Trade Me Property Impact Award Finalists

For every house that Ray White Kilbirnie agent Lance Williams sells, he creates a $250 sports scholarship for a primary school child in his community and he’s been doing this for at least the past 12 years. As a former teacher with a love of sports, he doesn’t want to see money become a hurdle for families to enjoy sport.

According to the principal of Lyall Bay School, Melanie Dean, seeing the children receive a sports scholarship at the end of the year is a heartwarming experience and she knows some of them certainly wouldn't be able to participate if it weren’t for Lance’s scholarship.

Some of Lowe & Co’s best-known agents received rave reviews for the whole office to become a finalist in the People’s Choice Award. Tania O’Connor and Paula Watkins, were commended for their commitment and expertise. Their proactive approach generated multiple offers, resulting in a successful sale in two weeks, said one client. Another client noted with another Lowe’s agent: “When we got desperate and couldn’t find anyone, they managed to arrange a tradie to concrete our driveway so it could be done before the open home.”

And a general comment from a number of clients about Lowe & Co is that they appreciate the way the Wellington firm supports so many community organisations.

The Bayleys Whanganui office was inundated with submissions for their agent Crystal Boyd, in the People’s Choice Awards and they weren’t surprised.

The accolades included her professionalism, authenticity, knowledge, and her availability to clients, even on maternity leave. “She was interested in my life story and also shared hers, it was nice to have such a personable person to deal with,” says one client. “And she has the courage of her convictions, says another.

“Crystal was super enthusiastic about selling my father’s apartment and believed that it was worth significantly more than other agents. She organised quotes for us for staging and marketing, and she delivered a result other agents said was impossible.”

There aren’t many new agents who have jettisoned to the top 10% performers in the company in their first year, but Adam Grierson looks like he’ll be one of them. EVES Real Estate puts his extraordinary success down to his marketing and service achievements. Adam quickly understood the value of upselling marketing to his clients and he’s already collected a number of repeat clients and referrals.

Coming into real estate from the building industry, he is already being seen by EVES as a future leader. He has a reputation for being an approachable member of the EVES team, active in the community, and open to sharing his wisdom and advice on property, given his previous career.

The description that many of Harcourts Grenadier’s Rebecca Duncan’s buyers and sellers use when they talk about her is “great communicator.” Another thing they like is her honesty and genuine approach, as well as her ability to work very closely with them when they’re uncertain, but not to overdo it.

Rebecca has also exhibited an uncanny ability to not only sell her client’s homes but to find them their next one too. Her colleagues say she’s a natural and her belief that if you’re doing a job you love, it’s not work, seems to be standing her in good stead.

Ben Gibson has gone from being a lone wolf agent to building his own team and consistently making it into the Top 20 performers of the 350 agents at Harcourts Cooper & Co. Ben, who became an agent later in life, has built a reputation in the market for being someone who gets things done. One client said: “I’ve never met a real estate agent like him. He goes above and beyond at the times you need him to, thinking outside the box.”

Ben has also taken Harcourts Cooper & Co’s dedication to community service to heart since starting at the company, mobilising a group of 70 volunteers to make some improvements at Ōrewa Beach Primary School; and is using the same approach for a number of other community outreach projects. The agent is also open to sharing his own journey and insights with other Harcourts agents, showing a commitment to mentorship and knowledge-sharing.

Ownly has 10 brands across the country, under brand names including Orange, Future Isles, SOK. As founder, Sam is innovating and pioneering a unique real estate model which integrates cutting-edge technology and empowers high-achieving agents to launch their own agencies under the Ownly umbrella.

Sam has leveraged technology to streamline processes and pioneered new approaches to help with client engagement. In 2023, Sam’s expanded from two brands to 10.

Buyers and sellers are also benefiting, having access to a wider range of services and expertise tailored to their particular needs.

As the leader of Lowe & Co, Craig gets that his salespeople are as much his customers as buyers and sellers are. He found many agents weren’t hot on business administration and were delivering an inconsistent service to buyers and sellers because they were busy on stuff they weren’t great at. So, he and his leadership team created the Engine Room, which has taken away a big chunk of the administration work faced by its salespeople, (30 hours of work per transaction) giving them more time to focus on what they like doing best – listing and selling houses.

