An appreciation for the finer things: Early days with Alex

Alex grew up in Prahran. First as an only child. Then, very suddenly, as the older brother of triplet sisters.

‘Three sisters, plus me, plus Mum and Dad in a two-bedroom Victorian made life interesting, to say the least,’ Alex jokes.

His parents were artists, so money was tight. But experiences were non-negotiable.

‘We didn’t have much, but my parents were all about living,’ he says. ‘So we’d still prioritise going to nice restaurants or seeing what’s on at the theatre.’

In fact, the theatre trips were monthly. So too were the solo restaurant visits Alex would make at 13 years old (‘They would always check that I could pay for it before they took my order!’). And then there were the endless nights watching Grand Designs.

‘I was indoctrinated by Grand Designs,’ Alex says. ‘I’d be on the floor in my dad’s room, he’d be on his bed – and we’d watch it all night.’

But books were perhaps Alex’s biggest influence of all.

‘One of the first books I loved was The Hobbit. My dad would read it to me before bed, then I read it myself, and then it became our study book at school.’

It was the beginning of a lifelong literary obsession.

 

Finding beauty everywhere: An enduring love of language

Today, Alex’s reading list oscillates between fiction, Greek classics and philosophy. Dostoyevsky one week. Plato the next.

‘If I wasn’t a real estate agent, I’d probably be a literature or history teacher,’ he says. ‘I have this green corduroy suit with a funky tie, and whenever I wear it, people say I’m in history teacher mode.’

Underneath the eclectic reading list is an approach Alex carried from childhood: an appreciation of beauty and balance. It influences the books he reads, the architecture he loves, even the way he dresses.

And then there’s language.

‘I just love learning different words.’

Alex speaks Serbian and some Greek – the latter partly acquired through getting his morning coffee in Oakleigh, where staff spent years talking to him under the impression he was Greek.

‘I was kind of cosplaying,’ he laughs.

The commitment paid off. Recently, Alex sold a property for a 90-year-old Greek client who spoke little English.

‘I did the whole deal with him in Greek.’

Which, for Alex, gets to the heart of what he believes real estate should actually be about: meeting people where they’re at.

 

Drawing up different plans: Heading to university

After high school, Alex enrolled in a communications degree.

On paper, it made sense: Creativity. Writing. People.

But in reality?

‘I was bored to death,’ Alex laughs. ‘The saving grace was that I had literature and philosophy electives.’

So, after COVID, Alex switched to architecture – returning to that childhood fascination sparked by all those evenings with Kevin McCloud.

But that didn’t quite stick either.

‘I didn’t end up practising architecture after I graduated,’ he says. ‘It’s just not Grand Designs. No one is building Grand Designs anymore!’

Yet neither experience went to waste.

Communications sharpened his understanding of storytelling. Architecture developed his eye for form and proportion in properties.

And Alex was about to find somewhere else to put his love of beauty to work.

 

Cut from a different cloth: Suiting up at Harrolds

After graduating from uni, Alex wasn’t quite ready to begin a career as an architect. So, when he saw a job opening at Harrolds, he thought, why not?

Working in tailoring put Alex in front of an extraordinary cross-section of people – and some equally extraordinary suits.

‘I was dealing with high-net-worth individuals from all different backgrounds. And one thing I’ve always been good at is adapting to who I’m speaking to,’ Alex shares. ’So I felt like I really hit the ground running there.’

He gained so much momentum that clients began asking him whether he’d consider a career in real estate.

One such client connected Alex with people in the industry and, eventually, Gary Peer. And after some meetings with Phillip Kingston, Daniel Peer and Leor Samuel, Alex officially became a Gary Peer real estate agent.

And so did someone else from Harrolds. Who, it’s safe to say, is Alex’s personal favourite colleague – of all time.

His now-fiancée, Ghazaleh.

Before their first date, Alex took a Tom Ford suit to his tailor for alterations.

‘My tailor asked if it was serious. I said, “I feel like I’m going to marry this girl.”’

Unbeknownst to Alex, Ghazaleh was getting ready with a friend, saying essentially the same thing.

The rest, as they say, is history.

 

The anti-agent agent: Alex’s real estate approach

Ancient Greek philosophy. Russian literature. Multilingualism. It’s not exactly the holy trinity of the stereotypical real estate agent.

Then again, Alex has never been particularly interested in becoming one.

‘I actually don’t think real estate is about selling at all,’ Alex says. ‘I think it’s about people.’

Because Alex believes the real skill lies in understanding who’s sitting opposite you.

‘I want to know what people are interested in,’ he says. ‘The goal is to create a connection and understand what somebody needs and wants, then do your best to get those things for them.’

But still, the property expertise has to be there, too. Although, that part tends to come easy.

‘The product is there, and it’s usually exceptional,’ Alex says. ‘My job is to tell the product’s story and create a connection between the prospective buyer and the product.’

After all, ‘A table is a table. But if you attach a story to the table, it becomes something else.’

 

Two years at full speed: A Gary Peer career

Alex credits much of his early real estate success to everything that came before.

Harrolds, particularly, taught him how to move comfortably between worlds.

‘I might be speaking to an 80-year-old gentleman now, then the next client might be a 25-year-old Bitcoin millionaire.’

But Gary Peer gave him something else: room to grow.

‘It feels like a family business. There’s a culture of bringing people up. The directors and owners really want you to succeed.’

Two people have been particularly instrumental.

‘Wayne Goodings, my coach, has been there from the start. He sensed my ambition – and pushed me into situations where my abilities could be tested and recognised.’

Then there’s Carnegie Director, Leor Samuel.

‘I see Leor as a life mentor. I can ask him anything – a financial question, what to do in a sticky situation – or just sit and have a chat.’

For Alex, having people he can count on, like them, has been invaluable.

 

Still just getting started: A Partner in crime

Just two years after joining Gary Peer, Alex has been made Partner.

A career-defining moment? He isn’t so sure.

‘It definitely feels like a sense of achievement. But it also just feels like I’m on my road. It’s like a birthday. It happens, it’s fun, but then you have to keep going to the next year.’

That reaction makes more sense when you understand the expectations Alex places on himself.

‘I need to be successful at what I’m doing. I want to be the best at what I’m passionate about.’

It’s an appetite he traces back to his humble beginnings. But what comes after Partner?

‘I want to keep progressing. But I don’t necessarily have a particular goal in mind,’ he says. ‘If my ambition is to be the best at what I’m doing, and the byproduct is that I become a director or own an office, then that’s what it is.’

 

Want to meet more of the people who make Gary Peer, Gary Peer? Head to The Peer Blog to discover their stories.