The 25-year-old Area Specialist agent has quickly established himself as the dominant force in the prestigious Heritage Springs estate, where he now holds the title of number one agent.
“I always had a bit of an interest in houses – I actually wanted to be an architect initially,” Mr Donders said.
“But after finishing my Bachelor of Commerce during COVID, the job market was tough.
“I thought, why not give real estate a go?”
After getting his agent’s representative licence online, Mr Donders reached out to Area Specialist director Marcus Washington, who his mother had previously bought a house through.
However, starting from scratch during the pandemic wasn’t easy.
Mr Donders spent his first six months without listing a single property, instead focusing on building his database through consistent prospecting.
“Every day I was out there door knocking,” he said.
“In the first 12 months, I got over 400 contacts just from door-knocking alone.
“There was a lot of hard work – doing letterbox drops, cold calling and marketing campaigns in that specific estate just to build my name.”
His dedication paid off and now Mr Donders has taken a large market share in Heritage Springs estate, where properties range from $750,000 to $1.4 million.
His great start was recognised when he won the National Rising Star Award for the entire Area Specialist network last year.
He then achieved Pinnacle Tier status while working as both a sales agent and assistant.
“I think vendors really appreciate it when you have that positivity and enthusiasm and passion for their property,” he said.
“I even got a listing this morning because of that passion and enthusiasm – they called me an hour after I went through and said they wanted to go with me for that reason.”
Mr Donders believes his success comes from building strong relationships with both vendors and buyers.
“I’ve got quite a lot of off-market sales because buyers trust me when I tell them the value of a property,” he said.
“That’s helped build my reputation because I’ve achieved results other agents haven’t been able to.”
He’s also giving back to his community through initiatives like Cardinia TV, which promotes local businesses and charity events.
He also regularly organises free coffee days to connect with residents and support local cafes.
Earlier this year, Mr Donders achieved a major personal milestone by purchasing his first home at just 25 years old.
“The Area Specialist model gives you that opportunity to make more money and have freedom with your time,” he said.
“It’s definitely a tough job and can be mentally challenging, but if you love it and put in the time, it always comes back and rewards you.”
Area Specialist is a real estate platform for top-performing agents, providing the systems, tools and technology they need to create, grow and power their business. For more information visit beyourboss.com.au
