Jo Pickering

Kept me informed with various steps of the process. Always available to talk to. Excellent experience.

Proactive and passionate

Jo is a true professional who went above and beyond to broker the sale of my home in a difficult market. She kept me informed throughout the process which made my decision making easier. Jo is very easy to work with and we had a laugh which reduced the stress of selling. I would certainly use her services again and I am very happy to recommend her to anyone thinking of selling their home or investment property.

We were thrilled to hear we would have Jo's experience, local knowledge, sense of style and personality representing us. And she nailed it. A perfect compliment to Tim, they each knew what was happening with the process regardless of who in the team we'd been dealing with. Thanks Jo for an awesome job.

I first met Jo when she was recommended to me by other locals saying she was the best and she didn’t disappoint! Putting my first, much loved home on the market was nerve wracking, Jo understood this and made the process as simple as possible for me, I always felt like I was in safe hands. She is personable, professional, and communicated with me throughout the process. It was a real pleasure working with Jo and I would highly recommend her to anyone wanting to sell.

I can't recommend Jo highly enough as an agent! It was a very quick decision for us to sell and get on the market as soon as we could. Jo made everything happen for us at the fast pace that we needed to. From staging advice and helping find a handyman to get our section tidied up, to fabulous photos and an wonderful video. Jo was always available for any question we had day or night, week and weekend. Her communication was great , and she kept both me and my husband in the loop with everything that was going on. She is great at explaining confusing real estate stuff in a way that was really easy for us to understand. Even if it was about other houses we were trying to buy! Jo always had our best interest at heart whatever stage in the process we were at. we have two small children and open homes and showing were always a challenge, and Jo worked with us to make sure these were always as easy as they could be. We also really loved the Barfoot way of working as well, whether it was other agents bringing their clients through, or the team that did such a great job for us on auction day, and the bubbles her boss Andrew took us out for to celebrate our sale! The video Jo made was great. It was such a good way to showcase the house. I had so many people say how impressed they were with the video and Jo. One of my friend's described her perfectly - "Man that agent of yours is Dynamite" and that's exactly what she is. She will blow you away! I would not hesitate to recommend Jo as the person to trust with your biggest investment!

We did not set out to have Jo as our agent but a succession of hiccups and Jo’s accommodation meant we were meeting Jo for the first time the evening before Good Friday and how fortunate we were. I instantly felt relief as I knew this bubbly, personable and knowledgeable lady would suit us perfectly. Jo had a sense of humour and natural honesty that is a ‘must’ to us as a family when working with somebody – we do not believe in somebody just working for us as we always feel the best results come when you can all work together. Reports back each week especially after open homes were very informative but also filled with infectious positivity and all done through texts, emails and phone calls. Questions or concerns were considered then clearly answered. The selling process was both interesting and fun due to Jo just being herself. We knew that with Jo we had a vibrant front person to greet potential buyers and then confidently extol the virtues of the apartment.

I have known Jo for a long time and so I knew she would be the perfect person to help with selling our family home. Jo’s natural flair for building and nurturing relationships, her sales creativity and general down to earth approach made it an obvious choice for us to engage with her. The process of selling our family home was an emotional one and on top of that we needed to find other property relatively straight away to move into – from the start Jo was helpful and encouraging but pragmatic and realistic about the current housing market. The feedback from the open homes was presented to us honestly by Jo when she said it would be and we had regular weekly discussions with her to reset any expectations and to give us a holistic view of our property in line with others in the area. The day of our auction Jo was also there to support us and the buyers seamlessly through the negotiation process. Because of Barfoot’s great network Jo was also quick in introducing us to properties within our price range and helped us negotiate our way through the buying stages which meant a successful, painless and quick purchase! Thanks Jo, you’ve been great to deal with through the selling and buying process and I would highly recommend if you are thinking of selling your home or purchasing another, give Jo a call!

