REINZ Real Estate Magazine - Spring 2020 by reinz_info

RealEstate SPRING 2020

A REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF NEW ZEALAND PUBLICATION

$13.80 excl. GST for members

How COVID-19 is affecting housing ‘needs’ and ‘wants’

• Building work-life balance in 2020 • Modular homes a valuable addition • Want to build office performance?

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RealEstate SPRING 2020

A Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Publication

IN THIS ISSUE OUT & ABOUT 08 FEATURES 12 SECTOR GROUPS 30 OBITUARY 32 EDUCATION 44 TECHNOLOGY 46 INTEREST STORIES 50 FINANCE 58 INDUSTRY 60 LEGAL 62

JOAN HARNETTKINDLEY

23 28 30 34 46

FAMILY IN REAL ESTATE MODULAR HOMES A VALUABLE ADDITION TO THE MARKET

51 56 60 62

HOW COVID-19 IS AFFECTING HOUSING ‘NEEDS’ AND ‘WANTS’ WANT TO BUILD OFFICE PERFORMANCE?

CHANGES TO BE AWARE OF IN THE NEW PRIVACY ACT

WHAT ARE A LICENSEE’S OBLIGATIONS FOR BUILDING REPORTS? A FOCUS ON HEALTH AND SAFETY

COURAGE IN THE CURRENT MARKET WHERE ARE WE HEADED? BECAUSE WE’RE GETTING THERE FAST BUILDING WORKLIFE BALANCE AS AN AGENT IN 2020

ADVERTISE THROUGH REINZ The Real Estate Magazine is a quarterly publication distributed to 14,000 members of REINZ. Ad packages are available. If you are interested in advertising contact Kim Thompson - kthompson@reinz.co.nz

Become a Member Benefit supplier. Contact Dee Crooks dcrooks@reinz.co.nz Wanting to sponsor a REINZ event? Contact Louise Gordon lgordon@reinz.co.nz

KEY CONTACTS Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Inc PO Box 5663, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142 Phone: 09 356 1755 Free Phone: 0800 473 469 Fax: 09 379 8471 Email: info@reinz.co.nz www.reinz.co.nz

Chief Executive

Bindi Norwell, Please refer all queries in first instance to Kirsty Loader, Ph: 09 356 1752, kloader@reinz.co.nz

Advisory Services

Lisa Gerrard, Chief Legal Officer Ph: 09 356 1760, lgerrard@reinz.co.nz

Membership Team

Mary Rackham, Membership Services Manager Ph: 09 356 1750, mary@reinz.co.nz Karen Chambers, Membership Services Admin Ph: 09 356 1845, kchambers@reinz.co.nz Cindy Stowers, Membership Services & Web Admin Ph: 09 356 1849, cstowers@reinz.co.nz

Events

Louise Gordon, Events Manager Ph: 09 359 5454, lgordon@reinz.co.nz

Communications

Editors

Dee Crooks, Editor in Chief; Kim Thompson, Editor; Ph: 09 356 1753, dcrooks@reinz.co.nz

Dee Crooks, Head of Communications and Marketing Ph: 09 356 1753, dcrooks@reinz.co.nz

Design and Layout

Education

Printing

Belinda Woolrych, Education Director Ph: 09 359 5455, bwoolrych@reinz.co.nz

MacWork Design & Print info@macwork.co.nz Ovato Ltd

ISSN 2324-3791

Technology

Kirti Suman, Chief Digital & Innovation Officer Ph: 09 356 1761, ksuman@reinz.co.nz

Finance

Rowan Dixon, Chief Financial Officer Ph: 09 356 1762, rdixon@reinz.co.nz

PropertySmarts

Deborah Dunning, Product Manager Ph: 0204 185 5026, ddunning@reinz.co.nz

DISCLAIMER: Any views or opinions included in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Inc but remain solely those of the author(s). REINZ is grateful to the companies who have advertised in The Real Estate magazine who enable us to bring this publication to our members. However, placement of advertising in this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the products and/or services shown. Neither is REINZ responsible for the accuracy of any advertising material.

Help your clients and customers get settled.govt.nz • independent and comprehensive guidance for Kiwi home buyers and sellers • helpful videos, tools, quizzes and checklists • over 1.8 million sessions since launch in 2018 • shortlisted for 2018 Plain English Awards – People’s Choice • finalist in the public sector Spirit of Service Awards 2019 • brought to you by REA What licensees are saying Excellent initiative – something that was clearly needed.

Very useful site and I often recommend it to both sellers and buyers so that they have the information and can make informed decisions.

info@rea.govt.nz facebook.com/settled.govt.nz rea.govt.nz

CEO UPDATE

Real estate’s resilience in the face of COVID

Bindi Norwell, CEO, REINZ

After 102 days of no community transmission cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand on August 11 the Prime Minister announced the country had four new cases in the community with no links to overseas travel. While there may have been personal feelings of ‘oh no’ or ‘here we go again’ from a business perspective, everyone in the real estate profession knew exactly what they had to do this time round and just got on with the business of shifting back into digital and online selling again. Looking back over the past few months, New Zealand has had a lower economic impact from COVID-19 than many countries, and this is even more true from a real estate perspective. Despite initial predictions of doom and gloom in the property market, the opposite has been true. We’ve seen sales volumes recover quite quickly and now the Auckland region has surpassed its sales volumes in the first seven months of 2020 when compared to the first seven months of 2019. Not to be outdone, the rest of the country is quickly catching up and if the anecdotal stories we are hearing from around the country play out from a data perspective, it’s only likely to be a matter of time before the rest of the country catches up and potentially surpasses last year’s sales figures. Again, prices have held up in most parts of the country and in many instances, we’ve seen solid uplifts in prices – again defying some of the predictions made back in March. The lifestyle sector has seen a big uplift in people interested in moving from residential to lifestyle properties and the rental property market hasn’t taken the hit many said it would. There’s also plenty of interest in the rural sector, but this is being constrained by the banking sector’s view on lending right now. For our commercial and industrial members, while commercial rents have been impacted, there is still significant interest from investors and some good sales are still occurring across many parts of the country. We realise that it is early days with the potential impact on the economy, but it is good to see the level of activity and interest in property across the country. Throughout the last lockdown period,

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REINZ has again been advocating on members’ behalf particularly around issues such as being allowed to conduct building inspections ahead of auctions and also being able to move home during Alert Levels 2 and L3 if you’re moving interregion. It is great that the government has been listening to industry feedback and been working with us to ensure that we can continue to operate in as much as a ‘normal’ manner as possible, but while also operating in a safe and responsible manner. One of the biggest things that we’ve been working on over the last few months is our Performance & Wellbeing programme. It was launched just before the first lockdown hit and now we have re-launched it as an entirely online programme. Feedback so far has been really positive from those working their way through the course. And it’s not just about wellbeing, it’s about developing personal resilience to perform at your best and skills around building a better work/life balance and strategies for managing stress and burnout and dealing with fatigue in a 24/7 world. So, there’s some pretty amazing things in there. If you’re interested in finding out more information about the programme visit reinzeducation.co.nz. Looking forward, we’re excited about (hopefully) being able to come together to celebrate our annual industry awards on the new date of 17 November. Whilst we understand the frustration for those who had booked flights and accommodation, unfortunately, it was out of our control. However, we know from past experience this is always a fantastic event, and I’m sure

this year will give us even more reason to enjoy coming together to celebrate the successes across the profession. We’ve also got the REINZ Auctioneering Championships, our YPIRE conference and the RPM Conference all to look forward to which is great given how many events have been cancelled around the country this year. We’ll be crossing our fingers (and toes!) that these events still continue given the changes with Alert levels. If you haven’t already booked tickets, please get in touch with the team. The last few months of the year will no doubt be hectic, particularly for our property management members, as they will be busy preparing for the changes to the Residential Tenancies Act in Q1 next year and also the Healthy Homes deadlines that come into effect in December. Obviously, the election is now only a few weeks away, and it will be interesting to see if there will be any significant ramifications for the real estate profession as a result. We’ll be keeping a close eye on any regulatory impacts and will be sure to update members as and when any changes are announced. Keep an eye on In the Know over the coming weeks as we look to roll out further announcements and enhancements to further support our members. And as we get closer to Christmas, don’t forget to download our app to take advantage of all the discounts available to you. Ngā mihi.

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OUT & ABOUT

Ray White Salesperson awarded New Zealand Order of Merit As part of the recent Queen’s Birthday honours list, Ray White Ohope Salesperson, Tony Bonne, was appointed as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to local government and community. Tony has been a Rotarian and Coastguard volunteer for 20 years, BOT member, business mentor and part of other community projects. He spent 18 years involved with local government – 12 as Mayor of the Whakatane District. “To be recognised as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit is quite an honour. I’m overwhelmed and humbled to have received this. Right from when I was 20 years of age, I got involved with a group called Jaycees, and this is where I learnt about helping the community to be a better place,” says Tony. Ray White New Zealand CEO Carey Smith said of Tony’s achievement “His contribution to the community has been significant over many years. Personally, Tony is a gracious and humble person who now deservedly has received one of the highest community service accolades in New Zealand, being the Order of Merit. As a company, we’re extremely proud of Tony.” Tony has been with Ray White Ohope and Whakatane since his retirement from local government in October 2019.

The magic of reading comes alive with Kiwi celebs Barfoot & Thompson launched their Magic of Reading Story Book video series where some of New Zealand’s favourite sports stars, like Blues legend Beauden Barrett and Olympic pole vaulter Eliza McCartney, brought young author books to life. The series celebrates their Magic of Reading programme, which gifts every child who spends a night in Starship Hospital their very own book. Barfoot & Thompson has gifted over 190,000 books in the past 16 years with help from the Starship Foundation.

Hawke’s Bay Drought Shout 2020 The Hawke’s Bay Drought Shout on the 18th of June was a huge success with hundreds of local farmers, partners and local businesses flocking to the four locations around the CHB for a bite to eat, a cold drink and some good yarns. The much-needed rain couldn’t keep the locals away who enjoyed banter with the hosts and special guests Te Radar, David Kirk and Greg Murphy who arrived at each location by helicopter and really enjoyed being part of this rural event to show appreciation to the local farming community. Together, Property Brokers and other local businesses really gave the local farming community a much needed boost.

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Starship activities

OUT & ABOUT

The Barfoot & Thompson team embraced National Volunteer Week in June by volunteering their time to Starship initiatives. Various teams got involved by packing and delivering care packs to vulnerable families and Director Kiri Barfoot spent time helping to man phones during the Starship thank-a-thon.

An unsung lockdown hero amongst us Kevin Mills from Harcourts Tandem Realty in Warkworth has been labelled an ‘everyday hero’ and ‘all-round good bloke’ for his actions during lockdown. Although, he’s unlikely to ever let you know about the good work that he does, such is the modesty of this man. Throughout the different stages of lockdown, Kevin spent roughly three hours each afternoon working with the local pharmacist, Brendan Hart from Hart’s Pharmacy, to coordinate and distribute medication to vulnerable members of the Warkworth community, who otherwise may have struggled to access medication during lockdown. Kevin met Brendan Hart and his wife in late 2019 when he helped the family sell their home, and a connection was made. Kevin says: “When COVID-19 broke out, there was a lot of uncertainty and angst given the speed of what was happening. I wanted to contribute to making people feel less stressed, and I like the Harcourts values of giving back, so I offered to help Brendan out. We devised a community delivery system, ensuring that the most stringent protocols were in place to keep everyone safe, as restrictions with the usual process meant that business as usual couldn’t happen.”

Property Brokers Whanganui head hands over reins After 12 years leading the Property Brokers Whanganui branch, Branch Manager Philip Kubiak has handed over the keys to Ritesh Verma, Head of Team Ritesh. Philip has decided the time is right to do something different and spend more time with his wife, Heather. Over his time at the helm, Kubiak grew the branch from around 12% market share to 40-50% within a couple of years and at times hitting 55-60%. The branch’s success saw them win the REINZ Medium Residential Office of the Year - Volume in four of the last five years. While Philip’s retirement was about two years ahead of where Ritesh thought it would be, he speaks highly of Philip praising his people management skills and saying that “He has been in the industry a long time and that experience is one of the big things we will miss.” SPRING 2020

OUT & ABOUT

Harcourts Holmwood make two exciting appointments Holmwood Real Estate has recently announced the appointment of Bridget Gabites as Head of Growth & Strategy for the five Holmwood Group offices in Christchurch, along with their Southern offices in Invercargill and Gore and their Property Management Division. Harcourts Holmwood has also announced the appointment of Hayden Broadbelt as the business owner and leader of their award winning Fendalton office. These announcements show the strength of the Harcourts Holmwood brand in the current market. Tony Jenkins, Group CEO commented “Recruiting these two superstar leaders was a massive win for the Holmwood business and shows my team’s commitment to providing the best possible service and support to our clients.”

Bridget Gabites

Celebrating the best of the best Come rain, shine, lockdown or business as usual, nothing was going to stop the Barfoot & Thompson Directors from celebrating the company’s top performers. At Barfoot & Thompson’s first ever virtual awards, the best of the best were recognised for the 2019-2020 financial period. Walking away with the ‘Branch of Year’ was the Epsom branch. The other top awards were as follows:

• Rising Star of The Year Prince Kapoor - Remuera • Property Manager of The Year Clay Reeve - Glenfield • Commercial Salesperson of The Year Lorne Somerville - City Commercial • Rural/Lifestyle Salesperson of The Year Scott McElhinney - Pukekohe • Residential Salesperson of The Year Melanie Broodryk - Dannemora • Branch Manager of The Year David Kelly – Epsom

Hayden Broadbelt

Century 21 opens in Queen Street Century 21 New Zealand has opened a new office in Queen Street, Central Auckland. “Opening a franchise in the heart of the city, in New Zealand’s commercial capital, is really exciting for Century 21. It further highlights the traction the brand has been getting over the past year,” says Derryn Mayne, Owner of Century 21 New Zealand. The new Unit B, 508 Queen Street office follows franchises opening in Papakura, Papatoetoe, and Century 21 returning to the South Island in recent months. Franchise owners of Century 21 Queen Street Realty, Simon Dai and Hanli Zhang, bring considerable real estate experience along with their sales and rental team - Winnie Zhang, Winson He, Sandy Chand, Joelynn Qiao, Linda Liu, Phoebe Wu, Henry Lu, and Monica Leung. Mr Dai says the team is focused both on residential and commercial real estate in Central Auckland and surrounding areas. They have considerable contacts domestically but also bring expertise in dealing with overseas buyers and sellers. What’s more, increasing numbers of ex-pats are returning home, looking for property to live or invest in.

Simon Dai

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand

Hanli Zhang

OUT & ABOUT

SPOTLIGHT

New CEO for the Real Estate Authority Following the departure of Kevin Lampen-Smith in May, REA Board Chair, Denese Bates QC, is pleased to announce the appointment of Belinda Moffat as its new Chief Executive. Belinda joins the REA from her role as Chief Executive at the Broadcasting Standards Authority. During her time with the BSA she oversaw the review of timebands and classifications on freeto-air television and a refresh of the Election Programme Code. Her oversight of complaints associated with the 15 March Mosque attacks saw guidance developed with broadcasters for reporting on terrorism and violent extremism. Belinda brings strong leadership in a regulatory environment with a focus on education, engagement, working with other regulators and supporting consumers. Belinda says: “I am looking forward to joining the REA as its Chief Executive and leading the team in its commitment to consumer protection, the wellbeing of New Zealanders and a healthy real estate sector.” Belinda joined the REA on 8 September and will continue to build on the good work promoting public confidence in the real estate sector, protecting the interests of consumers and working towards the vision of a better real estate experience for all.

