Right at home in the Tron – Hamilton's Jit Singh

For Jit Singh, years of working in the hustle and bustle of Auckland left him wanting more for himself and his family – and that ‘more' was the Waikato.

Hamilton is our fourth most populous city and third fastest growing urban area, behind the ever-expanding southern link from Auckland to Pukekohe.

Also, the significant development of lifestyle blocks in the adjacent rural areas like Tamahere and Matangi means people looking for a bit more space to build the dream home while have amenities close can be catered for.

That suited Singh down to the ground.

Having worked diligently for years in Auckland in both the service trade and in property development before even joining a sales agency, he was ready to find that patch of land which would suit himself, his parents, two sisters and their partners, his one and only nephew and their nine lovely cats.

"Family is very important to me," says 2023's top Arizto salesman for the Waikato.

"I like Hamilton better because everything is close by, less traffic, has more greenery.

"If you want a better lifestyle for your family, Hamilton is the place to come to.

"We are a cat family – all rescued. There's more than enough space for everyone."

Emigrating from Fiji 22 years ago, the hard-working Singh worked as a radio host before getting into the service trade with cafes and restaurants, which included ownership.

"I was HR for McDonalds for ten years as well," he says.

"Real estate was quite an interesting thing - I used to flip homes when I worked in HR."

Becoming very knowledgeable on tenancies, council requirements, and home presentation, when he decided to move out to the fresher air of Waikato in 2018, Singh felt he could turn his property development interests and industry contacts into a robust real estate career.

He budgeted that he would need three years to establish himself in the profession – it did not take that long.

"Three weeks got my first listing and from there I never looked back.

"My main aim when I joined real estate was to do new builds.

"Obviously when people get to know you, they start listing with you anyway."

Using his broadcasting skills and fluency in Hindi and English, Singh found clients of various cultures appreciated his communication skills and effective time management.

Having joined an upper North Island-based agency, Singh was in their top sales club from 2019-2021, but like so many successful self-starters in the industry who have joined Arizto, he was searching for a better way to offer his services.

Crystallising those thoughts was when life took an unexpected turn in 2020 when Singh was diagnosed with cancer, and while undergoing radiation therapy, found he was much more productive doing real estate work from his home, while getting out on the road at times when he was physically capable.

This is not always compactable with the expectations of a traditional real estate brand, and neither were Singh's religious beliefs which prevent him working on Sunday's – normally the biggest open home day of the week.

"I haven't lost any customers from that," he explains. 

"You can have your faith and work with real estate."

And so in 2021, after some good conversations with Arizto founder and director Pernell Callaghan, Singh made the switch and once again his momentum kept climbing.

Still with property development interests in Auckland and Rotorua as well as Hamilton – Singh has made well over 40 successful sales and will have 25 active listings in the portfolio at the time of writing this article.

Developments in the southern Hamilton suburb of Glenview have been especially successful, as have his interests in Pukehangi in Rotorua.

You will see a Singh sign everywhere from New Lynn and Massey in Auckland, to the halfway-between town of Huntly, and across the ‘Tron'.

Having established good rapport with Callaghan, chief executive Daniel Budd and chief operations officer Martin Towers, Singh has also been instrumental in bringing other agents into the fold, while politely telling other local companies he is not interested in taking his business to them.

"When you're doing well with real estate, everyone wants you.

"Arizto is one of the best real estate brands in New Zealand. Hopefully I'll be Top 3 this year.

"I just like it. Actually, that's a small word. I'd say I love it.

"You have freedom and flexibility. Arizto doesn't micro-manage you.

"I will never join those corporate real estate companies. I will just keep moving forward, that's what my focus is.

"You don't have to have an office these days to do business.

"Life is so much easier with Arizto – so easy to do."

A tribute to self motivation and self reliance – Singh knows an agent can do very well in Hamilton if they're willing to give 100 percent, and it is those traits which make a digital brand like Arizto the perfect vehicle to drive that success.

"If you are an agent just sitting in the office, waiting for handouts, Arizto is not the agency to join.

"In ten years, everything will be digital anyway.

"You can work harder and smarter. If you're a lazy agent, don't even look because it will never help you."