Just because you live in an area with a population smaller than an urban Kiwi high school doesn't mean you can't have a big vision.

With over a decade in the industry from her beloved Clutha district in South Otago, Margot Berney is not only one of Arizto's leading salespeople in the lower South Island, but also one of the brand's most dedicated mentors and advisors – being one of the original Business Support Manager's (BSM).

As Arizto uses cutting edge digital technology through Apps and computer dashboards, Berney is able to assist salespeople around the country to hone their business processes and make sure their documentation effectively passes muster for the crucial component of getting homes under contract and sold.

These are practices she has plenty of experience with herself, having made dozens of sales for the brand in a smaller market since joining in 2021 – everything from high value family homes to quaint beach houses and plots of land.

She finds selling the attraction of her home region, thereby selling the properties under her purview, as a very simple task.
"I live close to a small town, and it really is just a town of 500 people, then we got a lot of small coastal townships around us which aren't too far away," Berney proudly states.

"[I love] everything – the location, the people, the community. Smaller communities, to put it bluntly, we get s**t done.

"I've sold a lot of property to North Island based people, Aucklanders, who have moved down here because it's more affordable to live – average house price sales are probably about $380,000-390,000 at the moment.

"So they can sell their house up there and pay their mortgage, come and own a house mortgage free and enjoy a very different lifestyle to the North Island.

"Lots of little cribs and baches, we have a lot of little coastal towns like Pounawea, and Papatowai and Kaka Point.

"They're all 50-50 permanent residence and holiday homes, a lot of Airbnb properties and short term rentals as well.

"People from central who want to be close to the water, because they love it because we've got the Queenstown central lakes, but they want to escape the people - so they're drawn to the coast because they want to be close to the water but they want peace and quiet.

"First home buyers, young families, affordable housing – good schools, good lifestyle.

"There is also a bit of a pattern I've seen over the past 13 years of people that have left the area when they're younger to go and chase other things.