Belinda Moffat

Professionals opens new office in Whakatane Opening a new office in the middle of a global pandemic may seem like a crazy idea to some, however, it wasn’t going to stop Professionals Rotorua owner Steve Lovegrove from opening a new office in nearby Whakatane. When Steve bought the longstanding Rotorua business, he always had regional growth on his mind, so when the opportunity to have an office in a Professionals stronghold presented itself, and he received immediate support from local agents, he jumped at the opportunity. Professionals Whakatane has a fresh new look and location in town on The Strand, with the locals welcoming the change with listings walking in the door and investors building the local property management portfolio.

Harcourts Grenadier Manager honoured with REINZ Fellowship Cedric King, Branch Manager of Harcourts Grenadier City, one of Harcourts most successful real estate businesses, has received the honour of being made a Fellow of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand. Mr King started his real estate career in 1976, and 22 years later, after having held a number of senior roles in several companies, joined Harcourts Grenadier in 1998. Since then, he has been an integral part of the Senior Management Team. Harcourts New Zealand Managing Director Bryan Thomson says the honour is thoroughly deserved: “Mr King has given exceptional service to both REINZ and the wider real estate industry for a number of years. He is a much loved and highly regarded member of the Harcourts family,” he says. With over 44 years of experience, Mr King has served his profession and his colleagues with leadership and commitment. He has shown dedication to continuous improvement having sat on the local REINZ committee for several years before it was disbanded in 2009 and has also dedicated his time as a Director of the Real Estate Network for the past 10 years. SPRING 2020

FEATURE

Joan Harnett-Kindley: Championing women in real estate

Graham Woodley (REINZ President at the time) presenting Joan with REINZ Life Membership in 2003

Joan Harnett-Kindley was recently appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for her services to the real estate industry and netball, in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Reflecting on her many achievements and successes in real estate, Joan particularly notes her drive to champion women throughout her career. Remembering back to when she first started out, the industry was male dominated, with only three female salespeople in Christchurch. “Being a woman in those days was probably harder than anything else, there were always barriers when trying to achieve something and that applied to most things in daily life,” said Joan. It was her positive attitude and mindset that allowed her to achieve so much in her life. “Don’t waste time thinking about it, just do it, whatever you feel like doing, just go for it,” she said. Thinking back to the early days, things were rather different. “Back in 1972, to apply

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to be a salesperson all you had to do was provide three references, pay $10 and then appear in court before a judge who looked at your references and then approved your application to be a salesperson.” Joan was the only woman in the office. She was given a pen, a pad of contracts and a diary and told “Go and get some listings,” to which she replied: “What are listings?” Joan knew very little about the industry but had the drive to learn. Joan had two people that she really looked up to throughout her career. The first was Peter Cook, a partner who ran his own real estate business, Simes and Co and who assisted the Government in the writing of the 1976 Real Estate Agents Act. When Joan first became a member of the CanterburyWestland Executive Committee, Peter was

the President. Joan was inspired by his professional standing and admired the way he wrote up his complaints. “They were beautiful renditions of the English language,” she said. James Whitmarsh who was the Secretary of the Canterbury-Westland Executive Committee was the other person Joan looked up to. James really gave her the push she needed to get going. He would encourage her to aim higher and helped her realise she could do anything. When Joan started her own real estate office in the early eighties, she employed all women. People would often refer to them as ‘The Steel Magnolias’ because of their large shoulder pads and fancy suits, which were in Vogue at the time. Opening her own business in Christchurch was a big achievement as there were very few women qualified to run a real estate agency in Christchurch at that time. “My mother used to say to me and my four sisters that women can do anything if they put their minds to it. If you have the desire to do something, you’ll achieve it”, said Joan. This same attitude carried through in her sport: “It depends on how much you want it. If you want it badly enough, you’ll achieve it.”

Joan represented New Zealand at the Netball World Championships in 1967 when New Zealand beat Australia to win the world title. In those days there was very little recognition for women and their achievements in sport and very little media coverage. The world title team was lucky to get 10 minutes of television time at the half time of the local rugby match. Even after they won the championship, they got very little recognition. There was a book published in the 1970’s called ‘New Zealand’s greatest sporting moments’ which was organised in chapters for events for each year. For the year 1967 there was no mention of the New Zealand women’s netball team winning the World Championship. Joan advocated and promoted the sport for years until they finally started to get some publicity and television time. “I’ve had a great life,” Joan said. “The Queens Award is very special to me and I feel very fortunate that my contributions to both business and sport were considered substantial enough to merit such an honour. I am also thankful to all the business associates and netball players for helping me achieve this great honour. Their advice and support have been invaluable to me,” she concluded.

FEATURE

Joan’s long list of real estate successes include being a licensee and owner of Joan Harnett Real Estate for 10 years; Director of Kindley’s Real Estate Dunedin and then Kindley’s Real Estate Wanaka; member of the Canterbury-Westland Executive Committee for 12 years, including President between 1992-1993; awarded a Fellowship of REINZ in 1993; President of the Otago District between 1999-2001; holding many positions with the Real Estate Agents Licensing Board, REA Authority and REINZ and awarded an Honorary Life Membership of REINZ in 2003.

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SPRING 2020

FEATURE

REINZ’s new team members The REINZ team has recently welcomed a few new starters. Here’s a quick introduction to our newest team members and some information about what makes them tick.

Belinda Woolrych,

Ian Smith,

Nicholsen Ng,

Belinda joined REINZ on 7 September as the new Education Director. Belinda forms part of REINZ’s Senior Leadership Team and will report directly to the Chief Executive.

Ian joined REINZ on 14 September and will be responsible for managing REINZ’s data platforms. He reports to Kirti Suman, REINZ’s Chief Digital and Innovation Officer.

Belinda brings significant experience in both the education and property sides of the role. She worked for a number of years for the Woolworths Australia Group as Change/Transformation and Learning & Development Manager and she has also worked as a Trainer and Assessor for TAFE New South Wales. Most recently, she was Director of Learning & Development for the Property Makeover Academy in Sydney.

Originally from the UK, Ian joins REINZ from Harrison Grierson (HG) where he was part of the digital leadership team and was responsible for the Product & Innovation team. He has also worked for Auckland Transport as Enterprise Information Manager, Auckland Council and Transport for London.

Nicholsen joined the REINZ Digital and Innovation team in August 2020. He is responsible for developing web applications, further enhancing and maintaining existing applications and working on the development of API’s amongst other projects.

Education Director

Belinda is also an author (publishing her first book, Rightsize Your Home: The Empty Nester’s Guide for a Stress-Free Downsize in 2014), a speaker and is the Founder of Papillon Styling & Renovations.

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Senior Data & Platform Manager

Outside of work, Ian is an avid gardener and active member of his local sailing club.

Full Stack Developer

Nicholsen has a Bachelor in Computer Science and specialises in web development and application integration using Microsoft Technologies, and has worked in the IT and digital innovation space for over 12 years. He enjoys learning new technical skills and improving on existing ones. He also likes to read self-development books. Nicholsen is originally from Jakarta, Indonesia and worked in Singapore before moving to New Zealand at the start of 2020. Nicholsen is excited to be part of REINZ’s Digital and Innovation team and looks forward to contributing to the continued growth of the business.

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FEATURE

An invisible housing crisis: spotlight on Waiheke Island

Sho Isogai, Re-Creation Consulting

Sho Isogai of Re-Creation Consulting (RCC) explores the growing housing pressures on this island of Aotearoa, which in many ways embodies the challenges facing the region at large.

Despite growing awareness of streethomelessness and housing unaffordability in an Australasian setting, there seems to be a lack of recognition of housing crisis, including; seasonal homelessness and the lack of affordable, and habitable housing on small islands in Aotearoa New Zealand (thereafter Aotearoa). This article offers a dive into the numbers behind the housing crisis on Waiheke Island in Aotearoa and the people behind them. Aotearoa is a small South Pacific Island country with an estimated resident population of 4.9 million. Amongst this population, one in 100 people were either homeless or at-risk of severe housing deprivation in 2013. Meanwhile, Māori and Pasifika are over-represented in the homelessness population.

15,000 14,000 13,000 12,000 11,000 10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0

13,966 12,311 10,712

11,067

9,596 8,704 7,890 5,844

Mar-18 Jun-18

Sep-18

Dec-18 Mar-19

Jun-19

Housing Register growth since September 2017 (MSD, 2019)

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In Aotearoa there are several small islands, including Waiheke, Stewart, Chatham, and Arapaoa. Waiheke is a second-largest island in the Hauraki Gulf of Aotearoa with a population of 9,063 in 2018. It’s a major destination for tourists and seasonal workers alike. Data from the 2013 Census names the majority of residents as European, followed by Māori, Pasifika, Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and African. Tourism is the main vehicle of employment and economic growth for Waiheke. Between 2016 and 2017, 1.3 million tourists visited the island, while accommodation/food services, agriculture/fishing and rental/real estate services are the main economic drivers. The 2018 Census data shows a total of 5,859 private dwellings on Waiheke Island. Of these, 3,780 dwellings were occupied, while 2,079 were unoccupied. According to new bonds data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, an average weekly rent cost for residential rental on the island was $507 in July 2017.

6,182

Sep-17 Dec-17

Recent research shows that rapid population growth, long-standing housing purchases and a lack of new housing supply are essential causal factors of the housing crisis in Aotearoa. The 2019 Census data shows there was a net gain of 53,800 in August 2019. Numbers of people on the public housing register increased from 9,536 to 13,966 between June 2018 and September 2019, and the median property price in Auckland region was $886,000 in December of that year.

Sep-19

There are 14 public or social housing facilities on the island. Some 13 people have approved

Number of Airbnb entire place listings (12 month period to 31 August 2017) and number of private dwellings (2013 Census) by local board area in Auckland Local board

Entire place listings Private dwellings

Waiheke Waitematā Great Barrier Devonport-Takapuna Rodney Albert-Eden Ōrākei Hibiscus and Bays Waitākere Ranges Kaipātiki Franklin Upper Harbour Puketāpapa Howick Whau Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Henderson-Massey Manurewa Papakura Ōtara-Papatoetoe

515 2,052 40 411 438 580 397 441 216 195 144 97 77 172 83 82 37 62 34 16 16

5,559 35,973 954 21,828 24,381 33,801 31,125 35,181 17,988 29,709 25,083 18,087 17,637 42,909 25,113 25,356 18,267 36,108 23,760 15,714 20,877

Total Auckland

6,105

505,404

Entire place listings per 1000 dwellings 92.6 57.0 41.9 18.8 18.0 17.2 12.8 12.5 12.0 6.6 5.7 5.4 4.4 4.0 3.3 3.2 2.0 1.7 1.4 1.0 0.8

12.1

Source: AirDNA data with authors’ calculations, Stats NZ 2013 Census Notes: Local boards are ordered in the chart according to the number of entire listings per 1000 dwellings, as shown in the final column.

and received an emergency housing, special needs grant to stay in short-term accommodation, while 10 people were on the housing register in September 2019. Meanwhile, seasonal rentals are booming. 8–10% of all Waiheke housing stock are listed on Airbnb – 515 entire houses appeared on the service between 2016 and 2017 returning an average weekly revenue of $998 during that time. 13% of Airbnb rentals on the island have been booked for 60 days or more and are available for booking 120 days or more in a year.

Housing crisis on Waiheke Island

With rental prices and food and water poverty on the rise, people with benefits and low-waged workers with accommodation supplements are struggling to secure housing in Waiheke. The conditions have resulted in a rise in transience, with those impacted living in temporary, uninhabitable housing, even camping in the park. Several local organisations such as Waiheke Community Housing Trust, Waiheke Hope Centre (Emergency Housing), Waiheke Health Trust, and Waiheke Budgeting Service are working on solving these challenges on the island.

There has been a growing housing crisis on Waiheke. The population has increased 47% since 1996. This has led to four key challenges: unavailability, unaffordability, inhabitability of housing, and overcrowded housing.

In September last year local residents organised an event called Waiheke Housing Crisis: Our Island, but not our home to raise awareness of the issues at play.

According to data from the Ira Mata Ira Tangata Auckland regional homelessness count, 17 people were homeless in Waiheke Island on September 17, 2018 with the exclusion of lifestyle homeless people (i.e. people who live on boats).

What is there to be done? Firstly, we need a focus on building affordable, sustainable and habitable housing. This

Older people and renters over the age of 55, families and whānau (a Māori word for extended family) with children, single men, seasonal workers and people who work in education/health/social services are particularly affected by the housing crisis. These people live below living wages and are not registered with public housing, as they prefer to stay in Waiheke where they already have their network and are known in the community.

Implications

FEATURE development includes state, community, prefabrication and Marae-based housing with the implementation of the principles of ‘Housing First’ and the manaakitanga framework. Manaakitanga is a traditional Māori value that embodies hospitality and reciprocity. It is recommended that organisations utilise industry tools such as (REINZ’s RentalSmarts) to place people into housing as soon as properties become available on the island. A combination of data innovation and integration, partnerships with real estate professionals, private landlords, NGOs and Government agencies will be needed to tackle the multi-layered problems of transient population and insecure tenancy. Additional structural changes are also important. Helpful strategies could include changes to national superannuation systems and the Residential Tenancy Act. A Call for Change campaign by REINZ is an example of work to influence the Government to regulate property managers (and landlords) in Aotearoa. A joint effort by REINZ and the New Zealand Property Investors` Federation to challenge proposed changes to the Residential Tenancy Act is another example . Lastly, it’s essential our approach is community-driven change (Bates, 2018). To this end, Wiremu Te Taniwha (Waiheke Hope Centre) and myself will be presenting a workshop at the Australasian Pacific International Community Development Conference 2020 designed to co-produce solutions with participants to eliminate the housing crisis on this island. (Note: due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australasian International Community Development Conference 2020 has been postponed to September 2020, at the time of publication). As pressures for these small islands escalates, it’s essential the whole island community works together and takes everyone accountable to eliminate this solvable challenge via partnership and collaboration.

Sho Isogai is a Japanese consultant, impact entrepreneur, researcher and interdisciplinary practitioner at Re-Creation Consulting (RCC) in Aotearoa. He has several years` experience in innovative, multi-agency, co-design and community project initiatives and delivery in Auckland, Aotearoa. He has a Masters in Applied Social Work (MAppSW) from Massey University: https:// massey.academia.edu/ShoIsogai This article also appeared in HousingWORKS Vol. 17, No. 1, June 2020 as the HousingWORKS (The Journal of the Australasian Housing Institute) as the original publisher. It is republished here with permission of the author. The author wishes to acknowledge the contribution of Waiheke community members (Mark Inglis, Mike Maahs, Kathy Voyles and Wiremu), Lydia Stazen, editors (Venessa Paech and Emma Westwood) and other anonymous contributors for support in the preparation of this article.

SPRING 2020

FEATURE

“ That’s it, I’m moving to New Zealand” As COVID-19 cases spike across the globe, there is a lot of media interest in New Zealand, with even The Guardian reporting many people are longing to escape to our small South Pacific country. The popular refrain is: “That’s it, I’m moving to New Zealand!”

Unfortunately, many news items are also reporting incorrect information about the ‘One Home to Live in Pathway’ managed by the Overseas Investment Office. This legislation has been in place since October 2018 when the Government changed the Overseas Investment Act to put restrictions on overseas people buying residential property in New Zealand. The rules have not changed. If an overseas person wants to buy a home to live in, they need to be ordinarily resident in New Zealand or a citizen. The only exception is that people from Australia or Singapore can buy land that is residential only without consent from the Overseas Investment Office. This is because of New Zealand’s free trade agreements with these countries.

Recent consents Between 1 October 2019 and 19 August 2020, the Overseas Investment Office received 214 applications, with all being approved. The total value of the homes purchased with consent during that period is $122 million. Auckland is the top region for consents, followed by Canterbury and Wellington, with applications received from citizens of over 30 countries. The highest number of applications came from citizens of the United Kingdom (28%), closely followed by Chinese citizens (26%). South Africa follows with 12%.

