From Berlin to Balaclava Road: Rafi Joffe on real estate, life, and his story so far
Rafi Joffe – Senior Sales Consultant & Residential Development Specialist – is a man of many talents. He’s built lives on three different continents. Spent three years in the army. And, from a young age, sold anything and everything – from stamps and second-hand goods to photos and funeral flowers. His real passion, though? Blending an understanding of the property, the plan, and the person to match brand-new homes with the right buyers. We sat down with Rafi to trace the steps of his life and career to date. From West Germany to Caulfield North – and everywhere in between.
A boy in Berlin: Rafi’s early (working) days
It was near the end of the Swinging Sixties, and Berlin – then known, Rafi explains, as ‘the New York of Europe’ – was an exciting place to be.
And it wasn’t just Europe’s equivalent of ‘The City That Never Sleeps’ that was up all night. Rafi was, too – because, at the age of seven, he was already learning the sales ropes.
‘My dad had every possible business in the world!’ Rafi says, casting the line of memory back half a century in time – to a place halfway around the world.
‘We had a flower shop,’ Rafi continues, ticking his dad’s revolving litany of businesses off on his fingers. ‘A second-hand business. We sold stamps; cemetery wreaths; we ran a nightclub!’ (A place where Rafi, despite the decade and his dad’s permissive attitudes about child labour, wasn’t allowed.)
Rafi’s upbringing was worldly in its truest sense. He was born in Israel. Attended a French school in Berlin. And at 14, lived in Israel once again.
Dutch dream or Aussie adventure? Rafi’s choice
Rafi grew up cutting his teeth in his dad’s businesses, satisfying his three years of military service requirements, and inheriting the family stamp and photo shops. A lover of the Dutch way of life, after experiencing it on a trip, Rafi began to hatch plans to move to the Netherlands.
Until, that was, Rafi ended up at a stamp exhibition, presenting alongside two fellow stamp enthusiasts and exporters. One was from the US; the other, sporting a strange accent, hailed from a country Rafi had only heard of in passing.
As his fellow exhibitor waxed lyrical about the beauty and brilliance of his home country, Rafi could only listen. By the end of the day, there was only one word – full of promise and prospects – reverberating around his mind…
Australia.
From stamps to sales: Rafi’s real estate career takes off
When Rafi touched down on the tarmac of Tullamarine in 1986, it was, by his own admission, ‘with nothing’.
Well, no material goods. Because Rafi arrived in Melbourne with a wife and child – plus a baby on the way.
A growing family and a brand-new home? That was the good news. The less rosy news, however, was that Rafi’s speciality – Israeli stamps – wasn’t exactly a booming Aussie market.
Fortunately, real estate was – and Rafi launched into his new career with gusto.
Unfortunately, the recession of 1990 was just months away. And, as Rafi so matter-of-factly puts it, ‘Selling was hard. I didn’t know anyone; no one knew me.’
Fresh on Australian soil and with the youngest of families to support, Rafi needed to sell. But necessity is, as they say, the mother of invention – and Rafi had an idea.
‘Back then, there was one type of owner who didn’t care who sold their properties – builders. You could go to a property that was under construction and pitch. That was where I started.’
Rafi was procuring, and pitching for, property-selling opportunities and then taking them to press. (Which, in the early 90s, mainly involved taking out ads in local newspapers.)
He was very, very good at it.
‘After a while, I probably had all the unit developments in the Caulfield area up for sale!’
Turning to Gary Peer to steer his career: Rafi’s switch
As the 90s made way for a new millennium, Rafi’s sales were soaring. Likewise, his reputation – as the first in Caulfield to start selling off-plan units, and being brilliant at it – continued to grow.
It was never going to be long before his ambition followed suit.
Rafi had been tracking the growth of Gary Peer & Associates for a while. So in 2001, after his good friend Sally Zelman made the move, Rafi – seeing the purpose and passion his then-competitors worked with, and predicting a bright future for them – also made the switch.
The rest, to steal a phrase, is history. In 2023, Rafi celebrates 22 years at Gary Peer.
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Thrills and skills: Rafi’s take on real estate
So what keeps him here – and in the real estate game at large?
‘It’s the thrill of making a sale,’ says Rafi. ‘The real ones: where you have to think about fresh, more inventive ways to do the deal. But it’s also about empathy – about understanding the wants, needs and hangups of your diverse audiences; what makes them tick.’
In the world of new-build property, Rafi describes two key demographics: first-home buyers looking for small apartments – and downsizers or ‘right-sizers’ seeking larger apartments or townhouses.
‘Given my age, I understand this second group particularly well. This is important – because downsizers know what they want. So you need to know how to talk to them. You need patience; to be able to put yourself in their shoes.’
The same goes not only for the person – but the plan.
‘When you look at a plan, you need to actually imagine how it’s going to look. If you can’t do that, you can’t sell it.
‘I can’t know every detail about a building, but that’s not important for most people. What they want to know about is the layout, the size of the rooms – how they will feel living in it.’
Selling is, of course, something Rafi’s been doing since childhood. But despite the range of shops and sales roles he’s worked in, nothing compares to real estate.
‘If I had a shop today, I’d be bored,’ Rafi chuckles. ‘People come in, they see the price, they pay at the register, they go. There’s no excitement to it. The thrill of selling comes from negotiating; when you can sell someone something they didn’t know they wanted!’
The best city in the world: Rafi’s home
Rafi may have made his first sale in Germany; met his wife in Israel.
But it was here in Australia that he made his career. The place he witnessed the birth of his child – and, later, that of four gorgeous grandchildren – and sketched the blueprint of a beautiful life.
Today, it’s Melbourne that feels like home.
‘I think Australia is the best country in the world. And Melbourne is the best city in the world. I absolutely love it here. (Well, except maybe for the weather!)’
So what does the future hold for Rafi?
Well, unlike the off-the-plan property Rafi’s so adept at selling, there’s no blueprint for life. And the less conventional nature of Rafi’s journey to date tells us we can expect plenty more twists and turns in this tale.
One thing that is certain, though? You won’t see him retiring any time soon.
‘If the pandemic taught me one thing, it’s that retirement isn’t what I want! Sitting at home all day, watching Netflix? Not for me. I love it here; and as long as I can walk and talk, I’ll work!’
