The ambitious streak driving Australia’s top commercial agency

Nathan Moore has worked in commercial real estate for decades, and there’s one thing that has stood the test of time: if you’re not constantly lifting your standards, you’re falling behind. 

“Competition and pressure are good things, you need to have a competitive environment otherwise your own standard drops,” Mr Moore said. 

“One of [Ray White chairman] Brian White’s big ideas from 30 odd years ago was that you have to run up a downwards-facing escalator because if you’re standing still, you’re going backwards. 

“You have to be looking at innovation and a better way of doing things every time you get up and that’s just something that we push for.” 

It’s a perspective that Nathan Moore, director at RWC Bayside in southeast Queensland, and his team strives for when helping sellers and buyers navigate the complex world of commercial property. 

It’s no wonder that RWC Bayside was crowned Commercial Agency of the Year at the 2025 REA Excellence Awards, which shines a light on outperforming people and groups across the country. 

For Mr Moore, the recognition was both validating and unexpected given the strength of competition across the country. 

“When it is an industry wide recognition that we’re doing things well and theoretically better than anybody else at the moment, then that’s quite a pat on the back,” he said. 

“We thought it would come down to Sydney and Melbourne, so it was a really lovely surprise when we were announced as the winner.” 

At the core of the agency’s success is a culture built on long-term thinking and accountability. 

“Everybody is aligned that we work for the client, we are a full-service agency and our property management part of the business is really important,” Mr Moore said. 

“I always drill into people here that we’re dealing with other people’s money, but we need to treat it as our own, so if it was your money what would you do, and that creates a slightly different approach.” 

Mr Moore said the RWC Bayside team were always looking at ways to do things better. Picture: Supplied

That philosophy shapes how the agency approaches deals, with a strong focus on testing the market to maximise outcomes. 

“We could bang together deals off-market, but I can’t look the owner in the eye at the end of that and say we did actually get the best price in the market because we’ll never know,” he said. 

“I had an expression of interest program close recently and we got about $500,000 more than the seller expected, with seven offers over the owner’s original expectations in that process.” 

Long-term relationships are another pillar of the business, with many clients staying with the agency for decades. 

“We’ve got clients who have been with us for 30 years or more, and we’re now working with their children, so that sort of trust relationship is really important,” Mr Moore said. 

Looking ahead, the RWC Bayside director said southeast Queensland was navigating a period of significant growth, driven by population increases and new infrastructure in the lead up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.  

New infrastructure is transforming Brisbane and the rest of southeast Queensland in the lead up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. Picture: Getty

The games are expected to trigger billions of dollars in infrastructure investment and boost demand across the property sector, adding to already strong momentum in the market.   

It’s translating into growing optimism, with Brisbane increasingly seen as entering a once-in-a-generation growth phase in both residential and commercial real estate.  

“The amount of building work and infrastructure delivery that all levels of government need to provide for 2032 really does have Brisbane on the cusp of an unprecedented era of growth,” he said.  

In 2025, the REA Excellence Awards comprised eight submission-based categories, including Residential Agency of the Year and Most Influential Woman in Property Award.