Overseas purchaser eligibility The most important thing any overseas person can do when looking to buy a home in New Zealand is to check if they are eligible to do so. While most overseas people are following the rules, it’s critical that overseas people look at the criteria on the Overseas Investment Office’s website

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Grant Barrott, Manager Residential, Overseas Investment Office

or talk to us. As agents, you are also critical in providing advice to potential purchasers before they make the important decision of buying a house. If an overseas person fails to apply for consent, the Overseas Investment Office can impose a range of penalties. These include fines or requiring people to sell their properties. The Overseas Investment Office is actively monitoring over 200 consent holders to ensure they abide by their obligations under the Overseas Investment Act. This includes monitoring their visa status, time spent in New Zealand and whether they are residing in the home.

Your role So, what can you do to help people comply? Encourage them to get pre-approval from the Overseas Investment Office before purchasing their home, if they need to. This ensures they are guaranteed consent to buy and you will then avoid potential penalties or the forced sale of the property in future. Consent takes up to 10 working days to be granted, but usually applications are processed in 2-3 days. Purchasers can still sign a sale and purchase agreement without consent, provided the agreement is conditional on consent being granted.

Consent conditions Remind purchasers that if they are a New Zealand resident or have a permanent resident visa but have not lived in New Zealand for a full year, they need to get consent to buy. Once consent is approved, it allows New Zealand residence class visa holders to purchase homes before they complete the full year of living in the country. The consent conditions will cease to apply once they become ordinarily resident.

FEATURE Ordinarily resident means the person ticks all four of the following criteria: • They have been living in New Zealand for at least 12 months (not visiting), and • They have been present in New Zealand for at least 183 days of those 12 months, and • They currently hold a residence class visa, and • They are a tax resident.

Relationship property If an overseas person is purchasing a property with their partner (a relationship property) and one or both of them are ordinarily resident, they can buy the property together without consent. One person needs to be ordinarily resident and must satisfy all four above criteria to purchase a relationship property without consent. If only one person has a New Zealand residence class visa and they are not ordinarily resident yet, they can apply for consent from the Overseas Investment Office to buy a home to live in. If consent is approved, they can buy a relationship property together. ‘Relationship property’ is defined in section 8 of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976. If applicants are unsure, they should seek legal advice.

Consent validity Once consent is granted it is valid for one successful transaction to buy a home to live in. Consents last for 12 months so people can use the consent again for the next house if they lose out on one. Note that there are different types of consents for a variety of sensitive land. If purchasers are unsure if the land they are looking at is residential only, or sensitive for other reasons, they should talk to an expert who is familiar with the Overseas Investment Act 2005.

Cost and more information The cost of an application for one home to live in is $2,040. This cost includes processing the consent application and monitoring of consent conditions to ensure they are met. The cost covers a minimum of 12-24 months of monitoring until conditions no longer apply. We encourage you to advise overseas people wanting to purchase a home to live in to get in touch with us if they are in any doubt about what they need to do. We are here to help. For more information, please go to: www.linz.govt.nz/overseas-investment/ information-for-buying-or-building-onehome-live.

SPRING 2020

FEATURE

Maintaining a Growth Mindset Over the last few months, we have all had to adapt and change our behaviours to help our businesses survive COVID-19 and the country-wide lockdown. It’s important that at times like this we are open to change, open to learning and maintain a growth mindset. Maintaining a growth mindset throughout our lives and particularly throughout our career is important, as it ensures we don’t stagnate and get left behind. We spoke to individuals from across the country to understand how COVID-19 and now two separate lockdown periods made them re-think their working style and how they took advantage of the growth opportunities that arose.

Robert Tulp – Apollo Auctions, Auckland During COVID we became very aware that our core business activities - Auctions and Coaching teams became difficult due to the inability to be face-to-face with our clients and the public. We were able to continue to operate (in some capacity) during levels 3 & 4 by conducting ‘Remote Auctions’ and Zoom coaching sessions. This has now evolved (post-lockdown) to us conducting what we now refer to as Hybrid Auctions - we conduct (on-site and in-room) auctions in front of the public, but we also give people the ability to watch online and then participate via telephone bidding. Our standard practices now include setting up a tripod and ‘cage’ as well as the latest GoPro cameras to stream our auctions to Auction Live platforms and social media. COVID taught us to adapt and be futureproof - to conduct our business whilst putting the health and social responsibility of our clients and customers first.

Ben Ryan – Tommy’s, Wellington Kindness, The Path to Long-Term Success. If COVID-19 and lockdown taught us anything, it’s to be grateful for what we have and be kind to one another. Real estate is a people-business which puts us in a unique and wonderful position where we can make people’s lives that little bit better during this trying time. We deal with buyers and sellers who have all been impacted in varying ways; if we can offer a little ray of light, through kindness and compassion, we brighten the world just that little bit. People will remember who was kind when they needed it. Showing kindness and compassion will attract business. As lockdown drew people to social media and other online channels, people have spent more time in front of their screens than ever before. What better time to promote your success through social channels but, be mindful of others’ situations. Show compassion and check the ego. People are happy to see you doing well and it’s great branding. But brandishing lavish holidays and how great things are going for you, all the while they have lost a job or a family member to this horrible pandemic, it can very quickly have an adverse effect on business. Real estate is long game, play it well and play it nicely. Although it’s important to seize any opportunity as it comes, and now more so than ever, it’s more important to drop the commission breath. These are trying times for everyone and being kind and looking to the future will lay the ultimate path to success.

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FEATURE Rick Mozessohn – Ray White, Auckland Make your bed. Clean your car. Cut your hair. Being intrinsically motivated looks like simple daily actions that together, culminate in your greater success. Now more than ever, it’s being reinforced that intrinsic motivation endures over extrinsic, every single time. Waiting for your success, doesn’t work. Consistent success comes from within. Make your bed, clean your car, cut your hair. Navy Seal, Will McRaven says that it’s the “First steps to changing the world.” Setting a simple routine of effective actions becomes the base to productivity and resilience. Making the calls and knocking on doors becomes more manageable when you have a clean wagon and a tight fade. Intrinsic motivation means taking control, taking action and creating order in your life. Intrinsic motivation means creating routine, consistency and focus. Intrinsic motivation means tackling the small goals which culminate in your greater success. Making your bed is the first step.

Sarah Bentley-Korff – Professionals, New Plymouth Lockdown certainly threw a spanner in the works of what we had set out to be our best year yet. Throughout lockdown we spent the time updating databases and systems and preparing for what our market ‘may’ look like post lockdown. Was the market going to take an immediate dive or was it going to continue like it was pre-lockdown? One thing we have focused on is being present in what the market is doing in the current week and month; so far in this financial year we have almost doubled where we were at the same time last year. For us, the mix of taking much needed family time over lockdown, but working on the business as well, has helped tremendously. All our normal planned conferences and trainings have been redirected to online training, giving the ability to stay focused on work and not have to travel away but also being able to adapt to new ideas in real time has been great. This year, as a result of COVID, we have spent a lot of time working ‘on our business’ instead of just ‘in the business’. One other focus of ours, as a result of COVID and lockdown, is that we will continue to spend time and invest in our online marketing growth, as this period of time has shown more than ever that all online platforms are only going to continue to get bigger.

Lisa Yardley-Vaiese – Harcourts, Christchurch It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change.” — Charles Darwin I’ve always loved this saying. I am a lifelong learner, someone who is always looking for that next level, that growth opportunity... COVID-19 lockdown - do we survive or thrive? Once the lockdown started and I was set up to work from home, I was fully aware that I’d have to create structure for the days and weeks ahead in order to function well and stay on track. Zoom meetings were set, daily exercise was scheduled, the 1pm lunch break allowed for the Prime Minister’s daily COVID update. I also produced a daily gratitude Facebook post - a shout-out to a simple pleasure that I’d enjoyed that day. This was so well received. I wanted to create routine, physical and mental management and ensure a positive attitude was sustained. There was a climate of fear proliferating, powered by the doom and gloom on TV, radio and online news. It readily became apparent that strictly limiting your media consumption diet was wise. In that first week I worked particularly hard. By week two, I realised this is not a sprint but an epic marathon. It dawned on me to be a little gentler on myself. It felt like I was working 24/7 and it was becoming exhausting. Harcourts decided to run our National Auction Championships online. Initially I was a little overwhelmed about how I was going to fit the necessary training into my daily schedule. Then I reminded myself “expand!” Take this time and utilise it. Every day I trained with my colleague Ned Allison and I went on to win the competition. Next up, Apollo Auctions in Brisbane decided to run an online Auction competition across New Zealand and Australia. “Yes, let’s do it,” I said. I made it through to the semi-finals calling three auctions in three days. Phew. Our business quickly adapted running online auctions, virtual appraisals and video walkthroughs for our listings. I do feel we have learnt so much about ourselves and each other, adapting swiftly and solidly during these unchartered and unusual times. SPRING 2020

FEATURE Sharee Adams – Barfoot & Thompson – Auckland Coming ready or not! COVID-19 changed the world in a moment of time. As I adjusted to ‘our new normal’, it was the perfect opportunity to discover what I truly value. I love this proverb that states ‘ As a man thinks, so he is’. How we think can certainly determine our outcomes, if we win the battle of the mind – we win. These forced shut downs reminded me of five important things; C - Clear the clutter – In the mind and the house! Distraction is the biggest killer of opportunity. O - Optimise your systems and processes – Our service sells us, but our systems run us. If you do something more than once you need a system for it! V - Value – Decide what is important to you. Analyse where you spend your time, it is what you value most. I - Insight – Understanding market conditions is one thing, understanding your clients motivation, or their “why”, delivers greater insight into their decision making. D – Deal – Make it happen. The deal is made before you go to paper. Going to paper is just the icing on the cake! There are still willing buyers and willing sellers everywhere! While we were all forced into making new habits over lockdown, maintaining these new habits takes discipline and dedication. Commit to growth. Serve your clients, go the extra mile and the deals will flow. Enjoy life’s ‘pinch moments’ where you can be grateful for the little things. 2020 has reminded me again to appreciate this beautiful gift called life.

Bhakti Mistry – Bayleys - Wellington Our key pivot during the last few months was our business’ ability to adapt to remote working and deal rapidly and effectively with the challenges it presented. Change is the new normal and being agile is the competitive advantage that our business implemented. By equipping the team with the correct tools required for our flexible work style, we’ve been able to move quickly from office based, to working remotely and back again. In fact, the systems put in place are still being utilised today, with team members working as efficiently when away from the office and team environment. Because this work ethic was ingrained within the team quickly, our business continued to function seamlessly with our client contact level remaining at similar levels to pre-COVID shutdown, however, without the physical meetings and building inspections. Holding one another accountable for the day to-to-day running of our business’ was a crucial factor when the Bayleys Capital Commercial team went into lockdown. Our meeting times and days did not change, and we were required to be focused, alert to new ideas, methods, trends and influences that was prime information for us to pass on to our clients and customers. This also allowed us to be aware of one another’s wellbeing, helping to alleviate stress and uncertainty for each team member. While selling and leasing through the lockdown period was a benefit of this disciplined model, the benefits were seen more so once we were able to get back at our desks. We hit the ground running and have not stopped. Accordingly, transaction levels are back to preCOVID shutdown levels. Ultimately, we quickly and seamlessly adapted to our new environment, operating outside of the normal workspace and I believe we have the significant competitive advantage to be able to continue delivering the best service to our clients and customers.

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FEATURE

Family in real estate If you Google family business or working with family, amongst the top searches are “how to keep the peace when working with family” or “why working with family is a bad idea” or the no holds barred “25 reasons why hiring your relatives is an even worse idea”. Yet in the real estate profession, family members work together all the time and no one blinks an eyelid. So, what makes real estate different? We spoke to a number of different family members who worked together and asked them what they enjoyed about working together, how they make it work and whether working with their family members is even a ‘thing’. Here’s what they had to say:

SPRING 2020

FEATURE Ray White City Apartments: Phil Horrobin and Delanie Horrobin Tell me about the family members you work with and how long you’ve been working together? About 15 years now, my son (Daniel) joined the business first and then my daughter (Delanie) joined, they were both in sales first, then Delaney went into PM (she’s now a BDM) and Daniel is now a Director.

What’s the best thing about working with your family? Phil: It’s nice to be together and work together, it’s that extra level of trust and support that you wouldn’t have with people who aren’t your family. Delanie: We just love working together.

What’s the worst thing about working with your family? Phil: Nothing really. The only thing they can do is go home and tell their mother I spent too long at lunch! Delanie: It’s harder to say no to your family, although sometimes it’s easier to say no too! Sometimes you never switch off from work. We sometimes leave mum out of the conversation at family dinners accidently, but she is the boss, so we know who’s in charge.

In real estate we see family members working together all the time – why do you think it’s different from other businesses where people actively avoid it? How do you make it work? Phil: Real estate is a lifestyle business,

there are lots of variations and it can be quite individual and you’re doing your own thing a lot of the time, so you’re not in each other’s space like you might be in a ‘normal’ office environment. It also helps that we’re a close family, and we like to be together. And it’s really nice for me to have my son and daughter working in the business. Delanie: My brother and I are really close, so it works well, we don’t have that sibling rivalry, so that works well. We recently went to a Ray White succession planning session and have seen that for some families it doesn’t work, but for us it does.

What’s the best piece of advice for those considering working with their family members in the future: Phil: Keep an open mind on the way young people think. Be prepared to embrace some of their ideas.

Any funny/printable stories/ memorable moments you can share with us? Delanie: Dad will come and see us when he needs to be fed – he asks us what snacks we have in our top drawers!

Harcourts – Team Malloy: Nicky Malloy, Adrienne Williams and Georgia Malloy Tell me about the family members you work with and how long you’ve been working together? Nicky: I started in real estate 10 years ago with my father, Vincent Williams, but due to health reasons he retired, and three years in my husband Mark joined, and then my mother Adrienne. Mark had been champing at the bit to leave his corporate job, and we had a goal that when we hit $300k a year, then he could join – he said it was the best day ever when he handed in his notice! He was a born salesman, so working in real estate was his dream job, where income was a result of hard work, and the profits came to us, not to a corporate!

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When Adrienne joined, my then PA was leaving to have a baby, she was made redundant from her HR job, so it was a natural progression for her to join us as we were mainly working from our home office at the time, so she got to spend plenty of time with us and our two children – a built in babysitter while we were working! It was perfect.

What’s the best thing about working with your family?

My dad, Vincent also works for me delivering flyers around the different areas plus pick ups and deliveries. This year my daughter Georgia joined Team Malloy and she seems to be loving it! It feels like she’s had 10 years of pre-training.

Adrienne: We have always been a close family. I didn’t work until the children were at High School. I loved being home with them. Today it is a privilege to be able to work with my daughter and her family. We all get on so well, so it is a very happy environment.

Nicky: For us it is just being able to be around our best friends – we all get on so well, have lots of fun and laughter every day. It’s so great to be able to share what we do, and we can all benefit from the rewards this job can offer.

FEATURE or listing. It isn’t a competition as we’re all striving for the same goal, so when you’re sick or can’t make it they’re ready and willing to jump in. I had an offer when I was out of Auckland and Dad jumped in and wrote up the offer with my buyer for me. As a family unit we are all so connected and have a great relationship anyway – to me that’s how we make it work.

What’s the best piece of advice for those considering working with their family members in the future: Nicky: Make sure you all get on very well first, otherwise it could put a strain on family life, and that isn’t worth it. Adrienne: A lot of families can’t work together, it has its impact on their personal life, so it is wise to consider all aspects before making the decision to work together. If it works, it can be magic.

Georgia: The support - I think the best example would be when I sold my first house, within 6 days of getting my license. My nana jumped up and down screaming with excitement through the phone, while Mum and Dad pulled out a celebratory drink. They have always pushed me to excel in whatever I want to do.

or stressed at least they understand the pressure we can be under, that is easier than if you have a partner at home who doesn’t understand this, they can be less supportive. Whereas if I’m tired from long days, then Mark, Georgia or Adrienne always step up to make the appointment. Everyone gives 110 percent all the time and I believe that shows in the work that we do.

