With the full support of Ray White Damerell Group, its neighbour Ray White Mt Albert is in now in a great position to take advantage of this burgeoning suburb.
Never a business to sit on its laurels – and it has more than its fair share to boast about – Ray White Damerell Group is constantly looking for new business opportunities to expand and enhance its market share of the Auckland real estate market. So when a chance came to take over Ray White’s office in Mt Albert, it jumped at the prospect, says Director, Gower Buchanan.
“Simon [Damerell] and I have always wanted to take the support and the infrastructure that we provide to our sales team here at Ray White Damerell Group in Ponsonby and Grey Lynn and expand our business into other areas and suburbs – Mt Albert is a natural progression for us; one that has lots of potential,” he says.
To help them, Buchanan and Damerell have teamed up with Nick Fistonich, the new Sales Director at Ray White Mt Albert. Fistonich started selling real estate back in 2008 in West Auckland, before expanding his reach into the more lucrative city fringe suburbs.
“We wanted someone we respected and had a lot of time for, and who had similar ambitions and work ethic – and that was Nick. That’s what this partnership is about – Nick on the ground here in Mt Albert providing the energy, direction and the cultural framework, and Simon and I and are experienced support team here in Ponsonby – to make it a really successful business.”
Fistonich says he’s always had the desire to go into business on his own, and that he’s relishing the thought of building up a new team from scratch as a great opportunity to establish the right culture and right values from day one.
“Starting with a small, hand-picked team, I am looking to expand by recruiting like-minded sales professionals who have the same goals and work ethic, providing them with the unique marketing and support network offered by the award-winning team at Ray White Damerell. It’s about getting the right people from the get go,” he says. “My long-term plan is to pull back from selling and refer my clients to agents within the team, ensuring clients will still receive the best service and results.”
Mt Albert is a very mixed suburb that brings together a diverse range of ethnic groups, as well as a huge variety of property types that spans the entire residential market – from large, high-end luxury homes to small units and single-bedroom apartments.
It’s also the fifth largest suburb in Auckland by sales volume, so for Ray White Damerell Group, the acquisition of the Mt Albert territory is a great strategic opportunity, says Buchanan.
“There’s a lot of young blood coming into the area. It’s the next logical suburb to see growth outside of Grey Lynn, Kingsland and Mt Eden,” he says “It has great transport connections with rail, road and bus routes, and has a full range of educational facilities, from some of the best kindergarten and pre-schools in Auckland through to further education facilities, like UniTec.”
Ray White’s Mt Albert occupy a prime location, at the centre of the ‘village’ on a corner site right next door to the Mt Albert train station. With around 3,500 people walking past the shop front every day, it’s a prominent place to display all the latest properties for sale in the area.
“We are super excited about this new venture and we’re looking forward to attracting a new breed of salesperson into the marketplace, who understand what true customer experience actually is, and who are keen to take advantage of the infrastructure we provide at Rat White Damerell Group,” says Buchanan.
Ray White Mt Albert is located at 923 New North Road, Mt Albert, call in and visit the team or view their local website rwmtalbert.co.nz.