According to surveys in May, June and July of buyers and sellers who had completed a transaction with Harcourts New Zealand in the previous month, the group’s offices and agents, and the marketing material they produce, are all rated highly – leading to more than 90% of respondents indicating they would recommend Harcourts to others.

As Harcourts New Zealand CEO Hayden Duncan explains, the excellent recommendation result reflects the positive feedback on Harcourts’ Sales Consultants in all of the areas surveyed including: delivering on their promises, regularity of contact, local area knowledge, professionalism, understanding of clients’ requirements and negotiation skills.

“The levels of customer satisfaction shown in the survey results are a testament to the talent and hard work of the professional team who deliver ‘The Harcourts Way’.”

Mr Duncan says it was interesting to learn from the latest survey results that sellers are being offered more marketing options than at the same time last year, with the greatest increase being in the presentation of website upgrades and virtual tours, and that auctions are also being more heavily and effectively promoted – which he suggests has contributed to the increase in the percentage of vendors making a financial contribution to marketing their property.

“The latest survey results along with Harcourts’ auction listings statistics and anecdotal feedback too confirm sellers are increasingly recognising the benefits of the auction method of sale. In addition, they are realising that in order to ensure their property stands out from the competition they need to invest in marketing,” Mr Duncan says.

“As evidence of this, more than 85% of the sellers Harcourts Eden-Epsom office has worked for over the past year have chosen to auction their property and also paid for marketing, with the recent sale of 87 The Drive in Epsom under the hammer for well in excess of the vendors’ expectations being just one recent example of the results being achieved via the auction process.”

In terms of buyers, it was interesting to note that nearly 20% of purchasers said they found out about the property they bought through a Harcourts agent contacting them, Mr Duncan says.

“At 19.6% this was first equal with ‘other website’ and closely followed by the Harcourts website at 17.4%, with ‘local property publication’ next,” he says.

“These results align closely with those on buyers’ searching behaviour, with the recent surveys finding websites are the most popular hunting ground, though local property publications and local newspapers are still popular and a significant 23.9% said they most consistently used their local agent as the source of property for sale.”

Mr Duncan says the latest survey results confirmed that “having a personal connection” with a sales consultant is the most important factor for sellers when choosing their agent, followed by the agent’s marketshare and area knowledge along with the company’s local market presence.  Previous experience with Harcourts and the Harcourts’ brand also ranked highly in sellers’ considerations, as did referrals from friends or family.

Harcourts were the only real estate organisation to receive a Highly Commended mention in the finalists’ announcement for the awards which will be hosted by the Australian Centre for Event Management in early October.

Harcourts International Managing Director, Mike Green is extremely proud of this achievement and believes that it is testament to the hard work and dedication of the company’s event management division.

“Harcourts events have always had an excellent reputation and it is fantastic that the quality and professionalism of our events has now been recognised at a national level,” said Mr Green.

“I am so proud of this achievement and of everyone involved in the management of our great events,” he continued.

The 2010 Harcourts Conference, which was held at Conrad Jupiters in Surfers Paradise in May this year, was truly one-of-a-kind with over 600 people from all across Australia in attendance.

Highlights included an inspirational speech from keynote speaker, Li Cunxin, author of best-selling autobiography Mao’s Last Dancer, and presentations from other high profile keynote speakers such as social media guru, Matthew Ferrarra and real estate figureheads, Ric de Luca and James Tostevin.

Mr Green is confident that Harcourts will continue to produce world-class events and may even take out an award at the next Australian Event Awards in 2011.

“I am confident that Harcourts will continue to excel in this area and will continue to produce many more exceptional events. I believe that Harcourts has a fantastic chance of being a finalist in the 2011 Australian Event Awards, so watch this space!” said Mr Green.

Ria Oxburh of the Starlight Children's Foundation with Harcourts NSW CEO, Chris Stephandellis

The Harcourts Foundation has recently granted funding approvals totalling $4,000 which will be donated to two New South Wales-based children’s charities – the Starlight Children’s Foundation and the Rainbow Club Australia. This amazing figure was raised by Harcourts staff and clients from all around New South Wales.