What’s the worst thing about working with your family?

Adrienne: Many years ago, I worked with my husband in a restaurant business we had. We were partners, and as a married couple we have always been very close and considerate of each other, we worked well together, had no issues and neither did our staff.

Nicky: Haha.. it can be boring at family gatherings, as we still talk about real estate! Adrienne: Nothing springs to mind, we just have a lot of fun together. Georgia: For me it is people thinking I’m not earning on my own merit, that things are easily being handed to me. When the actual fact is, I’m having to work harder to make a name for myself. It’s not in my nature to be handed things, it’s to work hard and strive for what you want.

In real estate we see family members working together all the time – why do you think it’s different from other businesses where people actively avoid it? How do you make it work? Nicky: For us it’s been easy, as we all get on so well, and with my daughter Georgia joining this year, we are really finding it great as we are now more best friends than mother and daughter. When we get tired

Working for Team Malloy in real estate isn’t really that much different. It is based on the same principles and it works really well. We have respect for one another and for each other’s skills. At work I acknowledge Nicky as my manager and at home I am mum. It is essential to have this understanding. I respect and trust her judgement and decision making. She directs me when required and I accept it. We truly work as a team. As a family, with other siblings, we still spend time together outside of work, and truly love and enjoy each other’s company. Georgia: Real estate is a livelihood, not a 9-5 job. I think it’s different from other businesses as teamwork is a big part of real estate, working together to get the sale

Georgia: The best piece of advice I can give you is, leave home at home and bring work to work. You need to have the mentality that we’re working together now not just at home, so to leave the grudge or funny thing that may not be work appropriate at home.

Any funny/printable stories/ memorable moments you can share with us? Nicky: We are constantly making fun of each other, it’s hard to think of a particularly memorable moment as there are so many, like the time when we were at an appraisal, and the sellers dog ate my brand new heels, so I had to go to my next appointment in bare feet!... or when Mark and I do video shoots together, our blooper reel is hilarious. Adrienne: I have Nicky and Mark’s photos on my car and many times I have been stopped and asked if it was me (in my earlier years) on the car. Georgia: I still remember being eight years old when Mum started real estate, right after the GFC. I went to one of her open homes and heard her talking about the features of the property. At this stage, I was handing out chocolates and booklets I decided to mimic her and told buyers as they entered: “Yes this is a lovely weatherboard but the deck is unconsented”. I shortly found out that I wasn’t allowed to say anything. Mum couldn’t help but laugh and explained to me why I couldn’t… hehe I knew at eight years old that I wanted to be a real estate agent. SPRING 2020

FEATURE Property Brokers: Tim Mordaunt, Guy Mordaunt and Tony Mordaunt Tell me about the family members you work with and how long you’ve been working together? Tim: I started Property Brokers in 1986. Guy was nine, Tony seven, Becky four and Sammy was born two months after we commenced. So, we have been a family in our business for 34 years. Then Guy joined 10 years ago and Tony five years ago. Becky and Sam aren’t ready yet. What’s the best thing about working with your family? Tim: It’s awesome to have family in our business. Absolute trust, total commitment, same values, same understanding of what matters. Great for our company, our people to know that there is a future after me – our long term relationships we have with our key people continue – our strategic plan is in place for the medium to long term – our business is stable because of family. Guy: Trust is automatic and you know they’d bleed for the company the same as you would. When you work in any genuine career that takes a lot of time that family gets extended and there are so many people who’ve been in Property Brokers for a lifetime. When everyone believes and understands that, you end up with a culture that is second to none. Tony: Family values are at the heart of Property Brokers, it’s not just true for our relationship but for everybody in the company. We look out for each other, we support each other, and we’ve got each other’s back. If you enjoy each other’s company, it also gives you a lot more opportunity to hang out.

What’s the worst thing about working with your family? Tim: It’s very important to me that business doesn’t negatively affect our relationship. We are lucky the partners all get on, our grandchildren are awesome. Property Brokers is big enough to give everyone space, a decent job and it’s going well. Guy: You talk work 24/7. Tony is considerably taller than I am. Tony: It adds another dynamic to the relationship, without the stress and pressure of business, the relationship becomes much simpler.

In real estate we see family members working together all the time – why do you think it’s different from other businesses 26

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where people actively avoid it? How do you make it work? Tim: Real estate accommodates many different personality types. Everyone is different, our family individual strengths are different – real estate accommodates all skills and allows them to flourish. We make our family work by playing to our strengths, by having fun, sharing our successes and by clearly giving a way out or a Plan B if things are not what each family member wants. Nobody has to do anything. There’s also money in our business, so a family real estate business offers great opportunities to all if we get it right. Guy: People fall in love with this game and when you are watching your partner/ parents/siblings going to work every day excited and motivated you want to be a part of it. Making it work is easy, it’s no different to anything else. If you’ve got a great attitude and desire for it to work then it does. Tony: Every day in real estate you wake up unemployed. It’s about having all hands to the pump to make your business as successful as possible. As with anything, communication is key, always make sure you’re honest and upfront, thrash out the issues and then move on.

What’s the best piece of advice for those considering working with their family members in the future: Tim: Wait until each sibling is ready. It’s a big mistake to enter into a family company too early. I think it’s important that young people travel, work for others, sow their wild

oats, discover that New Zealand is in fact the best country in the world and when they mature, are ready, then they can put their shoulder to the family business wheel. Guy: I always call Tim by his name at work rather than Dad. I think that is just respectful to others. As long as people are clear on what role they have in the work environment it is easy to manage. We have plenty of family in the company where the person in charge at work is not the person in charge at home. That clarity makes it easy. Tony: Working with family is not for everybody; if you think that the added pressures of money and stress are going to be detrimental to your relationship then it’s not worth it.

Any funny/printable stories/ memorable moments you can share with us? Tim: It’s been a challenge for my boys to follow on from Dad. They are their own people, have their own foibles. At the start darts get thrown at them, but after a while the extended family gathers around and we look forward. Once the politics are out of the way the future is strong and bright. We’ve had lots of challenges, a few failures, lots of successes and heaps of fun. Our family is strong. In my opinion real estate is the best business in the world and we are excited for our future. To see the family grow with experience and expertise gives me personally great pleasure. Guy: I have constant lengthy conversations with people on a daily basis who think I’m Tony. Tony: Nothing that is printable…

FEATURE Barfoot & Thompson: Rene and Eveline Vos In real estate we see family members working together all the time – why do you think it’s different from other businesses where people actively avoid it? How do you make it work? Rene: People that avoid working with their children have a problem with themselves not with their children. You do need to be realistic and flexible with your work styles. Eveline: Neither of us tries to be the boss or the primary person in charge all the time.

What’s the best piece of advice for those considering working with their family members in the future? Rene: You need to be honest with yourselves and each other about who you really are as people and then set expectations appropriately. Issues with money is when things can go wrong so you must always be honest and transparent with each other on the subject. Eveline: Obviously if one person is better in a certain area of real estate than the other then by all means let them do what they do best. Play to each other’s strengths and divvy up the workload accordingly.

Any funny/printable stories/ memorable moments you can share with us?

Tell me about the family member(s) you work with and how long you’ve been working together? Rene: I have worked with many of my children over the years in various businesses but I have been working in real estate with Eveline for almost ten years as a team. Eveline: We have been working in real estate together for ten years but we have worked together since I was a kid in various family businesses such as a flower growing business and a cleaning service. I guess he has always been okay with using child labour! (She said jokingly.) We certainly know the ins and outs of working together by now.

What’s the best thing about working with your family? Rene: You get to know more about

your children as a father, which is really rewarding. Eveline: It’s fun and it’s flexible to be a father and daughter team. You know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and can work together to leverage individual talents. Our special bond really makes things click along and that is not something you can get with regular working relationships.

What’s the worst thing about working with your family? Rene: I learned from the dynamics of my own childhood, where I was one of seven, that jealousy can be an issue. You can’t make one of your children a favourite. I made a point to never do this with my own children and feel that I have succeeded in this.

Rene: As you can imagine with us working together and having the same last name people assume that Eveline is my wife and not my child. Once I explain that she is my daughter the dynamic of the conversation can change which is pretty funny. Eveline: Well one the most memorable was a very long day we had that turned into quite the adventure! We had to take the Kawau Island Ferry to meet a buyer from New York. Next we had to take a plane to Great Barrier Island where the owner lived to get the contract signed and sorted. While we were there the weather turned nasty so we had to land at Auckland Airport instead of where we took off from. Finally, we had to take a taxi to North Shore Airport to pick up our car. We had lots of laughs along the way and I am happy to report that we have many good memories like this that we make all the time.

Eveline: By far the worst thing is that people assume I am his wife. Awkward! SPRING 2020

FEATURE

Modular homes a valuable addition to the market

Tony Houston, Managing Director of Neilston Group

Aside from the odd mechanic or motor enthusiast, most of us would never think of building our own car. We know that these vehicles, so important to our daily lives, are reliably and affordably manufactured. Yet when it comes to our homes – by far the biggest investment most Kiwis make – we still mainly build each one from scratch. This takes time and, as we see from the affordability statistics, a great deal of money. Auckland is listed as ‘severely unaffordable’ in all 15 of Demographia International’s Housing Affordability Surveys, including 2019, ranked as the seventh-least-affordable housing market out of the 91 markets surveyed. One way to address this affordability challenge is to manufacture homes to obtain the scale and cost reductions we enjoy with cars and other products that we trust and depend upon. Around the world, homes manufactured in factories, known as modular homes, are playing an increasingly important part in the building and construction sector. At Neilston Group, we began investigating the affordability challenge more than five years ago. We explored lots of different options. New Zealand has a long tradition of prefabrication, format design and standardised building units to try to reduce cost. But we wanted to go a step further. Could we design and specify a high-quality terrace home for New Zealand conditions that we could have manufactured in one of the world’s volumetric modular construction centres? More than three years of focused research and development is now entering its most exciting phase. Our challenge is ongoing, but in bringing our first product to market, we’ll find out how Kiwi home buyers respond to our initial production model, and we expect to keep getting better and further refining our design and production methods.

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand

New Zealand’s first three Modul homes – one of which is an Open Home – are in Nuggett Ave in Auckland’s Hobsonville Point. These are freehold, terrace houses, across the road from the Hobsonville Point secondary school. In the coming months, we will install a further 13 new homes of this type up Nugget Ave to Buckley Ave, 12 of which will be Axis Series homes, offered to the market at $650,000.

What are modular homes These homes are designed by Shanahan Architects for Kiwi home buyers and for New Zealand conditions and lifestyles. They each comprise four modules – two six-metre modules downstairs and two nine-metre modules upstairs. These modules are then connected internally, leaving the exterior steel construction as the outer walls and roof. Each modul arrives complete with all fittings and finishing for the interior of the home. Appliances are added here. They are double-glazed and fully insulated and have been designed and built so we can seek a New Zealand Green Building Council 6 Homestar rating. A feature of Modul homes is that they are a standard design and format. This is key to producing homes as a manufactured product. We opted for three-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom, two storey terrace homes with front and back decks and a small, low maintenance back yard, believing this format to be the most attractive across a large cross-section of the market.

FEATURE

There’s no choosing tiles, flooring, or benchtop, or any of the decisions a buyer has to make building from scratch, and even in some apartment off-the-plan purchases. This won’t suit everybody. But it will suit buyers looking for an affordable, highquality, low maintenance, terrace home with nothing to do except furnish and move in. There’s no bespoke design or decisionmaking during the build on the way to purchase – an aspect that helps reduce cost and keep things simple. It’s early days, but initial market response is that this simplicity and standardisation is attractive to many buyers. Modul homes are manufactured at a factory in Guangzhou, China, shipped to New Zealand, and installed onto their foundations. Finishing work, which involves connecting the modular sections of the house, as well as landscaping, takes a further few weeks. The three homes at Hobsonville Point were installed on June 2, 2020, and you can watch a time-lapse of the installation of three homes in a single day on the Modul website: https://modul.co.nz/why-modul/ how-it-works-the-modul-process/ Our manufacturing partner produces 10 million square metres of accommodation a year, offering an ability to scale up production to meet demand as it grows. We can be building the foundations on site at the same time that the modules for new homes are being manufactured, thereby reducing construction time. Manufacturing the homes in the factory takes four months. We expect the average time between buying off the plans and moving into a

Modul home will be around six months, roughly half the market average. Permanent modular construction of the type we are using has demonstrated time and cost savings in markets where it’s more established. Research from the University of Utah in the U.S. shows that modular construction, on average, reduces construction time by 45%, and cost by 16%. Modular construction is being used around the world for hospitals, schools, offices, hotels and retail, as well as residential housing. We don’t know yet precisely what these figures will look like in a New Zealand market context, but we expect there will be room to pass savings on to customers to ensure we’re providing value at the affordable end of the market.

Helping address industry challenges Modular construction at scale for residential homes is new to the New Zealand market, and will obviously be a small part of the market for a number of years. But it can immediately begin to contribute to challenges that the industry faces by: • reducing stress on skills capacity • supporting improved quality control • reducing waste • reducing hazard and disruption for new builds in built-up areas. Modular construction requires trades people and builders, but does reduce the labour demand for the total build. This helps take pressure off our industry at a time when capacity is stretched. BCITO estimates

that 80,000 new and replacement jobs are needed in the New Zealand construction sector in the medium term. Secondly, being a manufactured product, we expect to see improved quality control. A BRANZ study showed 91% of new homes had non-compliance defects, and 73% of new home owners in BRANZ 2014 home owners survey had to recall their builders to fix defects. Thirdly, modular homes help reduce waste by manufacturing components off-site. In New Zealand, 50% of waste to landfill comes from the construction industry. Fourthly, modular construction is wellsuited to building in already-built-up areas. Component modules are trucked and craned into place with multiple homes able to be installed in a single day. Neighbourhoods avoid months of hammering, sawing and drilling that accompanies on-site construction. And there are fewer truck movements. It’s early days, but there’s no doubt that modular homes manufactured off-site can play a key role in ensuring the industry can provide more new homes at more affordable prices for more Kiwis.

Tony Houston is the Managing Director of Neilston Group, the developer behind Modul homes which launched in August at Hobsonville Point after more than three years of research and development. www.modul.co.nz

SPRING 2020

SECTOR RURAL

Courage in the Current Market

Phil McGoldrick Freelance auctioneer and real estate trainer

I spoke recently at an excellent seminar organised by REINZ for rural real estate agents. I saw my role there to provoke somewhat, to challenge their thinking and to review their business practices so that their incomes from their toil might improve. Commercial insanity is continuing to do what you’ve always done and expecting a better result. To address the current market I drew on lots of different and challenging times and experiences, the least of which was not my introduction into real estate in provincial New Zealand in the early and mid-80s when “Rogernomics” was brutally inflicted upon the rural sector. Whilst ultimately good for the sector, the short-term pain was horrendous with many farmers losing their land.

