GARY Blowes is old school. He still keeps a paper diary, admits he's not quiet as internet savvy as he could be and he laments the passing of days when good business practice produced life-long friendships.

But that's not to say he still can't cut it in the property market, where he now specialises in commercial premises.

"We will put just off 40 million dollars worth of commercial real estate on the market between now and the end of March, not all in Orange, probably 200km radius of Orange," he said.

"I don't think I will ever stop. My dad retired when he was 65 which surprised everyone but his brother had Richardson and Wrench at Long Jetty, he did his last auction when he was 84, which I don't intend to do. Dad's older brother, he's just passed away and he was 107."

Gary Blowes, started in the real estate at 20 after going to work for his father Lance, at 17 from school. The newly-minted Blowes and Son had just lost its real estate agent and the 'son' was thrown in at the deep end.

"Dad said to me one day, can you sell real estate? I said I don't know why. He said you start tomorrow."

A third generation in real estate or stock and station, grandfather William was with Winchcomb-Carson, Mr Blowes hasn't looked back since, selling his first block of land on the former Sharpe's orchard, for $3000.

"They were 1000 square metres. Now we sell 700 square metre blocks for $450,000 ... there's been a lot of changes in the industry," Mr Blowes said adding he can remember selling a Yulanta place home, three bed, brick veneer, no garage, for $11,500.

"In the old days you formed relationships. Now you don't. You could sell real estate on a push bike to be honest - you very seldom put anyone in your car, [these days] you meet people on site.

"In the old days you had the wife and the husband and the kids in the car and you'd spend four or five hours driving around then come back to the office and have coffee. You'd have people come in and say 'you sold my mum and dad a house', those days are gone.".

When Lance Blowes retired at 65, Mr Blowes trimmed the agency's name to Blowes Real Estate and had an ambition to grow the business. He explored the franchise option, linking the The Professionals during the 80s.

"At one stage it was the biggest real estate office in Orange, had 20 staff, under The Professionals banner.

"I had the burning ambition to own the biggest agency in Orange and when I got it I wished to Christ I'd never seen it," he joked.

Other milestones Mr Blowes lays claim too are holding the first open house inspections in Orange during the 80s and being the first agency in Orange to use TV advertising. He also sold the first house in Orange to make the million dollar mark.

"Mina. I actually sold it three times, the first for 250,000, then 500,000 and then a million," he said adding the house recently sold again for $2.6 million by another agency.

He was also the first country-based agent to sit on the board of The Professionals group and created the first multi-listing platform for a group of local agencies.

"That was not a clever move," he said. "We didn't include all the agents, we had eight in and seven out. And it caused an enormous rift within the industry. Hindsight, had we put the whole 10 or 15 agents into it, there wouldn't be 27 real estates agency in Orange."

Mr Blowes rates the onset of COVID-19 as one of the hardest periods he's had to negotiate, with the business' rental business placing in the middle of its client's hardship.

"We collect quite a bit of commercial rent and I found [COVID -19 lockdowns] incredibly difficult. I felt empathy for the people who couldn't [pay rent], were closing up, and we were negotiating between the land lords and the tenants, trying to get some sanity out of the whole thing and it was really quiet distressing.

"You see both sides of people at their most vulnerable and I used to get quiet emotional. Some people used it to their betterment but some people really struggled through and some people went broke.

"You have your good times and you have your bad times, a bloke I was talking to the other day said the trouble with all these young blokes is they've started the race in the middle, and it's true," he said, adding he didn't believe Orange could continue to support 27 real estate agencies.

Mr Blowes will celebrate is 48^th wedding annversary with wife Suzanne on Australia Day, and the couple have two children and five grand children. He said every now and again the conversion turns to retiring which did escalate when he was diagnosed with cancer.

"We think about bit but I'm not the sort of person to sit around and do nothing. My health's not as good as it could be but sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself doesn't solve it. I've got to do something."

And he loves Orange.

"My grandfather William Blowes used to call it God's own country ... It's a glorious town. I know I'm biased, some people say Bathurst is better. I say no way. It's so self reliant these days."

He has wound down a little, leaving the residential side of the business to Chris Tyack and Margaret Longhurst and handling only commercial listings. And one things the passing of good mate, funeral director Norm Penhall had taught Mr Blowes is to start to enjoy what a full working life has provided.

"I've got a very good cellar that I've put together over the years and I'd never drank any of it. Now I'm starting to drink them. We opened a '92 St Henri on Christmas day, we have a few Granges ..."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

HAVE YOUR SAY

Send a letter to the editor using the form below