The tin shed keeping an Aussie real estate giant humble

Dan White runs Australia’s biggest real estate business, but it’s a simple tin shed in country Queensland that he holds close to his heart. 

For Mr White, who is the managing director of Ray White Group and fourth generation to run the business, the shed is a special part of their history.  

Located in Crows Nest, about 158 kilometres west of Brisbane, the shed is where the founder, Ray White, first opened the Aussie household name 123 years ago.   

Standing in front of the shed, Mr White said the simple structure was a reminder that the country’s largest real estate brand started from humble beginnings.  

“We’re so fortunate to have the original shed that you can go inside of and touch, it’s the humble beginnings of where it all started,” Mr White said.    

“It teaches us what ambition can achieve and what can come from generations of hard work and commitment to creating a business of which we can all be proud.” 

The Ray White story is all about family and real estate, and it’s something Mr White remembers from an early age.  

Mr White’s earliest memory of real estate and family was wrestling with his brothers as youngsters while their father Brian was trying to call an auction.  

“I can remember literally being picked up by my father mid-auction and put over his shoulder to try and keep us under control,” he said.  

“I always remembered being around the business from a very young age.”  

Family and business has been intertwined for generations of the White family, and the shed was a nod to the work done by previous generations. 

“We keep the stories of the past and the moments of truth that got us to this point, and things we overcame, which helps us appreciate the work that’s been done,” he said.  

“The responsibility for the each generation is to make it better and take it to a better spot.” 

“It’s quite liberating knowing that your job is to continually try and improve it.  

“There’s no finish line, there’s no moment we’re trying to get to, it’s just a consistent effort over a long period of time, and more good things will come.” 

It comes as Mr White and more than 3000 members of the Ray White business prepare for the Ray White Connect conference on the Gold Coast this week.  

“Hopefully people go away feeling like they’re part of a group that offers the strongest future for them and that’s going to give them the best springboard for them to reach their potential,” he said.  

“We hope people come away feeling like the business feels still young, it’s got energy and that it hasn’t yet reached its peak.”  

The Ray White Connect conference runs 10-12 August.  

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