Jo Pickering, engaging smile, trendy haircut, well dressed and presented, excellent work ethic, honest, transparent, professional, confident in owning her abilities and drawn to her positivity. Traits you expect from a good real estate agent, well maybe not the trendy haircut. Deciding to sell the family home after 40 years was not an easy decision and we would be entering the unknown selling a house for the first time. You can only do so much homework and background checks, but eventually you will need to choose a company and agent. Our checklist was short but direct. Connection, honesty, character. As daunting as it may have been for the family to make a decision, it must have been just as daunting for Jo, meeting the entire family at our first meet and greet. We were all immediately connected to her, drawn to her open and honest nature and natural humour. Throughout the entire process, Jo proved her passion for people and her career through the tireless work and input she devoted to getting the best for our family. You're probably thinking she sounds like every other agent, but without a shadow of doubt if you want someone who genuinely shows compassion, understands your needs at all levels combined with her solid drive, then Jo Pickering comes with our family's full recommendation.

For us, the choice came down to who we would enjoy the process of selling with most. Jo and Mike were the clear winners, from the first meeting. Using clear, frequent communication and plenty of reassurance, they helped us through the process, even as market expectations changed. Jo and Mike used their connections and experience to get the right buyer through our house and stepped up to make sure a quality deal was available to us. And on top of all that, they are wonderful dinner guests.

I used Jo and Mike to sell my apartment in Grey Lynn. They were fabulous and I highly recommend them to anyone looking to sell. I’ll use them again when the time comes. They were highly professional, fully advising me on the whole sales process, including auction day, and keeping me up to date regularly on the progress of the viewings.

We chose the salespeople very carefully as you could imagine and they performed exceptionally well at every step of the process. The four of us collaborated effortlessly on every minor point and left absolutely no-stone-unturned. We encouraged Marian to visit the day before the auction and she was personally completely blown away by the uniqueness of the place and her genuine enthusiasm really shone through in her opening spiel. I would never have expected that what turned out to be an unusually challenging and drawn out three-month process due to Covid delays and postponements, would actually be interspersed on such a regular basis with really pleasurable human interactions - even when the majority of them occurred via Zoom! Maggie and I couldn’t have been happier with our salespeople and the result that we all achieved by working together.

Mike and Jo sold our house in extremely unconventional circumstances with the house being tenanted and us residing overseas in "lockdown". Many salespeople would have steered well clear of this situation. Not Mike and Jo!! Their "can do" attitude meant that no problem was too big, as a result the whole process could not have gone more smoothly and we were thrilled with the result. Thanks Mike and Jo you were absolute gems to work with and we would have no hesitation in recommending you both.

I had previously met Jo and Mike at some local open homes; their engaging friendliness, great communication, teamwork, and obvious passion for what they do really impressed me. Plus, they have excellent local market knowledge and contacts. So, choosing this dynamic duo was an easy decision to make when it came to marketing my own home. Jo and Mike are highly professional and dedicated, and also incredibly thoughtful and caring, which makes them truly wonderful people to work with. They took the time to really listen and understand both my home and my needs. They kept me updated of all developments along the way, gave me great guidance and support, and made the whole process (including an auction during Lockdown), smooth and stress-free. I couldn’t have asked for a better team or a better result. I wholeheartedly recommend Jo and Mike – they are awesome in every way.

Jo and Mike were a dream to work with. They’re friendly, helpful and professional, and they really know their stuff. They know the market and the neighbourhood. They’re full of good advice and regularly went above and beyond to guide us through the selling process and help us get the best price for our property. It felt like true teamwork.

In my opinion real estate salespeople can either add to the stress of selling your home, or they can reduce it. Jo and Mike do the latter! They are swift, smooth and stress-free. They listened to our requests, a short notice auction with a strict reserve, and simply got it done. Amazing communication throughout the process, and super fun to have a drink with afterwards! Cannot recommend them enough!

October 2020, we decided to enlist salespeople to put our property to market. With a little research we discovered Mike Vermeulen and Jo Pickering were a very successful team in our part of Auckland. A quick call had them visit in the next day or two to introduce themselves and to get to know us. This first encounter was so enjoyable, you could say refreshing. Mike and Jo were impeccably dressed and very professional in their approach, without being pretentious. They were in fact friendly, positive, informative and energetic, which for us was comforting, thus we decided to engage them to get our property sold at Auction. In the subsequent meeting they clearly spelt out requirements of both parties to market the property. They proceeded to sort things for us, whilst we moved out of town. The team always fulfilled promises made. So refreshing. We were constantly updated and additionally they went the extra mile, as in forwarding mail, dealing with couriers, replacing light bulbs, even after the property had sold. Our entire experience has been both memorable and enjoyable. Last but not least, in chatting with a neighbour post-sale, we were advised that all neighbours had been kept informed of proceedings during our physical absence in the sale process. That person was also totally impressed with Mike and Jo, saying they also would definitely use them to sell their property. These guys are amazing, 10+ out of 10.

