Charles Tarbey

About Charles

Charles Tarbey began his career as an Assistant Property Manager in 1973, opened his first real estate agency three years later, and by 1983 had established Combined Real Estate — one of Western Sydney's largest property networks, built on proprietary systems including his "5 Laws of Real Estate" and a structured approach to ongoing staff training. In 1994, Combined Real Estate merged with CENTURY 21 Australia, which under his direction has expanded to hundreds of offices across Australasia. He also founded Australian Franchise Systems (AFS), through which he oversaw the acquisition of major networks including Laing & Simmons, Myles Pearce, and Wilson Pride.

What distinguishes Tarbey as a speaker is that his insights are hard-won rather than theoretical. He developed sales and management systems from first principles, then proved them at scale across one of the most competitive property markets in the world. He is the author of two books considered essential reading in the property sector — Profit Driven Real Estate and Listing Rich — and has spent decades mentoring real estate professionals and business leaders on how to build systems, manage growth, and sustain results over the long term.

Tarbey is most valuable to audiences in real estate, franchising, sales, and small-to-medium enterprise leadership. His sessions draw directly on the experience of building organisations from single agency to national franchise network — making him a credible and specific voice for conferences, industry association events, and business owner forums where tactical and strategic depth is what the audience is actually there for.