A good real estate name on the Canterbury Plains – Steve Collier

For the weary car traveller coming down through State Highway 7 and the Lewis Pass, or following the main trunk of State Highway 1 down the coastline, Amberley appearing on the horizon is always a welcome sight.

Coming onto the Canterbury Plains, Amberley is the seat of the rural Hurunui District, and the last notable stop on the way to or from Christchurch, around 50km to the south.

Serving a thriving farming community in classic small town New Zealand, it has the bars, the shops, and schools – all within walking distance – and is the perfect place for the recent retiree to settle down after a hard working career back in the city, or the more laidback lifestyle for those who still work and don't mind the commute.

And Arizto's man in North Canterbury, Steve Collier, is happy to lay it all out as he helps people buy their country dream home, or get sold to move into the next stage of life.

Since coming on board with the brand in January, this experienced real estate salesman, private business owner and former dutiful public servant has made a dozen sales both in his home town and in townships across the region, with nearly as many still available on his books - several under contract just working through their conditions.

Representing listings in Cheviot, Hawarden, Fernside, Spencerville, Kaiapoi, Domett and Bromley, Collier keeps together a lot of transactions that are wrapped up in subject to sale chains of multiple households – quite common in the current market.

Indeed, REINZ statistics for July 2024 show a median sale price of $550,000 in the Hurunui District, down considerably from the $635,000 of July 2023, but any savvy real estate salesperson would point out how this makes selling up in the city to move out to the spacious rural areas even more attractive.

"I'm finding that a lot of people are working to downsize – I suspect mortgage rates have a bit to do with that," said Collier.

"It's just a nice area to live in, having grown up here I know the area, he says.

"It's just a little community.

"Because I spent so much time in North Canterbury, growing up as a teenager, I decided after years in Nelson it was time to come back."

The town is only 35 minutes to Christchurch's international airport, which Collier like many locals regards as a great convenience - given one son lives Sydney, a daughter is in Surrey, England, and his Nelson-based son is soon to be heading overseas.

Born in the United Kingdom and coming to New Zealand as a youngster, Collier was raised in Nelson for his early schooling, before moving to Amberley's near-neighbouring Rangiora - another large town right on the cusp of the Christchurch metropolitan area.

Attending high school there, later he would establish an 18-year career in the NZ Customs Service, becoming a supervising officer in the investigations branch.

Eventually he moved back to Nelson to run businesses, including a car yard, while doing his real estate exams and joining the local Ray White brand.

But North Canterbury had left its mark, with Collier eager to come back and settle in Amberley four years ago, joining the Mike Pero Real Estate company.

"In all the businesses and jobs I've had, I've always dealt with people.

"I'm a pretty good communicator on a one-on-one basis, and I think that's why I have a great deal of success."

When the Mike Pero brand was bought out by Raine & Horne late last year, Collier was considering his options of what he could do in a market he enjoyed – cue conversations with Arizto's head of talent Ollie Conway and business development manager Camille Countryman.

The Arizto Canterbury team have been some of the earliest and most successful adopters of the brand's modern and cutting edge system for delivering App and Dashboard technology which makes the whole process of listing and selling properties more efficient and cost effective.

Assisted with a targeted marketing budget to get started, Collier took the leap and is delighted with the outcomes – as at time of writing he was about to add another two listings to his offerings.

There's a couple of strong rural-based traditional real estate agencies operating in his region, but Collier finds that Arizto's value proposition of a fairer commission fee, due to less overheads, suits an independent operator like himself – having no problem connecting with potential vendors who prefer Arizto's digital methods.

"In reality, I think ours is pretty good. I don't concentrate on what the others are doing, I do my own thing.

"There's been no regrets as far as that [switch] goes.

"A lot of functions we do we've streamlined, so we can do it online.

"I started picking up listings straight away.

"I think I've built up a rapport with a lot of people, there's a lot of word of mouth.

"The pipeline's looking very positive.

"If you're prepared to jump in the car and travel for half an hour, you can list them."

Collier has always been proud of this place and these people, so it's no wonder he and Arizto collectively do so well out on the Canterbury Plains.