Kiwi auctioneers out to be the best in Australasia

Kiwis Andrew North from Harcourts Cooper & Co and John Bowring from Ray White will be representing New Zealand and taking on 15 of Australia’s best auctioneers as they vie for the ultimate gavel at the 2018 Australasian Auctioneering Championships in Auckland over the next two days.

The Aucklanders won the right to represent New Zealand by being the top two competitors at the 2018 REINZ National Real Estate Auctioneering Championships held earlier in the year. Each of the 15 Australian competitors placed in the top two in their own local state competitions.

Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at REINZ says: “Over the coming days we are looking forward to seeing some healthy competition as we see New Zealand and Australia’s best auctioneers battle it out for the title of being the best auctioneer in Australasia. There’s bound to be some extremely tough competition as every single one of our entrants is already a winner in their home state, so there’s a lot of pride involved.

“This year is the 20th anniversary of the competition, and so far, the Kiwis have brought home the trophy 7 times. But the trophy has resided in Australia for the past three years, so let’s hope that 2018 is the year that it can come back to New Zealand,” continues Norwell.

“Good luck to all our competitors. May your nerves be calmed, your calls be loud, your diction be clear, your memory be sharp, and your maths skills be even sharper. We look forward to seeing you on stage,” she continues.

For the first time in the competition, two students from a New Zealand high school (Kerikeri High School) will join three students from South Australia in entering the Secondary Schools Auctioneering Championship.

“It is great to slowly see this competition growing and evolving over the years as more students recognise some of the wonderful transferrable skills can offer auctioneering can offer in a wide range of careers, such as confidence in public speaking. We wish all our student competitors the best of luck.

“Lastly, I’d like to thank our Event Partner who not only supports REINZ throughout the year but have come on board as our Major Event Sponsor – Property Press. The industry appreciates your support and we couldn’t do this without you. Of course, a big thank you goes out to our co-partners, realestate.co.nz, Gavl, Ray White, ABC Photosigns, Harcourts, Bayleys and Barfoot & Thompson – again your support is invaluable,” concludes Norwell.

The Australasian Auctioneering Championships are jointly conducted by REINZ and the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) and are only held in New Zealand once every four years.

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