The Starlight Children’s Foundation, who aims to brighten the lives of seriously ill and hospitalised children and their families throughout Australia, has received a funding grant of $2,500 from The Harcourts Foundation.

The programs run by the Starlight Foundation are delivered both in and out of hospital with the aim of providing positive distraction to sick kids in their time of need.

The grant provided by The Harcourts Foundation will go towards upgrading four hospital-based ‘fun centres’ across the country which provide a unique and much needed service to seriously ill children. The upgrade will ensure that the fun centres are operable and stocked with the latest technology and equipment in order for hospitalised children to access the latest forms of entertainment.

The Rainbow Club Australia, who aims to provide children with special needs the opportunity and confidence to explore and extend their abilities through sporting and recreational activities, has received a funding grant of $1,500 from The Harcourts Foundation.

The Harcourts Foundation grant will go towards building the Rainbow Club Australia’s swimming program which encourages children of all abilities to learn to swim.

Established in August 2008 by real estate firm, Harcourts, The Harcourts Foundation aims to provide financial support that helps, grows and enriches local communities, and has received over $700,000 in donations from Harcourts staff, offices and clients around Australia and New Zealand in its first two years of operation.

Harcourts New South Wales Chief Executive Officer, Chris Stephandellis is pleased to be able to provide vital funding to these two important charities and is proud of the generosity displayed by the Harcourts team.

“The fact that these two important funding grants have been approved really highlights the generous spirit of the Harcourts NSW team and I am thrilled with the outcome. Being able to give back to our local communities is truly fantastic,” said Mr Stephandellis.

The event, which was held at the International of Brighton in Melbourne, attracted over 160 guests including many new people looking to break into the real estate industry.

Doubling as a recruitment drive for Harcourts, many fantastic career opportunities with the company were discussed with those in attendance. Harcourts Victoria Chief Executive Officer, Brent Pullar was pleased to see so many potential new recruits at the event.

“Most of the people who attended stayed back and spoke to our business owners regarding employment in their desired areas. It was fantastic to see so many people interested in a new career with Harcourts,” said Mr Pullar.

The Industry Night also attracted real estate professionals from many of Harcourts competitors who were amazed at how many tools and services the company provides to its business owners and their staff, both in sales and property management.

There was also a lot of interest in the training programs provided by the company’s dedicated training facility, The Harcourts Academy. The Agents Representative course attracted the most interest with the next scheduled course already booked out.

The Harcourts Victoria Industry Night is one of the biggest in the state and represents the perfect opportunity to show people what the brand is all about.

“I really believe in the Harcourts brand and I am excited to share everything this company has to offer. We’re confident that the event got people interested and enthusiastic about the Harcourts brand,” said Mr Pullar.

Established in 1888 in New Zealand, Harcourts is one of the world’s fastest growing real estate companies and continues to go from strength to strength in the local and international real estate industries.

Held at the St George Motor Boat Club in San Souci on the 26^th of August, the half-day event attracted almost 100 Harcourts delegates from across New South Wales.

Harcourts New South Wales Chief Executive Officer, Chris Stephandellis was proud of the turnout and of the event overall.

“It was fantastic to see so many people from the Harcourts New South Wales team in attendance and to listen to some fantastic speakers from both within and outside Harcourts,” said Mr Stephandellis.

Three key speakers addressed the group including international author and trainer dedicated to the study of behavioural change in the corporate market, Merion Lees, Head of Specialist Divisions for Harcourts International, Julianna Forsyth, and Head of Real Estate Operations for Harcourts Australasia, Bryan Thomson.

Each speaker addressed the group individually and delivered their story which both inspired and motivated the Harcourts New South Wales team.

Following the speeches, Bryan Thomson led a question-and-answer panel discussion where three of the state’s highest performing Sales Consultants and Business Owners were asked questions by those in the audience.

This panel, consisting of Michael Garside of Dougmal Harcourts Dapto, Andrew Chrysanthou of Harcourts Unlimited Blacktown and Garth Makowski of Dougmal Campbelltown, shared their views, methods and insights into obtaining listings, marketing and selling properties in the New South Wales market.

