82 | PROPERTY Barfoot & Thompson Acknowledged for excellence Richard Loader Chris Dobbie: “We’re now in our third generation of family members leading the company.” For the eighth consecutive year, Barfoot & Thompson has won the large Agency Of the Year at the 2021 REINZ Awards for Excellence. The Auckland/Northland focused real estate company is the only agency to have won the award since it was first presented by REINZ in 2013. CEO Chris Dobbie says winning the award over successive years speaks to who Barfoot & Thompson is as a growing family owned company. “Entering the awards is always important for belief from the wider team that they are working for the top agency in the country. “The award gives a sense that we’re doing something right to be in that position and that we’re continuing to see growth. “Being seen by the industry body as the best large agency in the country is also an important accolade to have for the year.” In addition to Large Agency Of The Year, Barfoot & Thompson Pukekohe won the Large Residential Office of the Year – Volume award. With 80 branches from Pukekohe through to Kerikeri along with a property management branch in Tauranga, a team of 1800 sales people and 250 property managers, Chris believes Barfoot & Thompson is the largest privately owned real estate agency in the Southern Hemisphere. “In Auckland, we have forty percent market share and have always held the belief that if you dominate Auckland you dominate New Zealand, just because of the share volume of transactions that take place up here. “That’s just the sales side. If you then think about the property management side we have close to eighteen thousand rental properties that we manage, and behind Housing New Zealand that would be one of the largest.” Due to celebrate its centenary as an agency next year, Barfoot & Thompson’s history dates back to 1923 when Val Barfoot bought a tiny and run-down agency for £75. In 1934 Val Barfoot was joined by Maurice Thompson, giving birth to a legacy of an intergenerational family business. “There has always been a Barfoot and a Thompson leading the company and it’s based around their very strong beliefs and values that the company is here to serve Aucklanders and Northlanders buying, selling and managing property. “We’re now in our third generation of family members leading the company, with a fourth “The award gives a sense that we’re doing something right to be in that position and that we’re continuing to see growth.” generation of family members currently working in the company.” Over the 28 years that Chris has worked for the business, its evolution has included a doubling of branches and increasing diversity within the team. “Our branch managers have read their markets and we now have in excess of 400 Asian and Indian agents, with 83 languages spoken throughout our workforce. So as Auckland’s diversity has changed so to has our team makeup and that has influenced our growth throughout Auckland.” Barfoot & Thompson’s five key business areas include commercial, residential and rural/ lifestyle sales along with property management and body corporate divisions. Last year was Barfoot & Thompson’s best year ever, recording in excess of $20b worth of sales. “We’ve come out of two cracking years but I think that we’re going to see a steadying year this year with the banks tightening up and the Government looking at investors. “So we will see a different market. We won’t see the same volumes of sales as last year but a settling year is OK for the market. “We won’t see prices doing what they were doing last year and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I don’t see prices dropping. “Unless people are forced to sell because of interest rates, people who bought at the peak of the market will just sit and we will see another rise eventually.” Chris says a number of factors have been the cornerstones of Barfoot & Thompson’s longevity through good times and bad, including solid investment decisions made by the company’s early owners. “Of those eighty branches we probably own seventy-five percent of the buildings that our branches are in. “So we can ride out whatever the market does, better than many other companies. “We have family members who drive the company in terms of business decisions but also in terms of our values; Family, People, Community and Diversity. “The family members who lead the company don’t just say those words, they live by those words. Family and people are so important to our success.” Without a product of its own to sell, Chris says Barfoot & Thompson’s primary asset is its people. “Our leaders ensure we look after our people in the best way possible. That to me is what underpins the success of Barfoot & Thompson.” Barfoot &Thompson is set to celebrate its centenary as an agency next year.
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