Waikato Business News May/June 2018

26 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS May/June 2018
A quarter-century of serving
Hamilton: Manu Nahna
Manu Nahna is in his 26th year at Lodge
Real Estate, and can’t imagine a better
place to be.
“I people I meet through
love work in real
estate and I love the
my work,” says Manu, who is
based at the Dinsdale Lodge
office.
Helping first home buyers
into a new home is one of the
joys of the job.
“It’s a real privilege to help
people get their first home, and
be part of that important milestone
moment,” says Manu,
who joined Lodge in 1992.
I’ve seen hot markets,
and cool markets,
and there have been
lots of changes over
the years
Manu is one of Lodge’s
most successful and well-liked
salespeople. He was awarded
Lodge’s Number One Salesperson
in 1998, 2003 and
2004 and has consistently been
among the top ten salespeople
for the company.
He has received numerous
company awards, including
Manu Nahna has been working at
Lodge Real Estate for his entire
26-year real estate career.
a recent Manager’s Choice
Award at the recent Lodge
Awards on April 14. Manu has
also been recognized in the
Waikato Bay of Plenty Real
Estate Awards.
Lodge managing director
Jeremy O’Rourke says that
Manu embodies many of the
company’s core values.
“Manu is hard-working and
dedicated to clients, always
going above and beyond to
help meet the needs of buyers
and sellers,” says Jeremy. “He
values relationships and people
– which is part of the reason
he’s been so successful over
many years in real estate. We
know he gets a lot of referrals
and repeat business, and that
speaks to the trust people put in
him. He has strong connections
to his community, and we are
very proud that he is part of the
Lodge team.”
Manu was born in Gujarat,
a province on the west coast
of India, in 1945. He came to
New Zealand as a four-yearold
with his parents and three
siblings, settling in Te Kuiti.
He was introduced to the real
estate industry by friend Rex
Kirby, who he used to play
squash with. “At the time I
was working at Housing New
Zealand, and Rex said that I
seemed to know people everywhere
I went and working in
real estate would be a good fit
for me,” says Manu.
He was in his mid-40s at the
time, and a change of careers
was “a scary prospect” but he
found that he enjoyed it and
hasn’t looked back.
“I’ve only ever worked at
Lodge, and to me it’s the best
real estate company around.”
“I am also extremely grateful
for all the support I have
received from family, friends
and acquaintances during my
career in real estate,” says
Manu. “This in turn has meant
that I have been able to return
something back to the community
in the way of numerous
sponsorships and donations
over many years.”
Manu began working in
the St Andrews Lodge office,
before leaving to start the
company’s Dinsdale office. “I
like Dinsdale, it’s a friendly
supportive community. We
list properties all over the city
but there are many well-priced
options here in western Hamilton.”
Over the past quarter century,
Manu has seen many
changes in the housing market
in Hamilton. “I’ve seen hot
markets, and cool markets, and
there have been lots of changes
over the years,” says Manu. “It
is getting harder for young people
to get into their own house,
and we are increasingly seeing
that some cannot do it without
assistance from parents.”
Manu has also noticed the
trend towards larger homes
on smaller sections. “When
I was starting out there were
more older homes such as state
houses, many of them on traditional
quarter-acre sections and
without garages. Now people
are wanting three-car garaging
and there is a trend to wanting
larger homes on smaller
sections. In some of the new
subdivisions houses are on
500sqm or 600sqm sections,
with the house taking up most
of that space.”