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RURAL SECTOR We quickly adapted under brilliant leadership and focused on the most needy or urgent of clients and used strategies to enable them to move on and minimise hardship. We witnessed the start of corporate farming and the transformation of farmers into educated, skilled business people running very serious enterprises. As an industry we need to be equally well educated and skilled, if not better than those who engage us. Lawyers Mark Tavendale and Gemma Wragg also gave a valuable presentation on the need to collaborate, not just with the legal fraternity, but all parties who will be intrinsically involved in transactions. It’s essential to build robust networks with these fellow professionals. Their advice dovetailed into mine in terms of how we do business. It has always concerned me that as agents who should be protecting the best interests of sellers, we take properties that are not groomed and prepared for sale and without providing due diligence or comprehensive information, we allow buyers to make sound and irrevocable decisions. To me it’s a BFO (blinding flash of the obvious) that auction is a most appropriate strategy in today’s market, but it’s not for the faint-hearted and requires great skills on the part of the consultant, and I’m very fortunate to work with some of the best

in the business. They take their implied obligation seriously and that is to sell the clients’ property for the best price, to the strongest buyer, in a reasonable period of time. And they know the only way to guarantee that result, is to give all potential buyers the opportunity to inspect and make their best offers. They know that market value is what an informed buyer pays a willing seller after marketing and that premium is what the same buyer pays with the force of competition driving them. They know their job is to market extensively, cast the net far and wide and then to set competitive forces alight amongst all interested parties. Let buyers negotiate in an upward fashion to beat off other buyers, not negotiate in a downward spiral against their client sellers. Before campaigns get underway, they collate every scrap of information that buyers will need to make unconditional offers, they assist in removing all obstacles to a sale, presentation is paramount. They are great marketers, they excite buyers, not appease sellers who want to move on. (At the risk of offending many, the rural real estate adverts I see are dull and boring and we wonder why response is limited). Great real estate professionals distinguish themselves in the crucial areas of marketing and negotiation. Remember

the generic purpose of marketing, and learn from the best, the giants in the retail industry- marketing is designed to grow the number of prospects for the particular product. You need to stimulate an otherwise dormant or difficult marketplace, make your phones ring. Many of the adverts I see would restrict excitement exclusively to those clipping the ticket for the outlet doing the marketing! Your role today is to drive potential buyers to your listings, engage with them to put them in the mindset of the next owner of that property, and get them to fight others for ownership. The role of your auctioneer is wholly and solely negotiation, they are consummate in this area and enjoy a credibility and third person objectivity that enables them to do what realtors with a huge fee at stake are unable to do. This is a time of challenge for the rural sector, but there are ALWAYS owners looking to move on. Get alongside these folks, be meticulous and comprehensive in your preparation, engage the right strategy, AND the right auctioneer and you will forge a formidable reputation that will continue to pay huge dividends. Phil can be contacted at philmcgoldrick@xtra.co.nz

SPRING 2020

OBITUARY

In memory: Cilla Taylor It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Priscilla (Cilla) Taylor, who has been in the real estate industry since 1984. Cilla started her career as a teacher, graduating from Teachers College with a commendation in 1972. Cilla started as a property manager, managing a Shopping Mall from 1978 to 1983. Cilla became an Associate of REINZ in 1992. She started her own real estate agency in 1994, Kitchener Real Estate and owned it until 2000. She was Principal Officer of Prestige Realty 2000 to 2001 and Principal Officer of Gulf Harbour Realty 2002 to 2004. She joined Unitec and was a dedicated teacher who helped launch the New Zealand Certificate in Real Estate course at Unitec, helping to design the programme and writing many of the course materials. Mary Crotty taught alongside Cilla and was a close friend. Mary said Cilla had a huge, quirky sense of humour. Everybody knew Cilla because of her sense of humour. “She was a real people person. She was knowledgeable, skilled, clever and capable. Her students loved to keep in touch with her and visit her alpacas. Her passing is a huge loss to the real estate profession.” Mary said Cilla has had a significant influence on the thousands of students who entered the industry after completing the Unitec course. When surveyed, her students praised her teaching, saying she was “the best teacher in the world”, “I could never have understood the law part of it if it wasn’t for Cilla’s fantastic stories”, and “She speaks in words I can understand”. Over the past year Cilla wasn’t able to teach due to ill-health, but kept her hand in by writing as a subject matter expert in real estate for many of the real estate educational bodies. Cilla was a talented writer, also publishing a book ‘A place for Alpacas’. Outside of teaching, Cilla was also a passionate alpaca breeder who lived with Des, her partner of many years, on a lifestyle block in the Helensville district along with her beloved

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cat, dog, cattle, ducks, chickens and geese. She bred around 150 alpaca and would always be able to recite from memory their names and generations of pedigree. A private service has been held for Cilla. Rest in peace.

New pricing: REINZ Property Management membership for small offices* Benefits include: FREE access to RentalSmarts - a rental appraisal tool

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SECTOR COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL

Where are we headed? Because we’re getting there fast

Christine Miller Head of Supply Chain Advisory, CBRE

Among the biggest changes and drivers of new activity in the property sector include:

The past few months have had an impact on everyone in some way and, while each of us has dealt differently with the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, there are some shared outcomes that have emerged.

• Fuelled by increased online shopping, eCommerce volume has grown in just a few weeks to levels predicted to be reached only in five years • The roles of Industrial & Logistics and Retail sectors of the property market have had to align to respond to the rapidly changing market demands • Delivery, and especially Last Mile landscapes, have shifted to new delivery patterns and changed centres of gravity. These dynamics have highlighted the importance and key role supply chain plays in every organisation, regardless

of industry. Now, more than ever, we are aware of the importance of property in enabling the supply chain to perform at the levels required to respond to sudden and unexpected market changes – as well as flex and adapt to rapid changes in supply and demand profiles. The US has recorded the equivalent of a decades’ growth in online sales in just eight weeks. Australia and New Zealand are coming from slightly lower penetration rates, so our levels are equivalent to around five years’ online sales growth. This transformation is extraordinary, especially considering how supply chains have needed to respond in a very complex environment.

U.S. ECOMMERCE PENETRATION (% OF RETAIL SALES)

30% 27.0% 25%

20%

15%

13.2%

10% 6.4%

7.2%

8.0%

8.8%

10.7%

9.7%

11.8%

14.4%

10 YEARS

8 WEEKS

SOURCE DATA: BANK OF AMERICA, US DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, SHAW SPRING RESEARCH

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2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2013

2012

2011

2010

COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

Total Supply Chain Costs Transportation Inventory

20%

100% of industrial real estate decisions are impacted by supply chains

50%

15%

10%

Labour

5% Occupancy Other

Business performance – jumping five years ahead in just weeks Transportation and distribution typically make up 50% of total supply chain costs. Traditionally this has led businesses who understand their cost profile to design their distribution network around key locations that optimise their product transport costs within required service delivery standards. The next largest cost segment is inventory, which is unique to each industry and each business’ inventory practices – however, as an average it would be 20% of total supply chain costs. Up until the end of 2019 those operating a “just in time” inventory would have been applauded for having low safety stock levels and running a tight supply chain. The disruption to product sourcing and transport, together with rapidly changing demand profiles, have been unlike anything seen before. Large scale cancellations to air travel has dramatically reduced air freight capacity which has been mirrored in the ocean transport industry with reduced sailings. The ability to rely on traditional transport and sourcing routes was removed at the same time dramatic changes in demand patterns were occurring. Looking ahead, businesses are expected

to change sourcing and inventory policies to better weather any future disruptions. Those companies that are reviewing their inventory policies are typically considering a 10% increase in safety stock, which will have an impact on the storage space required as they move to a “just in case” inventory model. This path to increased resilience will bring increased costs which will need to be balanced with savings from an optimised network. Location, which has always been important, will become even more important to ensure product is available when and where required at an optimal cost. A quick look at Amazon’s strategy in the US demonstrates that by increasing their operational footprint by 15% year on year for the past two years, they’ve been able to position products close to the point of consumption in order to offer delivery times that draw consumers in. While not every business aspires to the Amazon model – there are two key learnings that apply to any business who needs to service their customers with a fast and cost-efficient network. • Order to Ship Cycle – this is the time from when an order is received to when it’s dispatched for delivery. This is referred SPRING 2020

SECTOR COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL On the high end of sophistication - it means supporting an automated solution, which requires a property solution that can deliver on the power, systems, weight and height requirements.

to as “click to ship” by eCommerce players. High levels of performance are driven by a focus on warehouse process optimisation, enabled by strong IT solutions for order processing and supported by property infrastructure that can support the integration of systems with the required process.

• Ship to Door Cycle – this is the time from the order leaving the warehouse to receipt by the customer. This is

where network location and inventory positioning become critical. Having the right products in the right location where delivery can occur quickly at manageable costs means the difference between a viable customer delivery solution or one that creates unsustainable costs in the business.

Here’s a quick look at how Amazon has done in recent years driving these two factors:

Amazon Prime 1-day delivery is working but it’s not cheap Amazon’s worldwide shipping costs ($MUSD)

Amazon’s worldwide operating margins

$12,884

$7,320

Q1 2019

$9,608

$8,134

Q2 2019

7.4% 4.9%

Q3 2019

Q4 2019

Q1 2019

Q2 2019

4.5%

4.4%

Q3 2019

Q4 2019

How do they use property to drive results and market dominance? The speed starts at fulfillment

The last-mile leg also proves to be important

Click-to-ship time for online orders measured in days

Not-Amazon

Amazon

0 1

1/1/18

7/1/18

Flexibility – Industrial & Logistics integrating with retail property in real time Prior to the pandemic – Retailers were already designing operational processes that provided multi-channel shopping options. With the onset of the pandemic – having a retail store network that compliments distribution centres in customer order fulfilment, became survival 101. The line between these two asset types is blurring and the role in fulfilling customer demand becomes far less distinct. For example - as soon as a retailer fulfils an online order from stock at a retail store – that store transforms into a key part of the online fulfilment logistics network. In recent times, the required coordination between distribution centres and retail sites became very clear to consumers. Just think back to the lack of toilet paper and other basic essentials experienced in the early days of the pandemic. These stock outages

Ship-to-door time for online orders measured in days

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1/1/19

0 Credit: Matt Leonard / Supply Chain Dive, data from Rakuten Intelligence

weren’t brought about by supply issues but instead by unexpected and sudden increase in demand. Dramatically increased demand at the retail sites required fast ramping up of logistics network throughput. Online retail fast delivery and click and collect offerings are examples of how these sites need to function seamlessly in the logistics network by positioning products close to the point of demand to meet customer requirements and respond rapidly to changes in demand.

1/1/18

7/1/18

1/1/19

INDUSTRIAL OUTLOOK 2020 – DARE TO ADAPT TO WHAT’S AHEAD

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw retailers accessing stock in closed retail sites to fulfil online orders. This is smart inventory management, however, sadly not all had the ability to tap into their store locations and lost sales. Moving forward, having the flexibility to access inventory across the entire network will be critical to ensure products can be distributed timely to the points of demand whether they be online or in store.

THE DISRUPTION TO PRODUCT SOURCING AND TRANSPORT, TOGETHER WITH RAPIDLY CHANGING DEMAND PROFILES, HAVE BEEN UNLIKE ANYTHING SEEN BEFORE.

SECTOR The trend to bring retail sites further into the online order cycle does come at a cost – 30% more costs. Handling online orders at the retail store level is moving the order fulfillment process from a typical industrial site and cost base to a retail cost base with typically higher rent and labour costs. Not to mention most retail centres do not have the outbound order parcel shipping infrastructure at the scale of a distribution centre operation. This doesn’t mean it’s not a successful strategy. Target in the US has moved to fulfilling more than 80% of their online orders via store and have captured additional market share as a result. They acknowledge that the increased cost is worth the increased sales experienced. Using their vast store network is a smart move that enables them to compete against Amazon and their fast delivery network. JB Hi-Fi is a local stand out in terms of their omni-channel shopping solutions. Web shoppers can easily see if their selected product is available for in-store for purchase, or decide to click-n-collect or have their order delivered. The success of its strategy has come from close integration of store and distribution centre stock management, as well as a robust order management system. Chemist Warehouse has just announced the addition of same-day home delivery to its eCommerce solutions, which previously were limited to online purchases with standard delivery and click-n-collect. To power these solutions, product management efforts need the support of technology as well as property that can enable the technology. eCommerce fulfilment solutions are the way of the future; however their operational execution requires three times the space of a traditional retail store sale and will drive strong demand for Industrial & Logistics property solutions. At the same time, there are changes occurring in the role shopping centres play. Efforts are clearly underway to define services that will continue to draw traffic into the shopping centres. Shopping centres are typically located closer to residential populations which could open the opportunity for them to play a role in the fulfillment cycle by holding inventory close to the point of consumption – even if not purchased direct through a retail store located in the shopping centre.

Adapting – Last mile landscape changing The increase in online shopping has

ECOMMERCE FULFILMENT SOLUTIONS ARE THE WAY OF THE FUTURE; HOWEVER THEIR OPERATIONAL EXECUTION REQUIRES THREE TIMES THE SPACE OF A TRADITIONAL RETAIL STORE SALE AND WILL DRIVE STRONG DEMAND FOR INDUSTRIAL & LOGISTICS PROPERTY SOLUTIONS. occurred in sync with home restrictions. This has brought about a fast and, in some cities, dramatic change in the delivery patterns and volumes for parcel delivery providers. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were high concentrations of parcels going into the CBDs, where fully loaded vans could deliver large volumes in a relatively high-density location. With the stay at home orders, delivery volumes shifted to the lower density delivery landscape of the residential areas. While delivering into these areas was not new - the combined effect of increased volumes delivered to a wider area brought about a need for additional delivery vehicles requiring additional staff. In Australia, as many as 2,000 additional vans have been secured to cover the changing delivery patterns. These additional vans require not only trained staff to drive them but space at secure depots to use as an operational base.

What does the future alignment of property and supply chain look like? We’ve been on a fast-paced learning curve the past few months and despite the challenges some key learnings are emerging: • Freight and logistics are essential services and in future crisis management situations careful consideration needs to be given to ensuring operational sites, including distribution centres, remain operational • Increased online shopping is here to stay and based on the forecasted penetration rates, solutions integrating property and products will be essential • The distinction between retail and logistics property will diminish as integrated solutions grow to meet market demands from consumers. SPRING 2020

SECTOR COMMERCIAL

Would you sell your business now? It is easy to speculate that as a result of the far reaching and, in many cases, devastating effects of COVID-19 around that world, that any Kiwi business owner would be short-changing themselves by selling a business now.

In fact, many business owners in New Zealand that we have spoken to are concerned that as a result of poor trading months post-COVID, they now need time to rebuild the value of their business before they can consider selling it. Interestingly, the facts don’t support this view, and to the contrary we have entered a sellers-market with business buyers flooding the market in record numbers.

of April to June, will adversely affect value. The logic is sound and normally would be a fair assumption, however, this situation is anything but normal. COVID has been largely eradicated in New Zealand and many businesses that have returned to pre-COVID trading levels can clearly demonstrate any downturn as a one-off or non-recurring event that would have no effect on value.

If we unpack this it begins to make sense; we are in a period of increased job uncertainty, increased unemployment due to redundancies and an almost universal awakening to the frailty of our classic employer/employee economy. Many Kiwis are no longer willing to leave their future in other people’s hands and are attracted to the prospect of being in command of their own financial destiny.

A fair normalisation of the accounts will satisfy most buyers and therefore the value of the business is maintained. It would be no different than a retail business being affected by three months of road works that affected profit, the only loser is the current owner, once the road works have passed, it’s business as usual.

All of this coupled with increasing house prices in many major centres (homes where equity can often be found) and historically low interest rates - and we have the perfect buyer storm. As if that all isn’t enough, consider the huge number of Kiwis returning home with their hardfought wealth needing to provide both a home and an income. For these particular buyers a well-established business under management is a very attractive proposition, either to acquire in part or full. The quality of these business buyers coming back to New Zealand is remarkable. The only thing missing in all of this? Enough businesses to satisfy this genuinely insatiable demand. Many business owners presume that poor performance, particularly the full quarter

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand

Aaron Toresen CEO, LINK Business

While there are undoubtedly many businesses that continue to struggle, and have or will go out of business completely, these tend to be very sector specific. Obviously, businesses relying on international tourism have been worst hit and sadly there is no easy solution in sight. But there are some surprising victors also, like the accommodation industry that is piping hot right now with Government assisted guests and domestic tourism driving business values higher than normal. The message is fairly simple, albeit counterintuitive; three bad months trading won’t affect the value of your business if it appears to be returning to normal. Buyers are both well-financed and plentiful and it is not uncommon to have multiple offers on businesses being sold. It is indeed a strange time, but for those that are canny, now is the time to sell.