The support system is approximately half local and half offshore so the company is available to clients more hours a day. Thanks to this innovation, Lowe & Co says it has grown market share in Wellington and now clients are receiving better communication and accountability for key functions.

Despite only being in the industry for three years, Steve Cairns, is perceived as an innovator, winning numerous awards at Harcourts and already making it to being a member of the Harcourts $50 Million Dollar Club. In 2023, The number one agent in his office, looked at his market and saw a gap. Buyers were going through a lot of stress unsupported, as they went through the buying process, so he created a Buyer Matching Specialist role for the team, the first of its kind in his local market of Cromwell.

The role is designed to help buyers find their perfect home, supporting them through the buying process from start to finish.This buyer agent helps clients with move-in dates, furniture shopping for the home and arranging landscaping among other things. Vendors and buyers have recognised the positive impact Steve is having on the market.

Harcourts Grenadier has a close sponsorship partnership with the Cancer Society Canterbury West Coast division, providing the charity with ongoing practical support. This includes providing two shuttles connecting patients and family to the Cancer Centre and the hospital.The Harcourts Grenadier office also raised close to $50,000 on Daffodil Day in 2023 and gives continued support to the Cancer Society’s Mobile Health Promotion caravan too.

The co-branded caravan and community team are out and about promoting SunSmart, Smokefree and other initiatives.

Beyond this, other charities Harcourts Grenadier is involved with include the I AM HOPE Foundation, Salvation Army and the Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust. The office both raises money and makes its own financial contribution to charities.

Ray White Whangārei runs a “We Can Help With That” community funding programme which has a very wide scope, looking to the community to tell them what they need. Established in 2019, they have given $150,000 back to the community so far.

The initiative has supported over 150 unique projects and was designed to create a community of active people, resilient communities and sustainable environments. The “We Can Help With That” fund receives a contribution from every sale and lease completed by the office which is then sent back into the community through grants to eligible organisations, schools, charities, causes and individuals.

Just one of the 150 programmes is 155 Whare Āwhina Community House, a social supermarket offering groceries to shoppers at a low cost or even no cost.

Community service is integral to Harcourts Cooper & Co, with 250 of the company’s agents involved in community service and Managing Director Martin Cooper leads by example with his activity in a wide number of local community groups and charities.

For Harcourts Cooper & Co, it’s all about making an impact where you live and work and the goal is to foster a positive image of the real estate company, one that genuinely cares about the community. The company sets targets for community engagement efforts, including supporting over 40 schools, and has long standing partnerships with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Auckland and Breast Cancer Cure. It’s also active with local cultural groups, sports clubs and Youth in Transition among others.

Community service is so integral to Harcourts Cooper & Co that the company has a full time Community Relationship Manager and a small team which, with dedicated casual staff, collectively contributes over 6000 hours per year. The office’s community programme is included in the company’s recruitment and induction processes to ensure every team member is aligned with the company ethos.

Georgia is a finalist this year and has been with the Bayleys Marlborough team since 2012. She sells across the Marlborough region and specialises in the Marlborough Sounds.

Rachel is a finalist this year, she was number 3 salesperson for Ray White in 2023 and the number five salesperson internationally in 2023 too.

With his team TaylorMade, Kane specialises in city fringe and surrounding areas, servicing suburbs like Westmere, Pt Chevalier, Grey Lynn, Kingsland, Sandringham out to Avondale.

Excella Property Rentals, Auckland

Soho Property Management, Auckland

Quinovic Johnsonville

Bayleys Property Management Central Otago

Braziers Canterbury

Street Smart Property Management, Auckland

Ray White Point Chevalier (Von Group Ltd)

Unlimited Potential Mt Eden

Bayleys Real Estate Ponsonby, Auckland

Ray White Ferrymead (Prier Manson) Canterbury

Ray White Mt Eden (J T Realty)

Bayleys Remuera Auckland

Bayleys Tauranga

JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle)

Bayleys Whanganui