Harcourts New Zealand on top of the world

Harcourts New Zealand on top of the world

2 June 2015

New Zealand is home to four of the top five Harcourts’ offices in the world, seven of the top ten sales consultants, and the top five franchises.
Harcourts New Zealand CEO Hayden Duncan says the results, announced at Harcourts International’s annual conference in Australia earlier this week, is an exceptional achievement given Harcourts has more than 780 offices and 5,200 sales consultants in eight different countries.
Harcourts Christchurch City, owned by Harcourts Grenadier Real Estate Ltd, has been crowned the best office in the world, just beating out last year’s title holder Papanui, owned by Harcourts Gold Real Estate Group.
Third and fourth places were awarded to two Harcourts Cooper & Co Real Estate Ltd offices in Albany and Milford, respectively.

Harcourts Grenadier Real Estate owner Robert McCormack says receiving the top placing is a triumph, given the company was hit hard by the Christchurch earthquake.

“The staff are just elated with the win; they’re over the moon. Being the top office internationally really just comes down to some incredibly hard work, determination and amazing people.”

Hayden Duncan says for New Zealand to make four of the top five offices in the world for the second year running is outstanding.
“Christchurch City, Papanui, Albany and Milford all set the benchmark for excellence in the group. Every member of the team in each of those offices works tirelessly to ensure success. That commitment to the success of the whole office is what makes them truly great and absolutely deserving of this international recognition.”
Of the top 10 sales consultants in the world, seven are from Harcourts New Zealand.
In first place for the third year in a row is real estate phenomenon Matty Ma, of Cooper & Co in Albany.
Matty has experienced a meteoric rise in the real estate industry after immigrating to New Zealand in 1996.
Seven day weeks and a single-minded focus on business have seen Matty achieve a remarkable half a billion in settled sales.
She says her secret to success is to just be herself and “you have to have a vision and be disciplined. Be ethical and work with the team”.
In second place is Cameron Bailey, who is based at Gold Real Estate’s Papanui office. It is also the third time Cameron has placed at number two in the world, which he believes is down to the tried and tested combination of long hours and great support backed up by a comprehensive understanding of the Christchurch market, good referrals and repeat business.
“I think my strongest real estate skill is strong negotiation when representing vendors. That combined with the fact I have lived in Christchurch my whole life, so I know it like the back of my hand, I think have really given me an edge.”
Ranked number three in the world is Alison Aitken, who works out of the top international office, of Christchurch City. “In the past year I’ve sold everything from a $133,000 one-bedroom unit in Linwood to multi-million dollar homes in Fendalton and Merivale. To me the most important thing is not the sale price but the high level of service and attention to detail,” she says.

Howick’s Anton Huang is the number three sales consultant in the world. He’s joined by Karl Vermeulen, also from Howick, at number six, while Papanui’s Mary Turnbull and Albany’s Deborah Wallace are at nine and 10 on the international list, respectively.

Harcourts NZ also has the top five international franchises for revenue. In first place is Cooper & Co Real Estate which has 12 residential sales offices located around Auckland and one commercial.

The franchise made close to $2.2 billion in written sales in the 2014-15 financial year, with an average sale price of $814,481 and Hayden Duncan says those figures easily demonstrate just how well deserved Cooper & Co Real Estate’s place is at the top of Harcourts International franchise revenue earners.

“Cooper & Co are a huge and integral part of Harcourts NZ, with each team member in each of its offices committed 100% to the Harcourts commitment to excellence.”

Owner Martin Cooper says his aim is to create an environment for success and excellence in all real estate services, and to have the best people in the team.
“We constantly look at the business with the view that ‘better never stops’. Ultimately a company's success is achieved on our customers’ experience so this is always top of mind in our planning and actions.
“It is great to have a New Zealand business named top franchise. Cooper & Co started in April 1991 with one computer and one receptionist so it is fantastic to be awarded top franchise international in 2015. Everything starts from a thought, and the thought back then of building a large, vibrant real estate company was realised in accepting this award. It is great recognition for my team and for the hundreds and thousands of hours of focus and hard work that go into doing our business.”

Christchurch’s Grenadier Real Estate, owners of the top international office in Christchurch City, were named the second highest international franchise for revenue with $634,770,640 in settled sales for the financial year.

The third international franchise for revenue is The Team Group in Wellington. Fourth and fifth are Holmwood Real Estate in Southern Region and BCRE Ltd, based in Papakura, respectively.

Hayden Duncan says all these awards are all the result of dedication and hard work by the recipients and all are extremely well deserved.
“Harcourts world-wide prides itself on an extraordinarily high standard of excellence and commitment to customer service. The fact that so many New Zealand offices and sales consultants have come out on top within that extremely high quality environment is truly impressive. We are extremely proud of them all.”

TOP OFFICES –HARCOURTS INTERNATIONAL
1. City Christchurch, Grenadier Real Estate Limited
2. Papanui, Gold Real Estate Group Limited
3. Albany, Cooper & Co Real Estate Limited
4. Milford, Cooper & Co Real Estate Limited

TOP SALES CONSULTANTS – HARCOURTS INTERNATIONAL
Matty Ma, Albany
2. Cameron Bailey, Papanui
3. Alison Aitken, City Christchurch
4. Anton Huang, Howick
6. Karl Vermeulen, Howick
9. Mary Turnbull, Papanui
10. Deborah Wallace, Albany

TOP FIVE FRANCHISES FOR REVENUE – HARCOURTS INTERNATIONAL
1. Cooper & Co Real Estate Ltd
2. Grenadier Real Estate Ltd
3. The Team Group
4. Holmwood Real Estate Ltd
5. BCRE Ltd

ends

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