Winning over the locals in the deep south – Arizto’s Aniel Chandra

Unlike the rest of New Zealand where the average is 70 per cent, the number of local-born residents in Southland is around 85 per cent of the total population.

Therefore, when that total population for the entire region, including the virtually uninhabited Fiordland, is just over 100,000 and roughly 47,000 of them live in the sole city of Invercargill, it's safe to say there is no degree of separation.

Everyone knows everyone else and they tend to stick to what they know.

So how, in just over two years, does an Indian-born former restaurateur, lab technician and taxi driver, become successful in real estate in a town where the typical line is likely to be, "thanks, but I better go with the bloke who sold my uncle's house"?

"A lot of listings I've lost that way," says Aniel Chandra, who at the 2023 Arizto Christmas awards was recognised as runnerup for most sales in the ‘Rest of the Country' category (Northland, Taranaki, Gisbourne, Nelson/Tasman, Otago, Southland, Hawkes Bay).

A tale of determination and an attitude of self-reliance that typifies small town Arizto agents, Chandra first arrived in the beautiful South Island in 2007.

"I never thought of coming to New Zealand, it just happened.

"Straight away, it was Queenstown, and just fell in love."

Having years of experience in five star hotels and restaurant management, Chandra was persuaded to bring his family here to provide his knowledge to an Indian restaurant.

With the birth of his second son, he then got into other fields such as lab technician work, and then a taxi service when the chance came to move to Invercargill so his wife to attend a nursing course.

"I have been working with people, that's the base [of my experience]."

"[Taxi work] gave me a chance to learn about the people, because you can talk about various things.

"I said, ‘we're here now, I have two boys – one is in Uni now – talented boys, so schooling is good here."

Both Chandra and his wife went to study at Invercargill's iconic Southern Institute of Technology, famed for its Zero Fees Scheme instigated by the local council in the 1990's to attract students and counteract the region's ‘brain drain' and economic losses caused by the best and brightest always moving to bigger areas.

Chandra undertook courses in marketing and Te Reo (he can also speak a little French), and then talked with close friends about what his next career challenge could be at the bottom of the south.

"They said, after doing diploma in marketing, diploma in travel and tourism, and hospitality courses and a lot of experience ‘either you teach, or you go into real estate'."

"Whenever I go into something, I just go deep."

He did his research while he undertook the six month course to get his licence, completing it in only three months, before choosing a local agency.

Chandra was told then that 80 per cent of salespeople will drop out of the industry in a short time.

"I said, ‘I am in the 20 per cent, I can tell'."

Chandra joined Ray White in February 2022, barely a month before the market took the seismic readjustment from the highs of the ‘Covid market'.

Still, by May 2022 he had 6-7 listings to his name, impressive for a rookie still in his first six months of direct supervision.

Chandra had promised himself he would stay at least 12 months with Ray White and then consider his options, but an earnest conversation with Arizto Canterbury's Jaggy Bhupal, the 2023 Rising Star Award winner, led to a phone call with now-Arizto chief executive Daniel Budd.

"I used to take feedback from people, about what's going on.

"He explained to me this was an opportunity."

With an added incentive on the table, Chandra made the jump in September 2022.

Now, we pause.

Many recent articles written about Arizto standouts who have joined the company have told of agents who could not get the best out of their former brands, but found the unique digital technology process an immediate hit with their house owners - never looking back from their switch.

But Chandra lives in a part of the world where REINZ statistics show there are often 100 sales or less per month for the whole Invercargill market, where he does 95% of his business, and less than 50 sales for the nearby Gore and Southland districts combined, with a median sale price of only around $450,000.

And don't forget that statistic at the top of this story about born-and-raised locals sticking with who they know from past generations.

Chandra went nearly four months before he saw any kind of traction, as the market was on a steep decline in that period.

"I have worked really hard. It wasn't like I was sitting, I was working every day, and the momentum started after that," Chandra said.

"It was a great learning – it was a buyer's market and my aim was to sell 100 per cent [of my] houses."

He got very active on social media and in the community, and wasn't afraid to spend the long hours visiting key neighbourhoods to introduce himself.

"You can find 100 excuses [to door knock]."

There were setbacks – many houses received multiple offers and they all fell down for various reasons before the unconditional date – but Chandra's resolve was absolute.

"I got the job done and the house is sold."

And there have been 29 other sales, with Chandra's business now very consistent in the past 4-5 months, often finding he is being trusted by many out-of-town owners in Auckland and Australia to take care of their investments in Southland.

This is where the Arizto offering with the ease of processing documents online and the covering of marketing costs is very attractive.

"They find that commission is pretty reasonable and no 90 days binding contract gives them some peace of mind too."

But really, those are just the tools, it comes down to the agent, and Chandra has done the ‘mahi' to win over the locals in a part of the world where he was not surrounded by lots of support personnel staff like other brands, and had to overcome a lot of ingrained attitudes when it comes to who is entitled to the listing.

"I will do my best, the best way. I'm enjoying the work also," he says.

"Enjoy every day, enjoy the struggle and if you go into something, either work hard on it or don't do it."