Certainty starts here … when you meet Sandra Macklin.

Walking into the Mackay City Property office on a busy weekday morning, you will notice a buzz of activity, but also a calm and purposeful order, a happy energy where everyone knows their role and best process for every eventuality. This is to the delight of Principal and Director, Sandra Macklin who has carefully curated a streamlined operation that makes the notoriously challenging world of property management seem effortless.

Sandra always had a passion for real estate and used to marvel at the property section in newspapers and magazines as a child, finally embarking on a career in office management within the real estate industry 26 years ago. At work, she felt driven to create a positive office environment, one that is dynamic and fulfilling, with process and procedure at its heart.

Before long, Sandra discovered a calling to help every office she worked at enjoy the same pleasant yet productive working environment. This is something she still holds dear today and one of the key elements that helped her garner success and respect within the real estate industry.

A young and ambitious mum, Sandra had her two children in her twenties, and was almost seven months pregnant with her second child when she was approached to be part of the Mackay City Property team which was then Ray White Mackay City.

“At the time I said I would only be available in the very short term, until I had my baby and went on maternity leave,” shared Sandra.

“But 17 years on and now a partner in the business, I guess fate had other intentions for me and real estate really was my calling. Three days after the birth of her second child, Sandra was back in the field completing inspections, baby in a capsule by her side”

This flexibility and the forward-thinking family values at Mackay City Property is a cornerstone of the business, and something Sandra believes improves team morale and overall happiness, enabling them to retain staff for longer.

“I never want staff to miss out on a school event or seeing their kids compete in a race at a sports carnival,” said Sandra.

“We have staff who go on maternity leave and come back because they love the working environment and flexibility we have here. We also have staff that leave to go to another office and then come back, and that’s a real compliment to us!”

When asked how she keeps the office so calm, Sandra simply responds that the secret is “getting ahead of things and staying ahead”. By adopting simple yet effective processes, everyone benefits, including the clients who entrust their properties to the team.

When Sandra first joined the young office the property management department was almost non-existent. Fast forward 17 years and we are now a prominent well-regarded force in the Mackay property management arena. Managing hundreds of properties including many multiple premises owned by investors. And while property management is Sandra’s passion, so too is sales, “real estate gives you flexibility and fortunately I have the flexibility to work between sales and rentals, I can’t choose a favourite department they’re both very rewarding for different reasons”. Her passion and energy are unbridled and she is a leader who paves the way, always leading by example.

Much of this discipline is echoed in her personal life, a self-confessed fitness junkie, Sandra can often be found at the gym, working out with no music, just the steady rhythm of her thoughts. For many years she has cycled in charity events from Townsville to Cairns to raise money for charity and run for days in the Australian outback, and this year she is taking part in the Great Wall of China marathon. With two adult children, a daughter at university and a son completing an apprenticeship locally, Sandra and her husband are looking forward to many more adventures in the years to come.