Top real estate auctioneer takes award

For immediate release 8 July 2009

News Release 8 July 2009

Going, going …and the prize for New Zealand’s top real estate auctioneer has gone to Auckland auctioneer Mark Sumich.

Twenty-six hopefuls contested the REINZ National Real Estate Auctioneers Championship title at the Ellerslie Event Centre where the two day championship was held on Monday and Tuesday.

It was a hatrick for Sumich who has now won the title for three consecutive years. The seasoned competitor has been involved in the Real Estate Institute event since the first challenge was mounted in 1996.

With 21 years experience in real estate, the last 19 of them as an auctioneer, Sumich has honed the skills the judges look for including bearing, assertiveness, identification of bidders and decorum as well as building a rapport with the audience.

“You must demonstrate accuracy in numerical work and you have to dress well,” Sumich said. “There are a lot of other issues but at the end of the competition, the judges have to ask themselves the question, would I want this person to auction my house?”

Sumich’s arch rival for the title, Christchurch auctioneer Phil McGoldrick, had to be content with runner up for the third year running.

Chief judge and himself an auctioneer of many years’ experience, Ross Foreman says it was a tough competition with a challenging bidding scenario and all four finalists performed well. “But Mark is a hard man to beat. Yesterday, he lifted the bar even further. He moved another step ahead into a different space. He’s so relaxed and you can see he loves the auctioneering business with a passion.”

The competition also offers the opportunity for novice auctioneers to test the water.

“The heats exposed a number of shortcomings in the less experienced auctioneers which is one of the objectives of the event as a learning platform,” Foreman said.
The winner of the novice category, Andrew Burden from Northcote, however, despite having never called an auction before, showed skills which belied his inexperience.

“Andrew has a marketing background and while he has only been in the real estate industry for two years, clearly has an affinity with the profession,” Foreman said.

“The current environment is increasing buyers’ natural caution. The auctioneer’s job is to get people into a position where a deal can be done. With uncertainty on both sides at the moment, it takes real skills and experience on the part of an auctioneer to move people to that point.”

Creating the right pace, keeping the mind focused not just on the moment, but on the next moment is part of the auctioneer’s repertoire.

“When an auctioneer is facing a situation where there is a lack of enthusiastic bidding or even a reluctance to start the bidding off, a good auctioneer can make a real difference,” Foreman said.

The Real Estate Institute supports the championships as a way of lifting auctioneers’ performance.

“Just by watching a good auctioneer at work, you can pick up some valuable tips,” Foreman said. “It’s another way to ensure we stay ahead of the game.”

Mark Sumich and Phil McGoldrick will now go forward to represent New Zealand at the Australasian Real Estate Institutes’ Auctioneering Championships at Hobart, 1 - 2 September 2009. Sumich has won that title for the past two consecutive years as well.

The full results of the 2009 REINZ National Real Estate Auctioneers Championship were:
Senior Competition
Winner Mark Sumich Sumich Estate Agents and Auctioneers Ltd
Runner-up Phil McGoldrick Grenadier Real Estate Ltd, a member of the Harcourts Group
Finalist Andrew North Cooper & Co Real Estate Ltd, a member of the Harcourts Group
Finalist Hayden Duncan Bayleys Real Estate Ltd, a member of the Bayleys Realty Group

Novice Section
Winner Andrew Burden Concept Realty Ltd, a member of the Harcourts Group
Runner-up Jarrod Ross Mid-Canterbury Real Estate Ltd, a member of the First National Group

ENDS

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