As Sir Leslie Joseph Hooker said; “Real Estate is not about houses, it’s about people.”
 
Les Hooker opened the first LJ Hooker office on Maroubra Road, Maroubra, Sydney in 1928.  Initially, Les Hooker spent his time much like LJ Hooker agents today – meeting people, talking to them, developing relationships and gaining trust.
 
With money at a minimum, Les Hooker set about developing a state of the art promotional system to maximise the impact of signboards, giving birth to the now famous Red and Yellow colours.

By the mid-1930’s Les had grown his business and established a name synonymous with honesty and integrity.  It was time to take the next step - opening the first city LJ Hooker office at 12 O’Connell Street, Sydney in 1935.

With the establishment of LJ Hooker Investment Corporation Limited in 1958 the company moved into a variety of diversified areas; however this didn’t distract Les from his roots in agency real estate.  During this time the agency division grew across Australia, completing the national network with the opening of an office in Perth in 1960.

Ever the innovator, Les was the first to introduce the concept of real estate franchising into Australia with the opening of the company’s first franchise offices in Bankstown, Miranda and Newport in 1968.  

Les Hooker became Sir Leslie Hooker in 1973 for his services to business and commerce.  The following year he retired as Chairman of the parent company but remained on the Board as Founder Chairman until his death in 1976.

Since Sir Leslie’s death the company has gone through some challenging times, especially when the focus was taken off the agency business. But in the spirit of its founder, the company has grown by placing its focus squarely on what we do best – help people reach their real estate goals.

In 1989 the real estate agency business was purchased by the Queensland financial institution, SUNCORP (known today as Suncorp Metway Limited). 

1996 was an historic year in the LJ Hooker story, as the company reached out internationally, purchasing the Challenge Realty Group in New Zealand.  In 1998, the entire group was re-branded LJ Hooker.

In 2002, LJ Hooker opened its first offices in Indonesia - strengthening our Asia Pacific network with LJ Hooker offices already in Papua New Guinea and China.

2003 saw growth of the network in New Zealand with the amalgamation of long established Auckland real estate franchise group Olsen & Everson – bringing seven new offices into the LJ Hooker network.

In recent times, the company continues to expand further internationally, with new operations established in Shanghai and China during 2004, Fiji in 2005, the United Arab Emirates in 2006 and in India in 2007. In addition, LJ Hooker now also boasts in excess of 20 offices throughout Indonesia!

In India today we have over 20 franchise offices covering almost all the major centres. This number is expanding rapidly and will grow to many hundreds over the coming years.

Today in India and elsewhere, our mission is a one stop shop experience for the customer that makes their property transaction simple, easy and transparent.