NOT many real estate agents can just drop into their client’s home for a cup of coffee that is located within the vast Gascoyne region, or even the remote Pilbara or isolated Kimberley.
But Simon Wilding can – not only by being a real estate agent but also an experienced pilot who has his own aeroplane.
Simon is one of four directors of Ray White Rural WA and specialises in the sale of WA pastoral stations.
He travels hundreds and sometimes thousands of kilometres to some of the State’s most remote stations about three times a year, either to take a look at a new property listing, visit current clients or check in with previous clients to see how they have made the property their own.
Simon has managed to incorporate his background and passion for agriculture and his love for flying with his successful rural real estate career, making him a sought-after selling agent who has expertise in selling pastoral properties.
The ability to fly saves weeks of travel each year, allowing him to spend more time with clients and market their properties more thoroughly.
“As an agent I think it’s important to go and look at the property so I know what I’m dealing with and I’m probably the only rural agent that can get around the pastoral region so easily and quickly,” Simon said.
“I get to see more of the country, I get a good view of the property and it’s convenient.
“I love working with rural people – the characters of the bush intrigue me and I love the camaraderie.”
Simon’s passion for the country and pastoral industry stems from his background as a farmer with his agricultural roots going back to the second half of the 19th Century.
Thomas Wilding, Simon’s great grandfather, went to Northam as a convict in the 1850s, working as a blacksmith.
“He managed to get hold of some land in the 1870s – about 10,000 acres (4046.9 hectares) which was certainly a lot for that time,” he said.
“He also became a builder – he was a pretty savvy man.”
The Wilding family has been farming ever since, for four generations, and Simon owns about 1618ha of the family farm at Northam, producing cattle from a feedlot, Merino wool, as well as broadacre farming.
Seeking an alternative income, Simon entered the real estate industry in the late 1990s.
“Farming is probably my first love; entering real estate was really a means to an end which became a business that I also love,” he said.
“I love the country and getting my hands dirty and I really enjoy working with animals, especially sheep and cattle, and I love shearing, the smell of the wool and the fast pace of the shearing shed in full swing.”
Simon’s career in real estate started with IAMA Real Estate in 1998 and when that was purchased by Wesfarmers, he approached two of his current business partners from Ray White Rural WA – Steve Vaughan and Hugh Ness, and together they formed VNW Independent.
In July, 2017 VNW Independent partnered with Ray White to form Ray White Rural WA which Simon said was a major step forward for the business.
“It enables us to have more interaction with corporate and offshore work,” he said.
“We can have more attention to detail and Ray White has a much bigger database than any other rural selling agent in the country, so it has given us a good umbrella to work under.
“Ray White is probably the third or fourth biggest family-owned company in the world and it is still run by three or four family members with good people around them.”
Simon usually allows about 12 months to sell a property so it can go through a season while on the market.
“Since I have been in the industry I have seen a general upward trend in values and this last season, there has been strong growth and we (Ray White Rural WA) expect that to continue,” he said.
“The market is very strong with local and offshore interest and the agriculture sector is showing good returns.”
Simon now has a drone to help with property marketing, and having only purchased it two weeks prior to his latest trip, he was still coming to terms with it.
Determined to get some aerial photographs of Winderie station, Simon spent about 40 minutes trying configuring the drone but the final result showed the effort was worthwhile.
Once Simon had the hang of his new toy he was buzzing across the homestead, the cattle yards and the shearing shed.
Prior to working in real estate, Simon worked as a mustering pilot for about 18 months in the late 1970s – again combining his love for farming and interest in flying.
He worked on a friend’s station around the upper Murchison area, getting a taste of the pastoral industry.
Free time in his early 20s was dedicated to flight training which started at Northam and finished at Jandakot.
With four decades in the air, flying is now second nature.
“I had always wanted to be a pilot and have always loved flying and it first sparked my interest when I was in primary school and the super spreading aircraft would come to the farm – I used to watch them for hours,” Simon said.
“I love the challenge of dealing with the weather conditions – it is much more challenging than driving which gives me a buzz.
“It’s exhilarating when it all goes well, not that it ever goes wrong, but it’s all about making good decisions.
“I love the feeling of flying, the view and the whole concept of it.”
His current aeroplane is a Cessna 185 tail-dragger with a single engine that he bought six years ago.
“Being a Cessna high-wing, it has good visibility and the ability to do short take-offs and landings on rough terrain, which is important for the work I do,” he said.
“It’s a bit of a challenge for the flyer which is always fun.”
As well as flying for work, he also flies regularly for leisure.
“I also like doing aerobatics and formation flying which are challenging on top of the task of flying the aircraft,” he said.
Last year Simon fulfilled a dream of training in a World War II Spitfire in England.
“My tail wheel experience allowed me to fly the Spitfire and it proved to be a very graceful aircraft,” Simon said.
“It had a lot of power (2000 horsepower) so ground handling was a bit of a challenge.
“I flew over the English Channel and operated from the Battle of Britain airfield in the south of England.
“My dream is to go back and fly solo in the Spitfire.”
It seems the fondness of flying runs in the family as Simon’s wife Penny and daughter Jess also enjoy the sky trips and his son Harry is a pilot for Qantas.
“We (Harry and I) do trips together which is great – I really love sitting in the passenger seat while my son is flying me,” he said.
When talking to Simon, it’s clear he’s a man who really enjoys his job – helping people to buy or sell pieces of WA’s pastoral country, perhaps to begin their dream to own a station, expand their operation, or close a chapter of their life to begin another.
Flying major distances to visit clients is a timely and costly exercise but it demonstrates Simon’s commitment to marketing the pastoral industry and giving justice to some of regional WA’s most-prized land
