"Combining our real estate strengths and geographical reach has made Century 21's Local Realty on Broadway, Papakura a force to be reckoned with. It has been a great move," says Derryn Mayne, C21NZ's Papakura Branch Manager.
Her comments follow Century 21 Gold Real Estate in Manurewa joining forces earlier this year with the Century 21 Local Realty to create a mega-office in Papakura.
All eyes will be on Century 21's first quarter awards, announced next month, to see what impact the merger has had on Local Realty's real estate sales and property management.
The fourth quarter of 2022 saw several of Local Realty's real estate stars shine. It also won both Top Office for the Quarter for Units (the number of properties listed and sold) and Top Office for GCC (Gross Closed Commission). Local Realty also won Top Property Management Office (Under 250 managements).
Manurewa has kept its property management book, managed by Janine Hair. Ms Mayne says clients are happy with the move. The service remains first-class, with the office priding itself on its proactive and hands-on approach.
"Operating under the same roof is proving to be a huge advantage and sees us positively growing the pie. There's a lot of cross-over with Manurewa and Papakura and so now we can more actively help each other with leads and local knowledge," says Ms Mayne.
Opening in late 2019, Local Realty has performed incredibly well despite Covid-19 restrictions, lockdowns, and now a challenging real estate environment. Franchise owners are Iresh Tennakoon and Gary Bal.
"It's great having Derryn on board at this time in the real estate cycle. She opened her Manurewa franchise in 2008 during the Global Financial Crisis, and so understands how to not only overcome tough times, but grow the business and recruit and train more agents to establish us as a local leader," says Gary Bal.
The move is viewed as a great advantage to both buyers and sellers, as well as landlords and tenants.
"Having Manurewa join us builds on our offering and reputation in the marketplace. For over a decade, Derryn and her team built one of South Auckland's most successful real estate offices. We are now amplifying that experience together with our well-known marketing expertise to deliver the exemplary service Century 21 is famous for world-wide," says Iresh Tennakoon.
Owner of Century 21 New Zealand, Tim Kearins, says the real estate company is delighted with how the merger of Manurewa and Papakura has worked out.
"The Papakura office serves such an important and strategic part of Auckland. It covers some of the region's key residential growth areas as identified in Auckland's Unitary Plan, with massive change and development ongoing. A bigger and better Local Realty is at the heart of it, building its market share every day," says Mr Kearins.
As Papakura Branch Manager, Ms Mayne oversees the sales team and property management team, and is responsible for recruiting new salespeople in the area.
"Our catchment is now huge, meaning more listings and choice for buyers and more rentals to view for tenants. On top of this, we're backed by Century 21's well-recognised global brand and unbeatable reach locally and internationally," says Derryn Mayne.
While many other agencies are shrinking, Century 21 New Zealand is currently on a franchise ownership drive. The company has identified many untapped locations with opportunities.
"Century 21 continues to deliver some great results for Kiwis up and down the country. Without doubt these are challenging times in real estate. However, Century 21's unbeatable service, experience and industry knowledge are more important than ever before," says Tim Kearins.