“The event was a fantastic success and I believe everyone in the audience was inspired, motivated and enlightened by the panel discussion and the words of the great guest speakers,” said Mr Stephandellis.

Formerly trading under a Ray White franchise in Parnell, the team has today commenced introducing the Harcourts and NAI Harcourts brands along with Harcourts’ world-class systems and products in addition to sharing the news with their clients.

Directors James Lee and Rosh Daji say Harcourts is a New Zealand success story they wanted their company to be part of.

Harcourts Parnell senior management, from left, James Law, Rosh Daji and James Lee

“Harcourts is achieving excellent growth domestically and globally, they recently added an exciting new international network via their joint venture with one of the world’s largest commercial property groups to form NAI Harcourts, and from our observations they have industry-leading technology, training and support amongst other things,” the pair says.

“With big plans across both the commercial and residential parts of our business we recognised these advantages would be of huge benefit to our team and to our clients and are confident joining Harcourts/NAI Harcourts will be a great affiliation to bring us to another level.”

As Mr Lee explains, the new Harcourts Parnell office, located at 2 Heather St, boasts a multi-cultural team of 35, including top commercial sales and leasing specialists and business brokers along with high-performing residential sales consultants and property managers.

“With award-winning residential sales consultant Rosh Daji now becoming a Director we have a stronger focus on growing our share of the residential property market and having recently promoted one of the country’s top commercial sales consultants, James Law, to be an Executive Director and lead our top-performing commercial leasing team we have ambitious plans in that sector too.

“In addition we are determined to maximise my strong Asian network and the global networks of Harcourts and NAI Harcourts, with the ultimate aim being to have an internationally-operating office that is one of the top in town.”

Harcourts New Zealand CEO Hayden Duncan says with Harcourts’ key focuses including growth in Auckland and in the commercial property sector he is delighted to welcome NZ International Realty Ltd and their team to the group.

“Having had interest from a number of real estate companies operating in the Parnell area we felt James, Rosh and their team were the best fit with the Harcourts culture and would also add significantly to our group.

“The location of their office in the high-profile suburb of Parnell and the breadth and depth of their team is a great complement to our existing network and we’re particularly pleased they have a strong commercial team to help continue the strong growth of the NAI Harcourts brand.

“In turn, clearly they have identified Harcourts as being the best option to take their business forward with, which is great endorsement of what our group has to offer and where we are going.”

However, says Harcourts Africa CEO Martin Schultheiss, proper planning can bring it closer, and one of the most important elements of that planning should be to pay off debts – including home loans – as early as possible.

“The Association for Savings and Investment (Asisa) calculated earlier this year that the average monthly pension in SA is less than R3000, and advised that people should keep working for as long as possible to preserve their capital instead of using it to fund their retirement.

“It also said consumers should use any spare cash while they were still earning to pay off debts and then invest more for retirement, even if this meant deferring their material aspirations for several years.

“And we would like to add that following this course will also enable homeowners to derive the most benefit from downsizing to a smaller property, which has become something of a staple in retirement planning.”

Schultheiss notes that the housing crash of 2008 and 2009 was particularly tough on the upper end of the market to which many 50 and 60-somethings had already graduated. “This narrowed the gap between the upper and middle markets and in many areas still means that smaller homes are now not all that much cheaper to buy.

“In addition, many homeowners borrowed heavily against the equity in their large properties during the last boom and increased their mortgage burdens, making it even more difficult for them to make a profit on trading down now.”

Nevertheless, he says, it still makes sense to downsize. “In fact we suggest that people make the move as soon as they become empty-nesters. Middle-aged homeowners spend between 20 and 50% of their incomes on housing costs and most can achieve considerable savings by moving to a smaller property that is cheaper to run and easier to maintain, even if their bond repayment is not that much lower than before.

“These savings can then be put towards paying off the property and other debt so that they are ‘free and clear’ when they do retire, and can enjoy a better quality of life in their later years.”

ISSUED BY HARCOURTS AFRICA
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CALL
MARTIN SCHULTHEISS ON
013 201 1060 OR VISIT
www.harcourts.co.za