industry including three past chairmen of the National and ANZ banks and managing directors of CRA and Sothebys.

John has been named several times in Victorian State Parliament debates since 2003 for supporting changes to improve the integrity of auction practices including the need for reform of auction rules to stamp out dummy bidding and underquoting.

John has served on several Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) Committees including the Legislation & Forms Committee, Education Committee, Complaints Disputes & Arbitration Committee, Auction Committee and the Ethics Committee of which he was Chairman from 2000 to 2008. He represented the Bendigo Division of the REIV on the REIV Members Council for 41 years and was the recipient of the REIV President’s Award in 2008 “In recognition of outstanding service to the REIV and contribution to the real estate profession.” He has attended at International real estate conferences in San Fransisco, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Christchurch and Melbourne and he has been a member of The (Sydney based) Ethics Centre - previously known as St James Ethics Centre since 1995.

John has considerable experience in handling deceased estate sales including providing general counsel in what can often be complex competing executor responsibilities and beneficiary interests.

Integral to his broad experience, John has conducted about 130 mortgagee sales for a wide variety of properties including 70 mortgagee auctions in the 1991 to 1996 economic downturn on behalf of 22 major banks and finance companies. His highest mortgagee auction sale price is $4,600,000.

John has regularly been retained to act on behalf of purchasers to negotiate and buy by private sale or bid at auctions in locations as diverse as Eltham, South Yarra, Essendon, Barwon Heads, Colac, Bendigo and of course in the Macedon Ranges.

In the early 1970s, John coined the name “Macedon Ranges” to collectively brand and market the townships and hamlets of the area for his advertising in the classified “Rivers of Gold” columns of the then The Age Country Property Section. Subsequently, the name Macedon Ranges was officially adopted as a region when the Shires of Gisborne, Newham and Woodend, Romsey and Kyneton were amalgamated in 1995 to become the Macedon Ranges Shire.

John has an excellent working knowledge of town planning and land use and development in the Macedon Ranges. He has worked with many experienced town planners, planning solicitors and senior counsel in VCAT matters.

In 1973, John abandoned studies to be a (sworn) valuer as he decided he would prefer to be the creator of values, rather than the analyser of sales! Most sales require finance and input from valuers, and John’s strong relationships developed over decades with many of Victoria’s most experienced and respected valuers has helped to get many sales for his clients across the line.

John has extensive negotiation experience and has always used his skills, knowledge and experiences to help solve his customers’ and clients’ problems and needs. In 1980, he attended in America with about 100 senior realtors at an address on “The art of negotiating” delivered by Henry Kissinger, who was regarded as one of the world’s best negotiators.

John is frequently sought out by print, radio and television media for his incisive and accurate market commentary, and on real estate professional practice issues.

John has had a proud association with the establishment of education facilities in the Macedon Ranges. He negotiated the sale of 319 acres to Braemar College for their new Romsey Road, Woodend campus, a sale to Melbourne Grammar School of 92 acres to complement their Woodend campus and the sale of the 831 acre Tye Estate at Kerrie to John Marsden for the establishment of his Candlebark School. He also acted for St. Bridgids Parish in Gisborne to acquire 21 acres for the establishment of Holy Cross Primary School in New Gisborne, and acted for St. Ambrose Parish in Woodend to both acquire and sell land to facilitate the establishment of St. Ambrose Primary School.

John has been actively involved since 1970 in many local business, church, municipal and sporting groups including the building committees for St. Ambrose Primary School, the Woodend CFA Fire Station, and Buffalo Sports Stadium. He is a life member and former 1st lieutenant of the Woodend CFA and in 1996 he edited, “The History of the Woodend Fire Brigade 1896 -1996.” He was a member of the Macedon and Mount Macedon Reconstruction Advisory Committee after the February 1983 Ash Wednesday fire when over 400 homes were destroyed. John played football for Woodend and for about 30 years, he was the advocate for the Woodend-Hesket Football Club in tribunal matters.

John has sold many of the most recognised heritage properties in the Macedon Ranges, some 2, 3 or 4 times and has been a member of the National Trust of Victoria since 1976.