It’s the first time Real Estate Business magazine has commended the top performing females in the industry, naming the nation’s top 50 based on data for residential sales in 2015.

Ms Bonnici was ranked 44^th  after selling more than $66 million worth of property in the last calendar year.

She sold 103 residential properties with the average listing snapped up after 57 days on the market.

The Ray White Shellharbour Village principal selling agent said she was honoured to represent the region in what is a harsh and competitive industry.

“It has been hard; real estate is hard work but I have a good team and it helps when you grow up in the area and you love what you do and where you work,” she said.

The mum of two teenagers is the only female agent out of 10 in her office and admitted the industry was especially tough on women because of their personalities and family life.

“You have to have a tough exterior because you get a lot of knock-backs and females are offended easily,” she said.

“It’s still predominantly a male industry … probably because a female finds it harder to juggle family because you have to work so hard and put a lot of time into it.”

The 43-year-old was persuaded to get into real estate 10 years ago because her dad thought she’d be good at it. He was right, as part-time work quickly turned into full-time success.

“You’ve got to be passionate about it and you’ve got to like working with people. I don’t love houses, I love people,” Ms Bonnici said.

“People are the ones selling and buying, and you’re just helping make their dreams come true.”

REB has previously recognised high achievers across the board, but wanted to specifically highlight the industry’s ground-breaking women whose achievements may be overlooked or underrepresented.

“Successful people make it look easy and we often don’t realise what has gone on before, what they’ve juggled and the challenges they’ve had," says Christina Guidotti, partner of the Top 50 Women in Real Estate.

“This ranking is an opportunity to recognise the top 50 women in real estate but also for everyone in the industry to get inspired and learn what it takes to be at the top.

“So we’re honouring them but also helping others to see what it takes to be the best in the industry.”