Jo and Mike have been awesome to work with and I can not recommend them enough. Being an overseas seller meant they took all my worries away - great communication by various means, super helpful and always available even through the crazy Christmas period. They worked hard to ensure there were multiple buyers and did it with real integrity. Whilst there were some challenges in getting house to market , they remained positive and supportive and just got creative with solutions whilst keeping me in the loop 24/7. They are a great business partnership who collaborate to add value to a client. They went above and beyond with early and late calls to suit my time zone, ensuring someone could do the garden and keep an eye on property over Christmas. I would totally recommend them to anyone wanting hands on, honest and get the job down real estate salespeople... also love their sense of humour!

Jo and Mike are the consummate professionals. After interviewing several parties to take on the very important task of selling our family home, we are very happy that we made the decision to choose this excellent team. They bring to the table skill, knowledge and a warm manner which immediately makes you feel you are in good hands. Their communication skills are second-to-none - always replying quickly to inquiries and asking for viewings with plenty of notice. We had an extremely busy campaign with over 200 viewings of our property and a brilliant result at auction. We couldn’t be happier with the result. Through this busy and intense period, we always had total confidence that everything was being managed well, and the strengths of their teamwork, took all the pressure off us! I couldn’t recommend Jo and Mike highly enough not only as skilful salespeople, but as warm, friendly people.

Mike and Jo are absolute professionals. Selling my first home felt like a daunting process at first and I pestered them with questions throughout but they always made me feel comforted that my home was in great hands. They know the market and the sale process inside out and their skill and demeanour put both myself and potential buyers at ease. Not only are they pros, but they are lovely people who I instantly clicked with. Most importantly, we achieved a successful sale at auction – thank you Mike and Jo!!

We had such a great experience in buying a house with Jo and Mike that it was a no-brainer to list with them when we were ready to put our own house on the market. They are refreshingly honest, extremely hard-working, and are just really lovely, genuine people! Having dealt with Jo and Mike on the buyer’s side, we knew that they would be the perfect advocates for our home. They know how to engage with buyers without being pushy, and their marketing campaign was completely on point. They gave us invaluable advice on how to increase the saleability of our home, and were more than willing to speed up the pre-campaign process due to Lockdown. We were kept very well-informed throughout the entire process and they made a potentially stressful situation into a very enjoyable one. We are now massive fans of Jo and Mike and would definitely not hesitate in recommending them to anyone!

Jo and Mike were great to deal with. They put my mind at ease and gave me some valuable pointers for getting my home ready for the market. In the end, we ran a short but busy campaign and I felt I was being guided by them honestly, fairly and efficiently which led to a fantastic result on auction day. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Jo and Mike to represent you too.

We would highly recommend Jo and Mike to anyone looking to sell in the Grey Lynn area. As first-time sellers living overseas, Jo and Mike managed the auction process seamlessly, keeping us informed and in control. To get the most interest from buyers, Jo and Mike advised us on where we could renovate to add enough value, staging and presentation, as well as timing for listing the property. This helped towards getting around 150 groups to view the property over the three weeks leading up to auction date. During the busy auction campaign, Jo and Mike were professional and responsive in providing feedback after each open home, passing on questions, and identifying the number of serious buyers. This helped us to be prepared, make informed decisions and remain calm on auction day. On auction day, we called in from Melbourne, while Jo, Mike and team walked us through the auction process and possible scenarios. As we listened to the auction, the bidding progressed quickly between four bidders, ending with a sale that was well within our expectations. We are very pleased with how Jo and Mike managed the marketing and auction of our property, and enjoyed working with such a friendly and professional team.

