My Neighbourhood with Brooke Reynolds

Teleisha Thomas

May 2024

With its thriving arts, entertainment and foodie culture and beautiful mix of heritage and contemporary housing, the regions of Ballarat and Daylesford, offer an idyllic lifestyle that perfectly blends the best of country and city living. We sat down with Sales Consultant at Jellis Craig Ballarat, Brooke Reynolds, to discuss living and working in one of Australia's most liveable areas and find out her favourite gems in Central Victoria.

Daylesford 17 — **What do you love most about working in real estate?**
Everything! I love the flexibility - I don’t miss any of my kids sports days, school events or parent/teacher interviews and their Saturday basketball games are the first appointments that go in my diary. I also love that you get out what you put in. I love that no two days are the same and that I’m constantly challenged. Finally the people - I get to work with people from all walks of life and help my clients through all sorts of life changes. Life changes, I get to be a part of that, and that's pretty special! The trust they put in me still blows me away and I’m grateful for it every day.
**What makes the Central Victoria region such a great place to live and work?**
We are incredibly close to Metro Melbourne and the coast. You can get in the car and drive an hour and be in either the hustle and bustle of the city or the chilled feels of Geelong and the coastline. Working regionally has a more “relaxed feel”, you have familiar faces everywhere you go and in terms of business that means you can rely heavily on referral leads of people who know and trust you.

Do you have a favourite sold property? What made that so memorable?

Yes, 45 Gillies Street Alfredton. It was a stunning home that got featured in many local, Victorian and even nationwide sites and editorials. I had sold the vendors previous home and they had full trust in what I was capable of. After one of the most popular campaigns in my 8 years as an agent, the home sold for a record result for the area.

Talk to us about tree-change buyers. What are people looking for in the region?

The biggest draw card is value for money. In Ballarat you can find entry level homes for under $500,000 or a stunning period home for under a million. Ballarat has everything you would want from a regional town including hospitals and infrastructure but all the feels of a small country town.

Brooke's must visit places in Daylesford

If you weren’t working in real estate, what would you be doing?

I’ve always wanted to be in the police force. My dad was a police officer and I always thought I would be great at it. I also love cooking, something myself and my 3 siblings learnt to do quite well from a very early age from our mum who ran a food business our whole childhood. Maybe one day I’ll do something in this space?

What is the best piece of advice you’ve received?

“You will never please everyone”. It took me a long time to realise that I’m not going to be everyone’s cup of tea and that’s OK. It helped me enormously to move on from missed business and to move onto the next bigger and better opportunity.

Ballarat has come a long way in the past decade in the food scene and we have countless amazing restaurants and eateries to choose from.

If you had a friend visiting from Melbourne, where would you take them out for dinner?

Ballarat has come a long way in the past decade on the food scene and we have countless amazing restaurants and eateries to choose from. My favourite is one in my home town “The Shared Table”, a boutique restaurant using local produce, with great service and a lovely feel.

Tell us about ‘home’

I have 3 kids Mia, Jack and Will and a loving husband Matt, as well as a dog called Roxy, 6 sheep and countless budgies. We live on 5 acres in a small leafy suburb in the south of Ballarat, called Buninyong. We built our family home which has beautiful views across the tree tops. My family and I are basketball obsessed and when I’m not watching the NBL or local NBL1, playing, watching the kids play or running them around to training, we fill the days with gardening, cooking and hosting friends and family.

What is a must-read book or podcast you recommend?

Honestly I’m not a big reader, I find it hard to sit still and read, however I read a book that really touched me “The Happiest Man on Earth” a beautiful story of one man’s holocaust experience and how he was still able to find gratitude, joy and forgiveness after such horrendous adversity.