Growing with her community – Arizto Tauranga’s Sharon Blaikie

It was the usual brisk morning walk around Tauranga's iconic Waikareao Estuary Walkway with the family dog for one of Arizto Tauranga's relative newcomers, but when it comes to getting down to work, there aren't many that know the ins-and-outs of a house like Sharon Blaikie.

Coming over to New Zealand's fastest growing real estate company just over four months ago alongside her husband Malcolm, after getting back home Blaikie made further time to chat about life in New Zealand's fastest growing city, and the secrets of great personal service which as an agent she hopes will help this agency expand along with their surroundings.

The Blaikie's came up from Wellington in 1998 to be closer to family, and saw first-hand the population explosion which took Tauranga from a port town with a large retiree population to a bustling Auckland-esque metropolis.

"My sister had moved up, my mum and dad followed for a semi-retired situation, and at the time, we had the only grandchild, so the pressure to move here was certainly on," Blaikie laughs.

"Since moving here, there's been no looking back, We grew with Tauranga, however it's certainly changed a lot in the past 25 years."

Indeed, the city and surrounding areas saw an 11% increase in population between the 2006 and the 2013 censuses, and then a whopping further 19% between just the 2013 and 2018 census.

"There's so much to offer here, with beautiful bushwalks, cycleways, of course the beach – Mt Maunganui is voted amongst the world's best beaches – and for a great workout and stunning views over the bay - a climb up the Mount," said Blaikie.

"Tauranga has a beautiful climate, and we're so close to everything – Rotorua's an hour, Hamilton's 90 minutes, you can get to the Coromandel and Auckland in just a few hours."

The Mount is the location for most of the city's remaining boutique-type shops as well as trendy cafes, the former unfortunately getting more swallowed up by satellite shopping.

Like in most Kiwi cities over this recent winter, real estate agents are trying to navigate their way through a slower market.

By REINZ statistics, Tauranga's median price for sales in June 2024 was $840,000, roughly $55,000 less than the same time last year, while total sales fell to 142 for the month, compared to 12 months ago when it was 220.

But for Blaikie, a good agent can still make a good impression – one listing she brought to market recently received an offer two days after it went live, and was unconditional in less than a week.

Another property didn't even hit the open market, instead selling to a family on the couple's database in just six days after signing up the listing.

Blaikie originally sat her real estate qualifications in Wellington when her eldest daughter was three-years-old, but chose to remain engaged in other businesses because her family were the priority and needed her time, as two more children were born in Tauranga.

Her entrepreneurial and creative spirit led to several start up businesses, including two retail gift shops in a Tauranga suburb near the couple's home and their children's school

Being a part time artist, Blaikie opened two successful art stores selling products made locally and nationally, which showcased her eye for detail.

A chance conversation in her gift shop with a customer visiting family from Perth led to the couple's next adventure – moving to Western Australia from 2005-8, where Malcolm worked in building transportable steel framed homes, and Sharon completed an online course in Interior Design.

Back in Tauranga, the couple became well-versed in renovating, staging, then selling houses, so Blaikie followed through on her original plan to enter real estate once the last of her children had reached adulthood.

She joined a very established local brand in 2021 and immediately made an impression – winning Rookie of the Year for 2021-22, which was followed by her and Malcolm - when he joined the profession after recovering from a work accident – obtaining the ‘Greatest Growth Year-on-Year' award in 2022-23 for being in the top 10% of agents for the brand.

"Most of our business is now referral business or from vendors researching online and reading our testimonials, which is amazing," she said.

Their personal experiences with buying and selling local properties, and ability to see potential in every property certainly helped the Blaikie's find success over the past three and a half years in the industry.

"Even through a tough market, real estate never stops because life never stops.

"People upsize their homes, others are downsizing, there's the first home buyers, the divorcee's, the deceased estates.

"For me, it's about working with what you've got in front of you and offering the very best to every client – no matter their situation," says Blaikie

The Blaikie's have an impressive 98% list to sell rate - well above the industry average – because they leave nothing to chance.

Her skill in presenting properties for sale, often enhancing the household with their own staging props "to take it to the next level" - is all just part of the added service the couple provide at no extra cost.

"If you present a house well, get great photos and get the marketing right, you'll draw in the buyers - the buyers are certainly out there, says Blaikie.

But beneath the surface of their success, the Blaikie's had concerns with some of the methods being used in the traditional real estate companies.

"There was something that didn't sit right with me with a bigger corporate agency," said Blaikie.

This led to the conversations about joining Arizto – Sharon Blaikie eventually taking a meeting with CEO Daniel Budd – and in April this year the couple made the switch and have not looked back, with seven successful sales at the time of print.

"I'd got to the point where we had achieved [in my old company], and I was ready for a new challenge.

"It wasn't a decision we took lightly, but we haven't looked back."

A big point of difference compared to other agencies is that the Arizto agent who lists the house has sole-charge of it – all buyers will come through the, which makes it much less likely for important details to slip through the cracks during the sales process.

With traditional agencies, non-listing agents can introduce buyers, but they are unlikely to have intimate knowledge of the property, so if any matter came up during the due diligence period within a building inspection or LIM report, it would be that much harder to keep the prospects of a successful sale on track during delicate negotiations.

"It just made sense for us to be in a company where the agent nurtured the listings, we're the agents you employ, so we're the agents you're going to get, and we see it through."

"Arizto is a company that definitely puts the vendor at the forefront. Fairer fees, no contracts, vendors get a great base [marketing] package for free.

"We love being part of a national brand -a fresh, forward-thinking company that resonates with our own personal beliefs and values.

Even in her 50's, Blaikie has adapted to Arizto's cutting edge technology for collating marketing and buyer feedback in the brand's online dashboard – delighted that she and Malcolm no longer have to go into a corporate office for 2-3 hours a day just for staff meetings and getting administrative matters sorted when they would rather be out meeting clients and working on their listings.

But make no mistake, Sharon Blaikie still likes a little bit of old school – even with the ability for owners and buyers to sign documentation electronically, she will always go make an offer presentation in person, while Malcolm joins her at all the open homes to make sure each buyer can receive time to chat and ask questions.

"I still go out there, it's still a very personal business, and is very much hands-on."

The Blaikie's have their fingers on the pulse, and it is beating fast in the northern Bay of Plenty's growing property market.