From St Kilda Rd to the CBD skyline: meet the team behind Inner Real Estate

What began as a humble 32-square-metre office on St Kilda Rd with one desk and no client list has evolved into one of inner Melbourne’s most adaptive boutique real estate agencies: Inner Real Estate.

Now managing more than 850 properties across the CBD, Southbank, Docklands, St Kilda Rd and surrounds, Inner Real Estate (IRE) is built on family values, innovation, and a deep respect for the evolving community it serves.

Founded in 2008 by Joe Cimino, Inner Real Estate was born from a simple passion for property. Joe’s sons Anthony and Michael later joined the business, shaping it into the full-service agency it is today – offering sales, rentals, property management and owners’ corporation (OC) services tailored specifically for inner-city living.

Speaking to CBD News, director Anthony Cimino reflects on IRE’s early years and how the business grew in step with the city around it.

“Back then, most of our buyers were investors, often based overseas and buying off-the-plan,” Anthony said. “Now, it’s a totally different market. We’re seeing first-home buyers, downsizers, and long-term owner-occupiers moving in – it’s become a place where people really want to live.”

Having weathered more than a decade of market cycles, IRE has learned how to evolve with its client base. Anthony said that shift – from an investor-dominated market to one increasingly defined by people buying homes to live in – had fundamentally changed the way the agency worked.

When the business first started, we would be selling 18 out of 20 properties to investors … whereas now we’re getting 15 or 16 sales out of 20 to owner-occupiers and a big portion of that is first home buyers

“And we’re talking places like Southbank – a stone’s throw to the CBD, and inside the CBD as well. I see this as a really great thing because the time the owner-occupier is holding onto those properties becomes a lot longer – they’re not changing hands every three to five years like an investment property – they’re now changing every 10 years.”

With a strong local presence and an agile team of around 20 staff, IRE’s size is part of its strength. Its boutique model allows the team to form genuine relationships with clients while delivering tailored support throughout the life of a property – whether managing a rental, selling a unit, or overseeing an entire residential building.

“There’s no job too big or too small,” Anthony said. “When you’ve got a boutique agency, we all help each other out.”

That inclusive culture – and low staff turnover – has helped IRE maintain continuity and trust across its expanding client base. Many of the team have been with the business for years, growing alongside the company and the city it serves.

In 2019, IRE expanded into OC management under the name Inner Owners Corporation, a natural evolution for a business so embedded in its local vertical communities.

“As a boutique, full-service business, we’re able to lean into the community – buying, selling, managing residential properties, as well as whole complexes by understanding what people want in those buildings and communities they’re living in,” Anthony said.

“Buildings are becoming communities, not just places to live … and that’s a common theme – we’ve got renters who’ve become owners, their families are moving in, and you’re really starting to see a sense of community grow.”

The business’s approach to supporting OCs is one underpinned by exceptional service, full transparency, efficient communication and rigorous financial management, offering a nimble, responsive and reliable experience.

At its core, Anthony said, it was all about people.

“When people ask what is one of the most important things about being in real estate, it’s the relationships that you’re able to build,” he said. “If you’re not acting with the right integrity you’re not going to last very long in this industry.”

Anthony said the business’s three values – “Integrity, Respect, Energy” – were at the heart of everything it did.

“What we really pride ourselves on is doing the right thing for our clients regardless of whether they use their services or not,” he said. “We’re not a transactional business – it’s about relationships.”

And when asked what he and his team love most about working in central Melbourne?

“There’s just something beautiful about a Saturday morning walking through Melbourne’s CBD and being able to put an open for inspection board out on Collins St and open up a property on one of the most famous streets in Australia – if not the world – and sell a piece of Australian history,” he said.

“It’s a pretty surreal thing when you sit back and think about the opportunity to be able to sell, rent and look after owners’ corporations in this sort of area … it’s the people of the inner city of Melbourne that really contribute to that feeling and I’m fortunate enough to be in this area for so long doing what I love.”

ire.com.au •