I was a bit nervous going into the sale of my first home around what to do and expect. Jo and Mike made the sale of my house so easy, especially considering I was overseas for most of the marketing campaign and the auction. They provided me with great advice and this lead to an excellent outcome for my sale. The marketing of my property was of a very high quality and was turned around really quickly. I would highly recommend this fantastic team. They are warm, friendly, professional and kept me well informed throughout the whole process.

We're about to move into our new home and we couldn't have done it without Mike and Jo. They guided us through the process of selling two properties at the same time and managed to make it stress-free. Mike and Jo are highly professional, hard working, knowledgeable and so easy and fun to work with. We highly recommend them.

We met Jo and Mike when we were trying to buy a house many months ago, and they subsequently became our agents to sell our house. We have met many agents since, and Mike and Jo stand head and shoulders above the rest in their positivity and professionalism. They made the process of selling our house as stress-free as possible while keeping us informed throughout. They are warm, thoughtful, and offer sound advice. We love them!

Jo and Mike were fantastic to deal with from start to finish when we put our investment property on the market. Based out of the Barfoot & Thompson Grey Lynn office (just around the corner) meant they had great insight into the area and how the market was going throughout the campaign. They responded quickly to market changes, keeping us informed with options and they were able to tune advertising week by week to target the types of buyers for our property. Great personalities, great communication and a real passion for what they do means we have no hesitation in recommending Jo and Mike to any potential sellers out there.

Jo and Mike were excellent to work with from start to finish. Their support, suggestions, care, professionalism, knowledge and genuine leadership to obtain a great outcome was hugely valued. I've recommended them already.

We met Jo at a house she was selling and were impressed with how warm, friendly and approachable she was and how thorough her follow-up and processes were, but without being pushy. When it came to selling our place a year later we knew Jo was the right person and we met Mike and he had the same qualities and they make such a great fun team to work with. Selling our first home, it's a very personal thing as it's a part of your life story and at the same time you're also wanting the best possible result. You are learning a lot but want to enjoy the journey too and need to be selling with agents you fully trust. Jo and Mike totally supported us through this. They were working hard to get the best result for our place and connecting with our buyers and guiding us through the process. Within a month our place had sold and we were very happy with the result, especially in this current market.

Mike and Jo were an absolute pleasure to work with! Mike went out of his way many times to accommodate our requests and queries. We have dealt with many agents but Mike is one agent we have received such wonderful service from. Even after settlement he has been extremely helpful. Thanks again Mike and Jo!

Mike and Jo - thanks so much for doing a great job selling my house in December. You were both extremely professional to deal with and I particularly appreciated that you were completely available to guide me through the challenges that go with selling in a very short time frame. I felt the marketing of the property was stunning and the overall professionalism of Barfoot & Thompson was excellent. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you both in the future.

Jo and Mike helped us buy our first home. They explained everything and went over the contract step by step which helped us as we are very new to this. They got us a fair and reasonable price. If someone asks if I know a good agent I would not hesitate to name Jo and Mike as a reference as they made the process very easy and fast.

It was a pleasure working with Jo and Mike in our recent house purchase. We had spent a few months searching for a house after moving back from overseas and were feeling a bit frustrated at the lack of transparency from agents as to what property price expectations were. Jo and Mike were friendly, welcoming and informative at the open homes. With their guidance and encouragement we got ourselves ready to participate on auction day which enabled us to purchase our new house. Dealing with Jo and Mike was a seamless, positive experience from start to finish.

Together with my wife, I am writing to express our sincere gratitude for your assistance in selling our Somerset Apartment in Auckland. Your professionalism made this whole process smooth and straightforward. Firstly you applied your knowledge of the current property market evaluating the desirability of the unit, which therefore generated a successful result for the sale of our apartment. Secondly you were so enthusiastic during the whole marketing campaign and we experienced seamless conversations and updates from you although we are based overseas. Thirdly, I noticed that you did a lot of work assisting the purchaser to ensure the deal came together for a successful result for all parties. Finally your ability and flexibility when completing the sale was outstanding. Thank you so much for all your help and hard work you put in. To sum up, I would be more than happy to utilise your services again, and will definitely be recommending you to my friends and family wanting to buy or sell property.