Conversations around the family dinner table were a little different when Sydney’s top young agent Josh Tesolin was growing up.

His parents owned two Fantastic Furniture stores, and chats about business matters frequently bled into their home life.

“Instead of ‘how was your day?’ it was ‘how many mattresses have we sold?’ and ‘how much profit have we made for the week?’” Mr Tesolin told realestate.com.au.

“Things like sales, profits, loss, expansion – I suppose it’s all I know.”

Josh Tesolin grew up talking business with his family, shaping his incredible work ethic. Picture: Ray White

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Now, at just 27, he runs one of the most successful real estate agencies in Sydney and has sold close to 2000 properties over the course of his brief career.

He’s also one of the top-rated realtors in the country and was crowned the number one residential agent at the Annual REA Excellence Awards in 2021.

But contrary to perceptions, he doesn’t dominate the ritzy eastern suburbs of the Harbour City or the prized Northern Beaches patch.

Mr Tesolin, principal of Ray White Quakers Hill, dominates the western suburbs.

His meteoric rise to the top of his game at such as young age is an achievement he credits to the relentless work ethic instilled in him by his parents.

“They worked seven days [a week] and now I work seven days,” he said.

“I don’t go out, I don’t party. Real estate isn’t a nine-to-five job. Anyone who wants to work in real estate nine-to-five won’t be successful.”

Underestimated and overlooked

Graduating from high school with his HSC when he was 17, Mr Tesolin attained his real estate license at TAFE in Bankstown two years later.

He started out in leasing at Australian Real Estate in Quakers Hill.

The first taste of sales came when his boss took a weekend off to recover from an injury. Mr Tesolin took over three of his listings and sold them all in a single day.

That kicked off what he described as an “obsession with listings, with sales, with communicating to clients”.

Josh Tesolin with Ray White Group chairman Brian White. Picture: Josh Tesolin

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He opened his own Ray White business in 2020 and began kicking goals right away, selling more than 300 properties annually in both 2021 and 2022, making him Ray White’s top-performing agent internationally.

“Dan White and Brian [White] brought me on and had high hopes that other people thought I probably couldn’t achieve,” he said.

“And we got to prove them wrong.”

All that turnover means a hefty sales commission. Mr Tesolin pocketed an eyewatering $7 million in 2021 – though he’s quick to add that money isn’t the point.

“If you focus on the money, you won’t get very far,” he said.

“You have to focus on the client – answering all their questions, making them feel as comfortable as possible, and giving them the information they need to make an informed decision.

“It’s always an emotional experience. Buying or selling a house is one of the most important things you’ll do in your life, so I treat my clients with care and compassion.”

Josh Tesolin is one of Australia's top agents. Picture: Josh Tesolin

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His success is even more impressive given his office isn’t in a bougie bayside ‘burb, but rather Quakers Hill, a patch inhabited by blue-collar mums and dads.

Located 40km north-west of the Sydney CBD, Quakers Hill has a median house price of just over $1 million and mostly consists of freestanding single and two-storey homes.

“People underestimate the west,” Mr Tesolin said.

“People have money in suburbs like Double Bay, but you can still do big numbers out west… there are more houses and there’s more turnover.”

A family business

Mr Tesolin was raised in the Sutherland Shire but moved to Quakers Hill to cut down on his commute and be closer to his clients.

Being present and involved in the community is important to him – and not just for the referrals it generates.

“I sponsor a lot of schools, a lot of sporting teams, I like to give back. Quakers Hill has given me a lot, it’s an area where obviously I’ve honed my craft and made a name for myself, so it’s only right for me to give back to the community.”

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While he works seven days a week and is sometimes holed up in the office until late at night, he’s found a way to still spend time with his family.

Putting them on the payroll.

His mother Annette is the general manager of Ray White Quakers Hill, while his wife Sophie is the office manager.

He figured out the importance of spending time with his family at work when he was a boy riding in delivery trucks with his dad, helping drop off furniture to customers.

“My wife and I will sometimes schedule clients late at night together just so we can chat for 10 minutes in between appointments,” he said.

“If I didn’t work with my family, I’d never get to see them.”

In the first three months of this year, Josh has sold about a property a day. Picture: Ray White

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And looking at his sales figures this year, it’s not hard to see why. In the first three months of 2023, Mr Tesolin has personally sold 85 properties – almost one a day.

He employs 30 staff, up from just three a few years ago, and recently moved into a new and expanded office space.

Despite his business’s unbelievable growth, he doesn’t plan to branch out of Quakers Hill anytime soon – at least not in “the next 20 years.”

“I love the area, I love the people,” he said.

“I own houses here myself. My office is here, my business is here. I don’t have lofty ambitions of opening a hundred offices or going to 50 different areas.”

Instead, he wants to continue growing and nurturing his team, spending time with his family, and doing what he “loves to do” – selling homes, and a lot of them.

“I’ve sacrificed my life to be where I am, and I wouldn’t change anything.”