YPIRE Conference 2020

INSPIRE MOTIVATE CONNECT Thursday 15 October | LIFE Central, Mt Eden, Auckland Visit www.ypireconference.com for tickets! 2020 will bring an amazing, fresh line-up of speakers from across New Zealand, plus keynote sessions from top Australian agents, live via Hologram!

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SECTOR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Management styles â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Portfolio or Pod based

There are two main management styles used in the property management sector.

Portfolio has historically been the most common type of property management style, and it works well for smaller businesses right through to very large portfolios. Each property manager manages all aspects of their portfolio. It means that the property owner, tenant and contractors will generally only deal with one person from the property management department. Pod based systems sees two to three property managers working together as a team. Communication is vital in this type of structure. Each team member needs to know what the others are doing, to avoid property owner and tenant frustrations. In the past, most property management

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offices have operated on a portfolio basis. Over the years, additional layers of complexity have been added to a property managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role through changes in legislation, but also expectations from landlords and tenants have increased. A property manager may have been able to manage larger portfolios in the past and manage them well, but unless the number of properties they now manage reduces to allow for the additional demands of the role, it is often the service level and/or communication that reduces, or they may face burnout trying to maintain the same service levels of the past. Jodine Clark, Property Management Operations Manager at Harcourts New Zealand notes that if the same

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SECTOR

expectations are maintained without acknowledging the industry has changed, albeit for the better, then the industry may lose some top-level property managers. Many businesses that continue to maintain the highest service levels have recognised this and have changed their structure to support their property managers by reducing the size of their portfolios or adopting the pod structure. The pod structure supports property managers and businesses well and is worth considering when changes occur within a business, rather than simply replacing a property manager with another. The benefits of this are many, as Nigel Bowden from Harcourts Grenadier Accommodation Centre explains: “When growth demands that you look at your operating structures, the pod system brings some real advantages. From the business perspective it is cost-effective; it allows for mentoring and in-house training, and a degree of specialisation with in-built succession planning if needed. For property owners and tenants, it can provide easier contact, and for tenants a greater sense of advocacy and a richer experience. As for the team, when it works well the shared knowledge reduces burnout, helps with stress, provides a personal growth path, and when someone in the pod goes on holiday, the work still gets done. Having run the pod system now for about 18 years, we see it delivers better statistical results, while also bringing consistency and a boost to maintain service standards across the whole team.” REINZ also spoke to Samantha Arnold, General Manager of the Barfoot & Thompson property management team. As a company who has run offices as both portfolio structure and a pod structure, they have seen pros and cons for both.

....IF THE SAME EXPECTATIONS ARE MAINTAINED WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGING THE INDUSTRY HAS CHANGED, ALBEIT FOR THE BETTER, THEN THE INDUSTRY MAY LOSE SOME TOPLEVEL PROPERTY MANAGERS. Jodine Clark, Property Management Operations Manager at Harcourts NZ each employee knows exactly what their role will be, which means they are often able to plan their day in an industry that is well known for its daily variety. Pods can, however, lose their balance when the portfolio increases. When you are looking for growth, you cannot expect the same one person to be able to cope with the workload. Where you have a group of property managers all equally accountable for their own administration, banking, letting and maintenance (in this case, portfolio managers), and a property manager or

team leader who is able to oversee the department, you are left with more time for other activities. This structure gives individuals the ability to spend more time on building relationships and business externally and internally, or train brand new people to the industry with little experience. The key is having the right person manage the team and thinking strategically about where the department is headed. Sam’s team chose to move to the portfolio structure in most of their branches, and they have seen both client engagement and tenant engagement increase. Their testimonials are much more positive than they had previously been, and their staff are feeling more motivated as they have a career path if they want it. Simply having that one person to look after all aspects of the property has proven to be the right move for them. Stronger relationships have been built with contractors, landlords and tenants, and there is more accountability on the property manager to ensure they match the best tenants to the property that they are ultimately going to be managing. This is, however, a costly exercise and one that cannot be changed quickly. If that property manager leaves, it is possible that some relationships fall down a little, this is an area of focus going forward for Sam’s team, but one they feel they can rectify in a short period of time. With the property management industry changing, business models need to evolve in recognition of this. Our focus must be on the retention and health and wellbeing of our property managers, and by creating structures to support them. This will ultimately help to grow and sustain businesses.

Pods work well for offices running smaller portfolios of up to 180 properties, with quick service for clients. This may involve one person dedicated to inspections who knows exactly what they are looking for and perhaps has the time to be more thorough; a property manager who is the main contact and will be managing the day-to-day maintenance and rental income; and a letting agent who would be matching tenants to properties. Costs are kept relatively low with this structure, as you tend to have less staff, SPRING 2020

SECTOR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Healthy Homes – Health benefits positive Jo Rae, Head of Property Management, REINZ

For those in property management, assessing and implementing healthy homes standards is now considered an integral part of the property manager’s role. Some larger organisations have the resources to employ a dedicated compliance person to oversee this task. Often, we do not take the time to step back and look at the extremely positive impact these improvements are having and will continue to have on the health of many tenants. While there will always be debate from investors about some of the standards, adequate insulation, heating, and ventilation are integral to a healthy home environment.

that for every ten children referred to the programme, there were six fewer filled prescriptions, six fewer GP visits and one less child in hospital during the next year.

The Healthy Homes initiative began back in 2013, with the support of Government agencies and District Health Boards. This was initially part of the anti-rheumatic fever campaign of the early 2010s. This was expanded to cover many aspects of healthier housing in New Zealand.

As an industry we are working hard to bring rental properties up to the required Healthy Homes Standards. It will take some time for the figures from this to filter through, however, the benefits so far from the Healthy Homes initiative have translated into significant savings for the health sector. A single night in hospital can cost the taxpayer more than $1,000. Improving living conditions in previously damp homes is a win for everyone.

Data has now started to indicate how improving the quality of accommodation is reducing hospitalisations and sickness, particularly in children. According to Ministry of Health information, up to the end of 2018, there had been more than 15,000 successful submissions to the Healthy Homes initiative to assist with insulation, heating, and ventilation. An evaluation was made late in 2019 to see how this has impacted the core mission of the programme. The evaluation estimates

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This equates to 1,533 fewer hospitalisations, 9,443 few GP visits; and 8,784 fewer medicines for children in homes that took advantage of the programme.

The Government recently extended the 1 July 2020 deadline for the Healthy Homes Statement of Compliance out to 1 December 2020. From 1 July 2021, private landlords must ensure that their rental properties comply with the Healthy Homes Standards within 90 days of any new tenancy.

CHAMPIONING E XCE LLE NCE IN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT THURS 22 OCTOBER 9:30am - 5:00pm Cordis Auckland

RPM Proudly sponsored by:

Thanks to our supporters:

20 20 For more information about our speakers and the agenda visit reinzconference.com Join keynote Liam Malone and MC Laura McGoldrick at the 2020 REINZ RPM Conference.

EDUCATION

REINZ Online Verifiable Training You only have a few months left to complete your 2020 verifiable training. REINZ has a great variety of online packages to choose from, so don’t leave your training to the last minute! Book now and avoid the end of year rush. • Seven new packages to choose from (10 hours per package) • New REA mandatory topics and electives for 2020 • Engaging, knowledgeable and experienced speakers • Videos, interactive tasks, scenarios, case studies and much more • Auto-save function - stop and start whenever you want! Go to reinzeducation.co.nz to book your training now.

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EDUCATION

REINZ Performance and Wellbeing Programme REINZ has launched its Performance and Wellbeing Programme in a fully online capacity! Our programme includes: • A range of engaging and knowledgeable speakers • A variety of topics including resilience, time management, managing stress and more • A mix of webinars, text, tasks and activities – this is a highly practical programme that will have you involved the whole way through • 10 non-verifiable hours and certificate of completion. Guest speakers include:

Tom Panos

Josh Phegan

Tom Hector

Coping with struggles in a 24/7 world

The Great Virus Crisis

Performance and Wellbeing in Real Estate

Workplace Wellbeing Specialist: Sarah Harmer Sarah Harmer has a BSc (Psychology) and works as a Senior Consultant in the Organisational Development team at Tocker Associates. She is highly experienced and has worked in a number of wellbeing roles in both the public and private sector.

Sarah delivers a number of interactive webinars on the following topics: • Developing personal resilience to perform at your best • Skills to build a better work/life balance • Strategies for managing stress and burnout • Dealing with fatigue in a 24/7 world. Sarah Harmer Member fee: $299+GST (group discounts may apply) Non-member fee: $399+GST Go to reinzeducation.co.nz to book or contact Lisa Stern (lisastern@reinz.co.nz) if you have any questions. SPRING 2020

TECHNOLOGY

Building Work-Life Balance as an Agent in 2020 You sit down for dinner and your phone rings. What if this call results in a deal? If I don’t answer, will they call the next agent? “Sorry, I need to get this.”

Work-life balance seems like an impossible achievement for an agent. The only thing certain in the industry is uncertainty - that’s why you want to make sure you capture every opportunity. Having spent years struggling with worklife balance as an agent, and now finding myself talking to agents every day about their goals, I’d like to share a few things I’ve learned from agents who manage work-life balance well.

The Problem with Shallow Goals Goal setting in sales is most often characterised by volume, with targets such as sales per year, appraisals per week, or Gross Commission Income. The challenge is; these targets reflect only a narrow set of personal goals. While revenue-centric goals have a role (I’m not taking away from wanting to put food on the table!) they often completely ignore the many other reasons for becoming an agent. So - why did you become an agent? Exercise Think back to why you started real estate in the first place; your “true purpose as an agent” ●• What were you expecting real estate would offer you? • Does your daily reality meet those expectations?

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand

Sarah Codling, Chief Customer Officer, Woork

●• D o the choices you’re making to achieve success ultimately align with the vision you have for your life? Agents I’ve met who tie their income goals back to their personal goals seem to be more empowered to build boundaries with clients and routinely rest.

The Balancing Act This is the point at which agents often say work-life balance is a luxury they can’t afford; “That’s just how real estate is” It’s true; there’s inherent competition in being an agent. When you pair competition with income uncertainty, this builds a habit of constantly being ‘switched on’. This mindset is helpful when you’re running offers and doing deals. It’s also the same mindset that turns into “FOMO” and has you answering buyer enquiries on a Saturday night. So - how real is that fear? When I was an agent it took me a few years to feel comfortable to put in boundaries with vendors and buyers. I gained confidence from understanding what the impact would have been if I deferred afterhour emails and calls until the morning. While the outcome might be different for you, I found it gave me the confidence to assert better boundaries with my time.

• Knowing what you know now about real estate, what does success look like for you?

Exercise • F or the next couple weeks, keep a tally of each time you get a call outside of business hours

●• From your perspective, what is the hardest part of achieving that success?

•N ote down any call that results in a real opportunity for a deal

TECHNOLOGY

• Which of these opportunities would you have lost if you’d delayed the conversation until working hours? • Which of these ‘replies’ could you have automated?

Efficiencies “I have a duty to my vendor - I can’t let buyers slip away” True. And that’s where you can use technology to minimise the effort spent responding to enquiries. Here are a couple of free tools I used: • For each listing I’d build a templated email with all property documents and answers to frequently asked questions (including price). I would set these up at the beginning of the campaign and evolve them over the course of the campaign. For instructions on how to set these up, search Canned Responses (Gmail) or Email Templates (Outlook) ●• For calls when I was busy with clients (or family), I had 3-4 messages which I

could choose from when rejecting a call. For instructions on how to set these up and customise them, search Respond with Txt (iPhone) or Quick Responses (Android). (If you’re an iPhone user and you’re feeling tech-confident, you can set up auto-texts for outside of hours) So to summarise my learnings, there are three basic habits of agents who I’ve noticed who have excellent work-life balance (and great businesses): 1. Find a dedicated space in your goal setting to include personal and family goals alongside your professional goals, and treat all with equal importance 2. Be fully present with your current activity. Give the work-day your all, and then turn your phone off during dinner and fully connect with friends and family 3. Delegate or streamline as much of your “firefighter” tasks to technology as possible.

Sarah Codling is a co-founder at Woork - an app-based “followup assistant”, helping agents to build better long-term client relationships. To learn how Woork could help you, head to woork.co.nz or email sarah@woork.io SPRING 2020

TECHNOLOGY

Cyber security in an increasingly digital world

Kirti Suman Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, REINZ

In recent years cyber security and internet fraud have become areas of concern for organisations, governments and consumers. There has been an increase in cyber security attacks since COVID-19, as companies invoked rapid responses to the coronavirus pandemic, potentially leaving themselves vulnerable to security breaches. Despite the current global pandemic, cyber attackers have made it clear they’re not taking any time off. Now that many workers have shifted to working remotely and organisations are distracted trying to handle the virus, security and risk management teams need to be more vigilant than ever.

What can organisations do to protect their business, employees and customers? Below are six key areas of focus from Gartner that may help member organisations plan for future events:

1. Ensure that the organisation’s incident response protocols reflect the altered operating conditions and are tested early Review all documentation and conduct a walk-through with a careful watch for any problem areas. If the organisation does not already have a cybersecurity incident response plan or capability, consider using the services of a managed security service provider instead of trying to stand up a new system and develop your own plans

2. Ensure that all remote access capabilities are tested and secure, and endpoints used by workers are patched Given how quickly most organisations found

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themselves moving to remote work, it makes sense that security teams would not have had time to perform basic endpoint hygiene and connectivity performance checks on corporate machines. Further complicating the matter are employees who are working on personal devices. Where possible, they should confirm whether personal devices have adequate anti-malware capabilities installed and enabled. If not, they should work with the employee and their corporate platform vendor to ensure the device is protected as soon as possible. Other mechanisms such as two-factor authentication will also be useful to ensure only authorised personnel have access to corporate applications and information remotely. On a strategic level, make sure someone from the security team is part of the crisis management working group to provide guidance on security concerns and business-risk-appropriate advice

3. Reinforce the need for remote workers to remain vigilant to socially engineered attacks The reality is that employees will have more distractions than usual, whether it’s having kids at home, worrying about family, or concerns about their own health. They’re also operating in a different environment and might not be as vigilant about security during a time where cybercriminals will exploit the chaos. Make sure you reach out to senior leaders with examples of target phishing

TECHNOLOGY attacks, and alert employees to the escalating cyberthreat environment. Remind them that they must remain focused and vigilant to suspicious activities. If appropriate, send out reminders every two weeks and remind them of the location of pertinent documents such as remote and mobile working policies, as well as where they can access security awareness training material if they want a refresher. Further, clearly communicate who to contact and what to do if employees suspect a cyberattack

4. Ensure security monitoring capabilities are tuned to have visibility of the expanded operating environment The sudden relocation of much of the workforce (including security and risk management teams) to remote locations creates the potential for cybersecurity teams to miss events. Ensure that your monitoring tools and capabilities are providing maximum visibility. Check that internal security monitoring capabilities and log management rule sets enable full visibility. If using managed security services providers, check in to make sure

they are adapting their monitoring and logs in a manner that makes sense for the new operating landscape

5. Engage with security services vendors to evaluate impacts to the security supply chain The changes in the security landscape won’t just come from your own organisation. Be aware of what your partners and supply chain are actively doing about security that will affect your organisation. Confirm how they will be securing collected data and information from the business. Remember that each of these organisations has their own people to worry about and their own business concerns. Ask questions about where third-party organisations might fail to deliver on promised security services

6. Don’t forget employee/customer information and privacy Organisations may collect employee/ customer information that relates directly to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, you might want to record when a customer attends an open home. First, all this

information is subject to data protection and privacy laws. Beyond that, organisations should seek to collect the least amount of information possible, ensure it is factual and store it in a secure manner. This information should be disclosed only when required by law and within the organisation only on a need-to-know basis.

What can you do to protect your company and customers? • Lock your workstation when you are not using your device • Don’t click on links in emails, unless you know who it’s from and trust it • Report any suspicious activity to your manager, or follow your company policy • When working at home, be conscious of confidential information and who in your household may see it • Change your password regularly and use something people can’t guess • Never write passwords down • Destroy customer or confidential information as per your company policy.

