Southern Suburbs Realty Office Scores Big

Southern Suburbs Realty Office Scores Big at Lj Hooker/Harveys Annual Real Estate Awards

Situated on the fringe of the hot Auckland property market did not stand in the way of Harveys Papakura carrying away some of the biggest awards at this year’s LJ Hooker/Harveys annual real estate awards.

Southern Suburbs Realty Ltd, trading as Harveys Papakura, snared three of the plum awards - Top Marketing & Innovation, Top Property Investment Management and Top Salesperson Income Earned, (Phil Axtens) - among the 90 LJ Hooker/Harveys offices nationwide.

Business owner Darren Brady describes the awards - based on overall performances across the group - as “a huge achievement and tribute to a small and dedicated group of outstanding people who are professional in everything they do.

“To win the Top Marketing & Innovation Award and then back it up with the ‘Top Individual Salesperson and the Top Rental Management team is especially significant and proof that as well as having great people across sales and property management, they are all fully committed to our twin goals of business and social responsibility. That also means doing a lot of work and being visible in the community.”

In addition to the three big wins the Papakura office also collected a slew of other office and individual awards including finalist for Top Community Relationship, Business Growth-Gross Commission and Top Office - All Income. As well as taking the supreme individual Top Salesperson - Income Earned award Phil Axtens was a finalist in four other individual categories.

Brady says that having the Top Individual Sales Person as well as the Top Property Investment Office, led by Kelly Brady and Top Property Manager Sharon Morton, was especially significant. “It shows we have quality people doing great work in both property sales and property rental. You need very good people to achieve that.”

Over the 12 month period Phil Axten’s property sales totalled $30 million. “While there are agents in other offices around the country who gain a lot more ‘big ticket’ listings, few have Phil’s strike rate when it comes to closing the deal, or work longer hours to achieve a successful outcome. He’s been with us for 10 years, is totally committed to the job, very determined, capable and a real goal setter.”

“When I made the list of top 10 agents nationwide for income earned back in 2009, I set myself the goal of one day being No.1,” he says. “It took a few years for me to realise there was no substitute for hard work, every weekend and most evenings.

“When I made the top 6 last year it made me even more determined. So I worked right through the Christmas break making some good sales, which started me on the way.” And he’s achieved that goal as a sole operator without any assistance or PA support.

“I couldn’t expect anyone to give up so much of their spare time.”

Having achieved the No.1 sales status he has no intention to ease up. With an excellent contact list and large database he expects to continue the momentum, but may cut back on the exhausting 24/7 work schedule.

Brady says winning the Top Property Investment Management award was well deserved. He cites the new changes by Government to the Residential Tenancies Act, which came into force on July 1 as putting real estate offices and the people responsible for managing property rentals under increased pressure, particularly in areas around our South Auckland catchment with large numbers of social housing.

“This involved regular communication with owners of rental property so they understood the need to have fire alarms in place by July 1 and ensuring current and prospective clients were informed regarding renting property which may have been contaminated by methamphetamine (P). Harveys Papakura is working in accordance with government legislation regarding insulation to ensure all owners are compliant by 2019.

“Sharon, Kelly and their team have around 350 rental properties to look after, requiring considerable diplomacy, problem solving and people skills to ensure landlords, agents and tenants are well aware of requirements.

“They took a very pro-active approach which was appreciated by all parties. This also ensured new and repeat rental business. We’ve got some very good people doing a lot of work in our community which is reflected in the success achieved at this year’s annual awards.

“So to be No.1 in the country for individual sales success and have the top property management team is something we can be very proud of.”

ENDS

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