Why this old fashioned estate agent won’t raise your rent – and are powerful words every greedy landlord in Australia should read
- Rents in Wollongong increased by 12.7 percent in 2022
- Broker Bob Onofri, 90, against the trend
- Refuses to raise rents during a national crisis
Meet the real estate agent that every renter would like to have.
Bob Onofri, 90, is one of the best-known agents in Wollongong, trading from the same shop for 55 years.
In his 1960s office, little has changed in the past half century, including a switchboard from before he got a landline.
With no mobile phone, computer, internet or social media, technology isn’t the only thing he shuns.
Mr. Onofri also bucks the trend by rarely raising rents, which increased by an average of 12.7 percent in the Wollongong region in 2022, according to data from CoreLogic.
He is passionate about making concessions for renters with children as the cost of living comes under pressure.
“I maintain that an extra $20 is an investment for the owner, but $20 is more important for a family to take care of their children,” Onofri told the paper. ABC.
The only technology respected broker Bob Onofri uses is his office landline
Born in Italy and a cookery maker by trade, Mr. Onofri emigrated to Australia after World War II and worked on the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme before moving to Melbourne.
He later moved to Port Kembla where he worked for Electric Power Transmission before becoming a broker in 1961.
He enjoys the respect of rival estate agents, who believe Mr Onofri’s reluctance to raise rents is a win-win for landlords in the long run as well, as they don’t pay rent every time a new tenant moves in.
“He has relationships with his landlords and tenants and that’s what’s missing these days,” said agent Paul Spinelli.
“It’s good old-fashioned personal service.”
Much-loved real estate agent Bob Onofri (pictured) celebrated his 90th birthday last August
Little has changed on Bob Onofri’s storefront (pictured) in the last 55 years.
The average rent in Wollongong is $620, up from $550 in December 2021, according to Core Logic.
Mr. Onofri described the current real estate market as “crazy” and is saddened to read about families sleeping in cars due to the national rental crisis.
‘That’s horrible. I see things like that, and it hurts you. People are people; we have to treat them like people,” he told realestateview last year.
Many of his clients come from Italian families who have done business with him for generations.
“My way of staying in this industry so far is just because I’m helping people,” he said.
“People come back, and they come back. It is based on good relationships – I strongly believe in that.’
Mr. Onofri does not plan to retire any time soon and hopes to renew his brokerage license for another three years.
Bob Onofri (pictured) is eager to help his tenants as the cost of living comes under pressure
The experienced estate agent refuses to raise rents, despite skyrocketing prices in the Wollongong region