SPRING 2020

INTEREST

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand

INTEREST

How COVID-19 is affecting housing ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ During lockdown, as our homes became ‘our castles’, many of us started to pay more attention to our surroundings, noticing what we liked and didn’t like about our properties, what we needed most, and what could improve our quality of life.

Some people, for example, have found remote working to be good for their work-life balance. As a result, an increasing number of businesses are beginning to infuse more flexibility into their model, and according to experts, this seismic shift is here to stay.

are considering targeting the millennial market, adding an elegantly-styled home office can be an option.

So, how does this affect New Zealand housing needs and design? Here’s some good food for thought for vendors who are looking to win the hearts of buyers with well-planned on-trend renovations.

As one architect recently pointed out on TheConversation.com, “an increase in the number of homeworkers could see a wider preoccupation with thermal comfort and the energy efficiency of their homes.”

The end of open plan living? The past few months have shown us first-hand the pros and cons of having all members of our household at home simultaneously. Open-plan living has been on trend for several years, but some buyers may feel the need to have separate spaces now and look for a property designed to carve out some personal space when needed.

Functional home-office design Anyone who has tried working from home when children are around knows how challenging the lack of privacy can be, particularly when you don’t have a dedicated home office to work out of. “It’s likely that the home office will become a major interior design trend in the coming decades as millennials make up the majority of global workforces, because this group prefers flexible or mobile workspaces,” according to Archipro.co.nz. If your vendors

Thermal comfort and energy efficiency

Buyers may favour properties with low noise pollution and good indoor air quality, as well as increased insulation, draughtproofing, and double or triple-glazing. If your vendors are planning to give their property a spruce-up, these are key factors to consider.

Nature, health and self-sufficiency During lockdown, having outdoor space has turned out to be a real plus, especially for families with young children. This sentiment may continue in the ‘new normal’. In the post-COVID world, outdoor areas may not

Karen Jackson, Managing Director, Lifestyle Finance

only be used for entertaining guests, but also for outdoor gyms or veggie gardens. “A growing preoccupation with exercise and health could see more people thinking about the impact internal environments can have on our wellbeing – prioritising natural light and access to nature,” architect Tara Hipwood wrote. “This could even lead to more people becoming interested in producing their own energy at home using solar panels or other renewables.” Again, these are all great ‘extras’ your vendor could implement in their renovation project.

Happiness and wellbeing Lastly, recent events have highlighted the importance of taking care of our physical and mental health. We learned that our homes can be our sanctuaries – a haven where we can shelter at the end of a long day at work. And there are many ways to bring Zen into a home, using natural light, calming colour combinations, and the allimportant indoor-outdoor flow.

Get in touch: We can help Recent TradeMe data revealed that first-home buyer demand was up in May, which may lead to a busy property market beyond winter. If your vendors are weighing up their options and thinking about ways to give their property’s value a boost, we can help. Visit www.lifestylefinance.co.nz/renovation-finance to learn more about our Renovate Now, Pay Later finance tool, and get in touch with our friendly team today to get the conversation started.

Disclaimer: Please note that the content provided in this article is intended as an overview and as general information only. While care is taken to ensure accuracy and reliability, the information provided is subject to continuous change and may not reflect current development or address your situation. Before making any decisions based on the information provided in this article, please use your discretion and seek independent guidance.

SPRING 2020

2020

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Be part of this exceptional network. Let’s have a conversation. Call Chris Jones, General Manager Sales & Franchising 021 795 194

INTEREST

Five of the best tools, tips & tricks to make your social media shine! In the competitive social media space, beautifully curated content is King (or Queen!).

So often dismissed as ‘too expensive’ (to employ a designer), or too difficult and time consuming to do yourself - this article shares five tools, tips and tricks that will empower you with the ability and knowhow to be able to step up and put the sparkle back into your socials. Well managed, professional and beautifully curated content will translate to; - Your profile being recognised

2. linktr.ee If you want to be able to have more than one link active at any one time in your Instagram bio, then linktree provides the perfect solution.

1. Space - Spaces For Instagram

For instance, you may want to link to a few individual listings, your blog, a testimonial and your website. Linktree allows you to add all of these links via one personalised linktree link. To see it in action, head to the @bayleysnz Instagram account and click on their linktree link in their bio - linktr.ee/bayleys. The free version of linktree allows you to add multiple links and select from a limited number of themes and customisation options. Definitely enough to get started with.

If you have ever felt frustrated trying to get your Instagram (IG) bio and captions to have the correct paragraph breaks, or line breaks then this is the app for you. In fact, there are a number of apps that do the same thing; Caption Writer, Instaspacer, and others.

The paid option (US$6 per month), adds screeds of additional features, including full customisation and reporting.

The free versions of these apps allow you to quickly and easily create captions with the line breaks you need, and either copy directly over to your IG account or copy the text and then paste into your post.

Two great apps that will set your Stories alight and showcase your property listings

The downside to the free versions is (of course) the adverts and continuous ‘upsells’ The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand

The paid version of the apps include some (or all) of; font options, the ability to use multiple fonts in one caption, hashtag suggestions, saving your captions and hashtags etc. and cost around $2 to $5 (sometimes a bit more).

- More leads (and sales).

If you are using a social media scheduling tool like Later (or many others), then this article is probably not for you. A scheduling tool usually has a number of these tools built into its functionality (and is included in the monthly subscription fee).

from the app providers. But if you can see past that, and simply want to get a neater and more polished caption, then any of the free versions will do the job.

- Higher engagement and, ultimately The best part of all? Everything I am sharing is FREE! There are of course paid options for some of the tools, but if budget is limited, or non-existent, the free versions are more than enough to get you started.

Odette Coates, Halo Digital

Find out more via this link: https://linktr.ee/

3. Instories & unfold instagram story templates

INTEREST

like a pro designer! And it only takes a few minutes to create.

up for you i.e. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (even newsletters, business cards and flyers).

These apps are both intuitive and super easy to use. They provide multiple template options that allow for more than one image per story, with text overlays, and seamless transitions between image tiles.

The functionality is easy, and the opportunities endless. You can use their templates or create your own design into a pre-sized template, and use their images or upload your own. The free version comes with a multitude of templates, fonts and free images. If you wanted to upgrade to their paid version (US$12.95 monthly) it includes animations, many more fonts and images, the ability to upload a brand font and brand colours, and more.

Head to @letstalkpropertynz and click the ‘homes’ highlight for a few examples. Or, better still, download the apps and try it out yourself. (Remember, the finished product is only going to be as good as the images you load in the first place!) Both apps have enough free template features to start with. Instories is only available for iPhone and Unfold is available for both iPhone and Android.

4. Canva It wouldn’t be a fair list of great social media business tools if I didn’t include Canva. Canva is a design tool available on web and mobile - that allows you to unleash your inner designer. No matter what you are wanting to create, Canva has a template set

A word of caution! Canva is a great tool. But be cognisant of time and effort - the idea is not to become a designer. The intention is to use the tool to create free, simple designs that look professional (if you are on a lean budget). It’s important that you work within your real estate agency brand guidelines when creating artwork. www.canva.com

5. Unsplash Creating engaging posts requires beautiful imagery.

If you can’t find the image you are looking for - head to www.unsplash.com. They have a library of over 1 million curated photos that are free to use. It is important to note that these are all tools that I use in my day to day, my ‘go to’ list, and there are many similar apps and business tools available. Be curious - spend some time exploring your app store, ask industry colleagues what they are using and keep your mind open to try new things. Especially if they are free! What have you got to lose?

Odette Coates is a digital marketing & communications professional with over 12 years’ real estate marketing experience. She works with business owners and agents to create results driven online strategies to grow their business and brand. To get in touch call on 027 4637977 or email odette@halodigital.co.nz

SPRING 2020

INTEREST

Want to build office performance?

BUILD AN EFFECTIVE LEARNING STRATEGY AND CULTURE

Jasmine Platt Founder, Real Estate Leaders

As a real estate manager, your job is to build salespeople’s capability and performance. Yet the biggest challenge in the industry is how to do that. Managers work hard to plan for and run sales meetings and trainings, yet are often left disheartened when they don’t see the behaviour change they were hoping for that lifts a salesperson performance. They’re left questioning what the heck to do to ‘jolly up the troops’.

The reason training and sales meetings don’t often lift results is partly to do with the absence of strategy - and partly to do with psychology. When it comes to strategy, most managers don’t have (and don’t even know that they should have) a solid, well-considered strategy for making learning and development stick. In their absence, efforts to lift the game can be like throwing mud at a wall and “hoping something sticks”. What managers often miss with this approach, is that true learning (i.e. behaviour change) requires buy-in. Your salespeople need to want to learn - and put in the work to apply what they learn to their daily activity. You can’t just achieve that by telling them they ‘should’. In this article I explain how you get their buy-in by building a learning culture. I also share seven practical strategies for how to begin that process. So, to get you started on building a learning culture, let’s first answer what a learning culture is – and isn’t – and why it is important?

What a Learning Culture is – and is not A training culture is not a learning culture. A training culture uses training as ‘the solution’ to performance problems. This

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tends to ignore factors significant to performance, including motivation. A learning culture, by contrast, is a set of organisational values, practices and processes that encourage employees – including yourself, your salesforce and support team – to focus on personal mastery and continuously learn and add new skills – in the name of achieving their own goals.

Seven practical strategies to start to build a learning culture 1. Initiate a Development Programme for them – and yourself – to build capability To begin engaging with them, it helps to share your intentions with your salespeople to get better at supporting them. This demonstrates intent, your commitment to them and your own learning. Share that you’ll be doing this by working with them to develop an individual Development Plan, linked to their goals. Start with your own Learning and Development plan, so you understand the process and can begin building your own competency in areas you currently lack fitness before engaging them. 2. Develop your own coaching competency Coaching is one of the most important skills of sales managers.

INTEREST

What is coaching? It is both the demonstration of care – and a skillset of moving people to act. Different levels of learner experience different challenges and needs. Develop your coaching skills so you can move each salesperson forward through their challenges. 3. Know their goals – and link everything you do to it Your salespeople will engage with both the process, and the content and tasks you lay out in your initiatives (training, sales meetings, coaching), when they see a direct relationship with how they fit with their goals. The connection needs to be super clear for them. To test this, consider how many times you’ve attended a training or meeting where the context hasn’t been set, or the content hasn’t connected to what you care about. How engaged were you? How much did you apply afterwards? Once you have confidence in your ability to coach, engage them in 1:1 dialogues to learn and capture: (1) their goals (2) their current action plans, and (3) any gaps they perceive in their competency (knowledge, skills and abilities) that are in the way of them achieving their goals. Aim to arrive at a common understanding and agreement of the learning needed moving forward. 4. Create Development Plans for each individual and the office Armed with your team members’ learning and development needs, you can begin to work with them on a plan for addressing them. Consider the use of monthly 1:1 coaching and mentoring for individual needs and progress checks– and group training and facilitation for common development needs. Where possible, use group learning and collaboration.

5. Develop a Peer Mentoring programme Anyone who is not already independently proficient will grow faster paired up with a more experienced, willing salesperson to learn and gain support from as they ‘build their water-wings’, experience, exposure to different real world scenarios and confidence to let go of the edge at their own pace. 6. Build your reputation as manager as safe and supportive To engage your salespeople in critical, meaningful dialogue about their goals and mastery, they need to feel safe to share their weaknesses and struggles. If they don’t, self-protection is likely to get in the way of identifying growth actions and all you’ll experience is resistance. Build an identity of genuine help and support. This will enable you to set up your relationships to provide the coaching, training and support required to enable performance. If you don’t have a safe, trusted relationship with each of your salespeople, plan to build this. You’re going to need it.

As a manager, accountability to their goals is important, but needs to be safe. To build a learning culture, it’s important for such conversations to occur for salespeople as a conversation with a trusted manager who helps them to connect their goals, their actions, their challenges and learning gaps – not as judgement. Use these conversations to unpack what’s happening. Where do they need support? Is it a competence or confidence issue? Creating an effective and robust learning culture that lifts performance isn’t necessarily easy – but will sure pay off when you take the time and do the work. In their absence, you’re likely to struggle to move the dial for the majority of your salespeople – and to be left wondering why your salespeople head to the competition. As such, learning how to build a learning culture is worth its weight in gold. Have a go at using the above strategies. Or if you’d like a hand to implement any of it and build a solid learning strategy and culture to lift performance, please get in touch. Development and Performance is what we do.

7. Provide structured ongoing support and accountability Create pre-arranged steps scheduled over time to check in. This is powerful and supports both manager and salesperson to know what’s needed next to achieve their goals. Don’t let them fail to achieve their targets, especially not month-on-month. Help them rework their targets if they tend to overcommit. Work with them on their plan if they underestimated the work. Support them to put in place learning and practice opportunities to develop the skills they’re lacking.

Jasmine Platt is the Founder of Real Estate Leaders. As a high-performance specialist, she works with head agencies, branch leaders, franchise owners and salespeople to help them lift their results, make more money and win more of their time (and sanity) back in the process. To speak with her about how she can help you, email her directly at jasmine@realestateleaders.co.nz

SPRING 2020

FINANCE

“ May you live in interesting times!” Will Roberts, Authorised Financial Adviser at FANZ Private Wealth

If ever there was an expression that summed up 2020 so far, that would be it! Pandemics. Lockdowns. Destruction of jobs in vast parts of some industries, and large movements in the value of savings. It’s also been a time that many of us have questioned what’s important to us and our priorities. Working from home, learning to use new technology or generally thinking about how we can do things differently. Adapting to a ‘new normal’!

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand

FINANCE How we deal with change is often tied to past experiences and how secure we are in our career and with our lifestyle ambitions. No two sets of life experiences and lifestyles are going to be the same. What will make a difference regardless of your circumstances, is having a financial plan built on strong foundations and with a structure personalised for you based on your goals. These are the cornerstones of financial advice. So as an adviser what do we mean by foundations? A starting point is the way we manage our finances day to day. How are you saving? Are you putting money aside for specific goals like a replacing cars, holidays or emergency funds? Are you making the most of savings schemes like KiwiSaver? Where you have a savings scheme, are you gaining the greatest possible benefit from your contributions (employer contributions/tax credit) or being in the right risk profile for the goal and its timeframe. In many cases using multiple bank accounts and savings schemes greatly assists some people in the management of their money, particularly where separation is required from day to day funds. Like all foundations, we should also do as much as we can to protect our wealth. Personal ownership may not be the most effective structure for you as you build wealth. In some situations, Trusts and company structures have a place in separating things like relationship property, business interests and inheritances from each other. Are you fully insured for the risks you face in life? We tend to insure our homes, but do you have income protection and health insurance in place. The loss of income for any reason can be disastrous for the achievement of your plans. A big part of a financial adviser’s role is helping clients define their goals and aspirations and then building a plan on how to get there. Much may depend on your age and stage in life. Your goals may change and so a plan should be adaptable. What are your priorities? If something must give, what would it be? In circumstances like the present, it’s easy to shelve many of the plans we had but that doesn’t mean we should. Without detailing the why and when we save, our goals won’t hold the same

‘value’. A financial adviser will help make that connection and will challenge you to assess your goals and help you create a realistic plan to help achieve your objectives. While COVID-19 brought a national response, not all the obstacles you face in life will. If you needed to access funds quickly, where would you get them from? Savings (bank or investment), KiwiSaver, or by borrowing? Which has the least long-term impact – at least in terms of your own goals? Ideally you have savings for emergencies but if not, what is the next most desirable option for you in terms of cost, accessibility and flexibility.

