Over the past year, the property market has been once again in the news, with the
ever-fluctuating post-pandemic real estate landscape a hot topic in the press and around dinner tables.
With that in mind, I spoke to some of the neighbourhood’s most well-known agents about everything from their most memorable sale to their favourite place to eat, and what gets them out of bed in the morning – rain or shine.
Blair Haddow
Bayleys, Ponsonby
In the industry for fourteen years and a major player in the premium property market, Blair Haddow is one of the most focused and driven agents I know. Like many a high achiever he’s an early riser, training, “with my amazing PT Oscar at Les Mills Britomart at 6am on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and cycling with a group of guys at the same time on Wednesdays and Fridays.”
Then it’s into the office, where his success as an agent speaks for itself. Particular highlights from the last twelve months include “a couple of significant off-market sales that were concluded between existing clients looking for their next property, which then resulted in those clients bringing their properties to market with me.” A win-win for all parties involved, and proof that even in quieter times successes are still very much taking place. And when asked about the most creative marketing campaign he’s embarked on over the past year, Blair says it would have to be “the re-launch of my social media platforms, the exposure of all of my listings across Instagram and Facebook has been extremely successful.”
When asked to name his favourite café and restaurant in the Ponsonby ‘hood he admits that he’s spoiled for choice. “I live in St Marys Bay less than 100 metres from Ponsonby Road -with so many wonderful restaurants and cafes in our area it’s impossible to narrow this down to one favourite spot!”
John Wills
Bayleys, Ponsonby
Working in real estate in greater Ponsonby for an amazing twenty years now, it’s safe to say that John Wills knows the area like the back of his hand. You’ll often see him out and about on the streets and in local cafes, and if you follow him on Instagram (@johnnywills73) you’ll know he’s a proud member of the '5am Club' – sometimes even earlier!
“I like to get out there early and get my exercise done,” he says, “this free’s up the day for work.” After that the magic happens, “and I absolutely love getting potential buyers through local listings. I love setting up marketing campaigns and launching new listings to market, then getting plenty of interested parties through the home. There is always a great energy around a fresh new listing, and that’s what gets me up in the morning.” When asked if he has a particularly memorable sale from the last twelve months he says there have been several, “but one in particular stands out. This particular client had been in their local home for fifty years and when it came time for them to move, they entrusted me with the sale process. I had known this couple and stayed in touch with them for 20 years.” The power of relationship building at work.
When it comes to creative marketing campaigns, John admits there is, “nothing fancy involved: great photography, get the drone up in the air, smart social media, plenty of personal phone calls to likely buyers… then set up plenty of buyer appointments and keep working hard until the result is achieved for the client.”
And as for his favourite cafe and restaurant, on and off the clock? “It’s got to be Bambina on Ponsonby Road for client meetings, and Seabreeze in Westmere for both work and relaxing.”
www.facebook.com/johnny.wills.96
Luke Crockford
Ray White, Ponsonby
This year has been a very good year for Luke Crockford, who made Elite for the Ray White group after ten years in the industry, placing him in the Top 2 percent of New Zealand. “This is a year where the industry has been struggling and has been 15 percent down for most of it,” he says, “so my focus has been on supporting as many local charities with sponsorships and fundraising as I can, giving back.” He says that what gets him out of bed in the morning is, “life itself! I love mornings and am a morning person, and we also have our five-year-old who is always up and around by 6am.” He says he’s had more than a few memorable sales this year, “including 59 Dryden Street, right on Grey Lynn Park. The real Grey Lynn Villa do up, I had amazing vendors and just the most perfect buyers, who are doing the project now of restoring. 63 Selbourne Street was another highlight, with lovely vendors who had lived there for over 35 years. Taking them through the auction process was priceless, with a fabulous result.” Luke’s most creative campaign was one he calls, “Did you say....”, a marketing campaign he came up with while shooting a video for a property. “They became 15 second Instagram and Facebook videos where I put myself in the position of a buyer, asking myself questions,” he explains. “Did you say... you have always wanted polished wooden floors, high ceilings, a double garage, fake grass, and so on,” says the popular agent, “and one of the videos got 6000 views, which is apparently good!” Having lived in the Grey Lynn area for over 25 years, he says there are just too many great local hospitality spots to name, but a few stand out from the crowd. “Ponsonby Road Bistro, Longroom, Malt Bar, Swashbucklers, Blue Breeze Inn, Annabel’s, Prego, Little Algiers on K'Road… the list goes on, both old and new.”
www.facebook.com/LukeCrockfordRealEstate
Matt O’Rourke
Barfoot & Thompson, Grey Lynn
Working alongside Ryan Harding, Matt O’Rourke has been based at the Barfoot and Thompson branch in Grey Lynn for the past twelve years. The pair take a laidback, fun approach to what they do, but never at the expense of professionalism and some seriously great results.
“Billy the cat howling at my bedroom door demanding breakfast is what usually gets me out of bed,” he laughs, “but in all seriousness, it’s a good coffee that usually gets me fired up for the day. I like to get out for a run (but that’s not always done in the morning), then I look forward to seeing and speaking with our clients – including prospective clients, buyers and colleagues.
He says that the pair has had many good sales this year, “but one that stands out as memorable is probably the sale of 4 Farrar Street, Grey Lynn last year. It was a challenging year in for the industry and that ended up being a very competitive auction and resulted in a strong price compared to similar properties nearby.”
Looking back, he and Ryan had a few creative campaigns over the years, “and we were fortunate enough to get proactive about growing a local Facebook page (Matt and Ryan's Property page) early on. Media outlets started to follow us so we would often post something that would get their attention, 'click bait' if you will. We now have a bunch of newspaper clippings about some of the campaigns we've had.”
Like any loyal local, Matt says that he has too many favourites to mention when it comes to dining hot spots, “but my favourite dish was the wok seared chicken noodles at Saan on Ponsonby Road. Sadly, because of the pandemic, they had to close their doors. If anyone out there has found a similar equally good dish, please let me know! I like to mix it up but most of the local cafes are great and have excellent coffee and food.”
www.facebook.com/mattandryan
(HELENE RAVLICH)