Stuart Cox has always been an avid soccer fan, but it was a chance opportunity on the sidelines more than 30 years ago that set the former electrical engineer on his path to becoming a leader in Australian real estate.
Mr Cox migrated from the United Kingdom to Western Australia as an electrical engineer in 1994, and while he didn’t love his career choice at the time, it was his ticket down under.
He started playing soccer when he arrived in Perth and it was by chance that one of his new teammates ran a real estate agency and offered him a job – an opportunity he jumped at and never looked back.
“I didn’t end up doing electrical engineering – within eight weeks of arriving in Australia, I was working in real estate,” Mr Cox told Realestate.com.au.
Today, Mr Cox is the general manager for WA at The Agency, leading a network of more than 180 real estate professionals across the state.
But the journey from that initial opportunity into leadership has been full of twists and turns.
School of hard knocks
Mr Cox’s first years in the industry were anything but easy.
“In those days, it was all commission-only and I probably spent about two years door knocking through the streets of Perth,” he said.
“Starting in real estate really is the school of hard knocks because there are 50 rejections for every acceptance.
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Stuart Cox is the general manager for WA at The Agency and leads a network of more than 180 real estate professionals. Picture: Supplied
“But the sooner you realise that – the sooner you realise it’s a numbers game.
“I preferred door knocking to phone canvassing because I came from the UK where it was dull and dark for nine months of the year, and it meant I could get out and walk the streets of sunny old Perth.”
Mr Cox was told repeatedly that his methods wouldn’t work, but he quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the top listing and selling agents within 18 months.
From there, Mr Cox went on to become a branch manager, business owner and managing director.
Mr Cox said recruiting good agents and helping them grow was highly rewarding. Picture: Supplied
He was appointed as chief executive of WA for Harcourts Real Estate in 2011, and then commenced as general manager at The Agency in 2017.
Mr Cox’s focus has shifted from selling homes to empowering the people who do, guiding his huge team with leadership, mentorship and strategic support.
“Recruiting good agents and then watching them grow is highly rewarding,” he said.
“We have a lot of success stories from finding good agents and seeing them go from strength to strength.”
Mr Cox started out as an electrical engineer before switching to real estate. Picture: Supplied
Mr Cox said The Agency had an agent-first culture where experienced professionals were treated as partners.
“We don’t micromanage people, we run a real estate company for grown-ups,” he said.
“We’ve worked hard over the past five years to take the administration load off agents, letting the admin team do admin and letting the salespeople sell.”
Tech that builds trust
While Mr Cox remains people-oriented, he’s also a vocal advocate for technology when it’s used correctly.
“We look at tech as supplementary, not as a replacement,” he said.
“It’s all about how it can help agents rather than automate them.”
From artificial intelligence to video marketing, the pace of innovation has been staggering and continues to move much faster than many in the industry can keep up with.
“In 2005, you could predict what 2008 would look like, but now we don’t know what’s coming in the next six months,” he said.
But what Mr Cox was sure about was that technology wouldn’t be replacing human trust anytime soon.
“Real estate is a low-volume, high-reward business,” he said.
“Every client has different needs, every deal is unique, so you need empathy to make it work and you can’t automate that.”
That’s why The Agency has been investing in tools that strengthen personal connection.
“We’re big on video content because it builds trust,” he said.
“When someone watches your videos regularly, they feel like they know you, even before meeting you.
“People still hand over their biggest asset to an agent and they do it because the right agent will maximise their return. It’s all about trust.”
Giving back, staying grounded
Outside of work and spending time with his family, Mr Cox is a lifelong sports enthusiast with a deep connection to soccer, or football as it’s referred to in the UK.
A passionate supporter of Leicester City and a fan of cricket and rugby, he still plays soccer and has served on the committee of Quinns FC in Perth for more than two decades.
Mr Cox kicked off his career in real estate in Perth more than three decades ago. Picture: Getty
Mr Cox is a life member of the club and continues to sponsor it to help reduce costs for players, reflecting a similar ethos that runs through The Agency.
In WA, Mr Cox has championed a number of initiatives aimed at supporting the local community.
One of the most notable has been the ‘Best in the West’ campaign, a partnership with a local television station that has seen the company donate funds to charities across the state.
“It’s about highlighting local causes and encouraging others to support them, giving them a platform and the spotlight they deserve,” he said.
The road ahead
As he looks to the future, Mr Cox sees massive change coming but also massive opportunity.
“Most agents today won’t be doing the same thing in three years,” he said.
“But most of them don’t know what they should be doing instead, so our role is to help them adapt.”
By leveraging trust, technology and the human touch, Mr Cox believes the next generation of agents can do more than just survive disruption – they can lead through it.
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