IN CIRCUMSTANCES LIKE THE PRESENT, IT’S EASY TO SHELVE MANY OF THE PLANS WE HAD BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN WE SHOULD. WITHOUT DETAILING THE WHY AND WHEN WE SAVE, OUR GOALS WON’T HOLD THE SAME ‘VALUE’. Setting goals and putting aside a fixed portion of your income (commission or otherwise) on a regular basis gives purpose to the money you save and helps you survive financial shocks. It’s not always easy. Some months it may not even be possible but having a plan in place that is reviewed regularly and adjusted accordingly, as circumstances change, will keep you on track to achieving your desired goals. Possibly now more than any stage in recent times, financial advice can have significant benefits. It provides peace of mind in uncertain times. A way forward for the present, and a strategy to ensuring your long-term lifestyle goals remain on target. We will look at what you need or have, and how you can protect it. We can assess the risks involved or maybe the risks you need to consider taking. An Authorised Financial Adviser at FANZ Private Wealth would love to help you plan your future!

FANZ Private Wealth specialises in providing personalised and impartial investment solutions to individuals and trusts. To arrange a no obligation appointment with an adviser phone 0800 727 2265 or visit www.sbsbank.co.nz/ invest/fanz-private-wealth for more information. Disclaimer: This information is of a general nature only and has not been prepared with regards to the needs of any investor. FANZ Private Wealth is an operating division of Funds Administration New Zealand Limited (FANZ). FANZ is a subsidiary of SBS Bank which is a registered bank. Neither FANZ nor FANZ Private Wealth is a registered bank. SPRING 2020

INDUSTRY

Nadine Thomas Industry Insights and Engagement Manager, REA

What are a licensee’s obligations when it comes to building reports? At the Real Estate Authority (REA), we often get calls from licensees wanting to better understand their obligations around property inspection reports (commonly known as building reports). From disclosure obligations to recommending an inspector, here are the answers to your most frequently asked questions.

Vendors can commission a property inspection report and supply this to prospective buyers. If there’s an issue with the information in the vendor’s report and a buyer has relied on this information, the buyer has no recourse against the property inspector because they did not commission the report themselves. This is why you should still advise buyers to seek expert advice and obtain their own property inspection report. It’s a good idea to follow up in writing to summarise any conversations you have about this with prospective buyers.

Do I need to disclose a previous property inspection report? Yes, you must advise prospective buyers if a previous property inspection report has highlighted problems with a property, even if the problem has been resolved, or if a later report states there are no longer any issues with the property. Rule 6.4 of the Real Estate Agents Act (Professional Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2012 (Code of Conduct) outlines the need for you to share information with buyers: • A licensee must not mislead a customer or client, nor provide false information, nor withhold information that should by law or in fairness be provided to a customer or client.

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand

You must discuss disclosing the existence of any previous reports with your vendor before making any disclosure statements to prospective buyers. If there was an issue that has been remedied, talk to your vendor about what information they can share with potential buyers to show it has been remedied.

Can I provide copies of previous property inspection reports? You shouldn’t provide copies of any previous property inspection reports to prospective buyers without getting the consent of the person who paid for it (for example, the vendor or another prospective buyer). However, this doesn’t stop you from disclosing that an issue was identified in a previous property inspection. If a subsequent report states that there are no issues with the property, you should let prospective buyers know that there have been contradictory reports, and recommend they commission their own property inspection report.

What if the vendors don’t want to disclose information about their property? If you believe an issue identified in a property inspection report needs to be disclosed, explain to the vendor why it should be

INDUSTRY

shared, and follow up the conversation in writing to summarise what was discussed. Weigh up the information and the risk of not sharing these details. Discuss this with your supervisor or manager and the vendor, and potentially seek legal advice. If you believe the issue needs to be disclosed and the vendor doesn’t agree, you may need to walk away from the transaction. This topic was addressed in a Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal decision. The Tribunal commented: “Where a client instructs that information be withheld from a purchaser, and a licensee considers that the information should be disclosed under the rules, a licensee should raise and discuss the issue in detail with [their] vendor client. If the client maintains that information must be withheld, and the licensee remains of the view that it should be disclosed, the licensee must then decline to act further on that transaction. “A licensee must be very clear with a client when a conflict over disclosure arises. If the client maintains that information be withheld that the licensee considers should be disclosed, the licensee’s duty is to cease to act; not to disclose the information contrary to the client’s instructions.”

Can I recommend a property inspector?

These organisations have processes for registering and accrediting members:

Best practice is to recommend several property inspection companies and avoid giving preferences or making negative comments about particular companies. A relevant Complaints Assessment Committee (CAC) decision outlines a situation where a licensee tried to persuade the purchaser not to use a particular property inspector. The CAC held that the licensee had breached the following rules:

• New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors (NZIBS)

• 6.2 – acting in good faith and dealing fairly with all parties to a transaction • 6.3 – engaging in conduct likely to bring the industry into disrepute • 9.1 – acting in the best interests of the client and according to client instructions • 9.2 – engaging in conduct which would put a client or customer under undue pressure. If you recommend only one inspection company, you may leave yourself and your agency open to a complaint if something goes wrong with the service provided by the company you recommended. We recommend advising purchasers to use an inspector who conforms to the New Zealand standard NZS 4306:2005 Residential Property Inspection, rather than referring buyers to specific property inspectors.

• Building Officials Institute of New Zealand (BOINZ).

Can a vendor refuse a buyer’s choice of property inspector? Buyers have the right to choose their own property inspector as the inspection is for their benefit and at their cost. You must ensure the property inspector has reasonable access to the property and that they’re provided with any assistance or information that they request on behalf of the buyer. If a sale and purchase agreement has been entered into and you advise a vendor not to accept the buyer’s choice of property inspector or do not allow them access to carry out the inspection, you could potentially be advising a vendor to breach the sale and purchase agreement, which may result in a finding of unsatisfactory conduct. Find more information and advice for real estate professionals at rea.govt.nz, or speak to our team on 0800 367 732. SPRING 2019

LEGAL

A focus on Health and Safety

Amesha Rama, In-house lawyer, REINZ

I think we can all agree that given the last six months, we can appreciate that we all have a part in keeping ourselves and those around us safe.

Have you ever imagined that your loved one will never be returning home? Or you get a call that he/she is in the hospital due to some incident that has occurred? These thoughts give us goose bumps, and this is one of the reasons why it is important to create a safe working environment.

carried out or where someone goes to carry out work. In practical terms, this means a workplace is any place you conduct your business. This can mean a client’s property, your office, your vehicle and can include an open home viewing.

Managing health and safety is crucial, considering the nature of real estate and property management work, both involving moving around from one place to another, most of the time.

Duty holders

By way of background, as a response to the 2012 recommendations by the Royal Commission on the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy, in 2013, the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety reported that New Zealand’s work health and safety system was failing. As a result, New Zealand underwent its most significant workplace health and safety reform in 20 years, resulting in the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (“the Act”) and the creation of WorkSafe New Zealand, the Government regulator of health and safety at the workplace. The clear intent of the Act is the principle that workers and other persons should be given the highest level of protection against harm to their health, safety and welfare from hazards and risks arising from work. A hazard is something that might cause harm. A risk is a combination of the chance that the hazard will cause harm, and if it does, how bad that harm will be. A ‘workplace’ is defined under section 20 of the Act and is a place where work is

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand

A duty holder is someone who has duties under the Act. You may have seen the word ‘PCBU’ on WorkSafe’s website and throughout the Act. PCBU stands for a person conducting a business or undertaking. It refers to the various working arrangements in New Zealand. The ‘business’ part relates to an activity that creates profit while an ‘undertaking’ relates to an activity that is non-commercial in nature for example, a charity. PCBUs have certain duties under the Act. The next duty holder is an officer. An officer holds a specific position and exercises significant influence over the management of a business, for example, the CEO or a company director. Workers are another duty holder and they are individuals who carry out work in any capacity for a PCBU. In the real estate/property management context, PCBUs will include the company, franchisor, franchisee, agents engaged as independent contractors, property management companies and selfemployed property managers. Workers will include, agents engaged as independent contractors, property managers, employees (including apprentices/trainees), contractors and volunteers.

LEGAL Obligations Under section 36 of the Act, PCBUs have a primary duty of care to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and others who are affected by their work. They must ensure that the provision and maintenance of a work environment is without risks to health and safety as well. The PCBU will need to ensure that the office premises are safe to enter and conduct business from. All of these constitute as a ‘workplace’ and is covered by the legislation. You may be wondering what ‘reasonably practicable’ really means. Section 22 of the Act defines reasonably practicable as something that is reasonably able to be done to ensure health and safety, having weighed up and considered all relevant matters. This means that consideration needs to be given to: • How likely are any hazards or risks to occur? • How severe could the harm that might result from the hazard or risk be? • What a person knows or ought to reasonably know about the risk and the ways of eliminating or minimising it (e.g. by removing the source of the risk or using control measures such as isolation or physical controls to minimise it).

Hazards could include:

• Lastly, weigh up the cost. What is the cost of eliminating or minimising the risk? Is the cost grossly disproportionate to the risk?

• Painted concrete that is slippery when wet

Best practice for managing hazards associated with property visits and open homes is to plan for them and have clear processes in place to minimise the risk of injury from those hazards.

• Algae on wooden decking or stairs that causes them to be slippery

Rural

The process requires that all relevant matters, including those listed in the above, are taken into account and weighed up when determining what is reasonably practicable in particular circumstances. Essentially, the PCBU has the duty to control the risks in the current circumstances.

• Damaged or torn carpet

• What measures exist to eliminate or minimise the risk (control measures)?

Officers must take reasonable steps to ensure that the PCBU meet its health and safety obligations. Workers must take reasonable steps to take care of their own health and safety and must comply with reasonable instructions by the PCBU.

Hazards Given the above, PCBUs are responsible for identifying hazards, assessing the risk, controlling that risk and reviewing its control measures. If a hazard is likely to create a dangerous situation then the vendor or landlord should remedy this situation before people enter the property.

• Loose mats

• Broken or missing handrails on stairs or decks. These hazards relate to slips, trips and falls which are the most common cause of all work and non-work injuries. These events can cause serious injuries to the body, head and neck. One way to prevent falls in the office due to slips, trips and falls is to have good housekeeping such as cleaning up spills straight away, marking spills and wet areas and removing obstacles from walkways and always keeping them free of clutter. Also, keeping working areas well-lit and replacing used light bulbs and faulty switches can help prevent against trips and slips as well.

Open Homes Property visits and open homes create their own unique set of risks, from physical hazards (such as swimming pools) and the presence of unsupervised children, through to unwanted and hostile visitors.

Every rural property will present its own hazards. Examples of rural hazards that should be identified include chemicals, livestock, terrain and quad bikes. In June 2019, WorkSafe announced that they strongly recommend crush protection devices on quad bikes. Crush protection devices can be fitted to a quad bike to provide a survivable space should a rider be pinned underneath it. Between January 2000 and October 2017, 81 people were killed in quad bike accidents while at work and an average of five people die in work-related quad bike incidents every year.

Conclusion Violating or not having health and safety measures in place can have a tremendous impact on your business. You could lose money, workers, clients, productivity, respect and your reputation. However, much of this can be avoided if importance is placed on keeping yourself and others safe. SPRING 2020

LEGAL

Changes to be aware of in the new Privacy Act coming soonâ&#x20AC;Ś A new Privacy Act is coming into force on 1 December 2020. While things will stay largely business as usual, the new Act will introduce some important changes to privacy law in New Zealand that real estate agents and agencies should be aware of. Some of the changes will require planning and preparation to make sure compliance is achievable when the new Act kicks in.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s changing? Our current privacy regime makes it clear that personal information must only be collected for lawful purposes, that it must be stored and safeguarded correctly, and that people must have reasonable access to review and edit private information that is held about them. Disclosure of personal information is only permitted in limited circumstances. The new Act is intended to make sure that personal information is kept safe and secure in line with new technology and ways of doing business. Most businesses will need to make some updates to their current privacy practices as a result. The changes will be relevant to all businesses that collect, store, and use personal information about employees and customers. Real estate agencies are a good example of a business that collects a significant amount of personal information about a wide variety of people, from employees to vendor clients to potential purchasers attending open homes. Agencies and agents will need to understand their obligations under the new Act, and make sure they can meet them.

Implement a privacy breach procedure Under the new Act, businesses will need to report serious privacy breaches. A privacy breach is any unauthorised or accidental access to, disclosure, alteration, loss, or destruction of personal information, or

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand

Lindsey Smith, Senior Registered Legal Executive, Rainey Collins

an action that prevents the holder from accessing the information. If a real estate agency has a privacy breach that it believes has or could cause serious harm, it will need to notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the affected person or people as soon as possible. Failing to inform the Privacy Commissioner about a notifiable privacy breach will be an offence. Not all breaches will need to be reported, only those that cause serious harm. Determining if a breach has or might cause serious harm will be a case-by-case assessment, taking into account things like disclosure of very sensitive information or to a large number of recipients, and the nature of the harm that might result. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner will be releasing online guidance about the new requirement to notify privacy breaches.

More information collected now than ever before Anti-money laundering requirements have increased the amount of personal information agents need to collect on a regular basis. The current situation with COVID-19 has also resulted in a greater need to obtain information from everybody who is interested in a property, so agents and agencies are dealing with an increasing volume of personal information that needs to be obtained, used, stored, and disclosed correctly. Agents must ensure that they do not obtain, or keep, private information unless it is

LEGAL

really necessary. The anti-money laundering requirements are not a ‘get-out-of-jail free card’ to avoid legal obligations. If agents are collecting personal information from a client or customer as part of carrying out the customer due diligence process, that information should be collected from them directly wherever possible, and they should be made aware of what is being collected and why.

Using providers based overseas Kiwi businesses that use service providers based overseas, for example cloud storage or computer software, will need to make sure that their providers are meeting New Zealand privacy laws. The vast majority of businesses will have some degree of personal information stored, processed, or otherwise transferred overseas in the course of doing their normal business. A relevant example for agents is the frequent use Dropbox, which is an American based service provider. Many agents put property information documents into Dropbox, which contain a lot of personal information such as vendors’ full names, contact details, rates information (including what is outstanding), historic information relating to previous owners, and this information is often disclosed to many interested parties. If Dropbox’s current procedures are not compliant with New Zealand’s privacy law, then any business that uses it will be in breach of the new Act. It is timely to consider your agency’s

information transfer practices, and which third parties are used to process information. The onus is the business using the service provider to ensure compliance, not the other way around.

Time for a review! Now is the time to get ready for the new Act, ahead of 1 December 2020. Here are a few practical things agencies and individual agents can do to start to get ready now: • Review and update your privacy policies to make sure they align with the new Act, clearly telling clients and customers what personal information you will obtain and how it will be used • Make sure your procedures for detecting, reporting, and investigating privacy breaches are robust – how will you know if a breach occurs, and if it does, what will you do? • Start training staff now, and make sure you have a few key people who are really up to speed on the changes (including your privacy officer/s) • Make sure everybody knows who to approach about privacy issues – within each office, and/or at a regional or agency-wide level. Legal advisors are already helping clients get across the new Act and the changes it will bring for businesses. If you have any questions relating to privacy practice and the new Act, or how it might affect you, please feel free to get in touch.

For more information, visit www.raineycollins.co.nz or email lsmith@raineycollins.co.nz SPRING 2020

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REINZ Real Estate Magazine - Spring 2020

Articles inside

How COVID-19 is affecting housing ‘needs’ and ‘wants’

Where are we headed? Because we’re getting there fast

Maintaining a Growth Mindset

Cyber security in an increasingly digital world

Five of the best tools, tips & tricks to make your social media shine!

Want to build office performance?

“May you live in interesting times!”

What are a licensee’s obligations when it comes to building reports?

A focus on Health and Safety

Changes to be aware of in the new Privacy Act coming soon…

Building Work-Life Balance as an Agent in 2020

Healthy Homes – Health benefits positive

Management styles – Portfolio or Pod based

Would you sell your business now?

Courage in the Current Market

Modular homes a valuable addition to the market

"That's it, I'm moving to New Zealand"