Pegasus Post: September 17, 2019

PEGASUS POST Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Tuesday September 17 2019 7
News
City’s youngest real estate agent at 18
• By Hayley Tate
JONTY DOWNES might not
own his own home yet, but he is
already working towards selling
his first house.
The 18-year-old is
Christchurch’s youngest real
estate agent, and he has 10
buyers wanting him to find them
their new home.
He is also the second youngest
licensed real estate agent in New
Zealand. The youngest a person
can be registered for a real estate
licence is 18.
He has been interested in real
estate since he was a small boy.
As a seven-year-old, Jonty
would cycle around his neighbourhood,
see “for sale” signs
and be interested in new houses
built in the area.
By the time he was in year
12 at Hagley College he was attending
auctions and putting his
foot in the door of the real estate
industry.
“I’ve always had a real passion
for houses,” he said.
But he found people could not
understand his passion or take
him seriously for wanting to leap
into real estate straight out of
high school.
Traditionally, real estate is a
second or third career for people,
entering the industry as a career
KEEN: Jonty Downes searching possible homes for buyers. PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN
change from their previous job.
Real Estate Authority Statistics
show 2071 people aged 53 to 57
were issued with their licences in
the first half of 2019 in New Zealand,
compared with 171 people
aged 18 to 22.
Avonhead Harcourts branch
manager Lisa Yardley-Vaiese
decided to give Jonty a chance,
offering him a place on the
Grenadier graduate programme.
She said it was more difficult
for young people in terms
of credibility because, usually,
younger people had not yet
bought a house.
Older people tended to create
the perception that they know
the industry better and buyers
were more likely to have confidence
in them.
Real Estate Authority head of
regulatory services Josh Doherty
said the number of people aged
18 to 21 issued with a salesperson’s
licence in New Zealand had
remained relatively stable over
the last five years.
More young people have
joined Grenadier’s graduate programme
in recent years, though
Mrs Yardley-Vaiese said she had
never mentored someone as
young as Jonty.
In spite of his age, Jonty has
proved his worth and knowledge
with colleagues and buyers.
“I’ve nicknamed him Wikipedia
because he just knows so
much,” Mrs Yardley-Vaiese said.
To enter real estate, agents
must complete 13 papers before
registering for a licence.
Jonty remembers the moment
he got his licence and said it was
his best achievement so far.
“I was quite excited to just
call buyers and do anything real
estate-related, because I think it
had been inside of me for ages
and I just wanted to let it out.”
He does not yet own a home,
but said it was on the cards.
He is not looking for anything
fancy – a one-bedroom flat
would be perfect.
The Breeze
Walking Festival
28 September –13 October 2019
ccc.govt.nz/walkingfestival
Explore Christchurch and Canterbury
with over 50 free walks including:
Dogs Day out in the Zone - Sun 29 Sep
Register your dog at 10.30am,
guided walks start at 11.30am
Richmond Community Gardens, 9 Evelyn Couzins Avenue
5km
The Generation Game – Sun 6 Oct
Start anytime between 10am – 1pm
Travis Wetland Education Centre, 280 Beach Road
3.5km
Adventure on Te Ara Ihutai Christchurch Coastal Pathway – Sun 13 Oct
Start between 10-11am and
finish by 2pm
Scott Park, Main Rd,
Mount Pleasant
6.5km
*above walks will be cancelled if wet
Kelly Barber
Community Board Coastal
Glenn Livingstone
Council Burwood
Yani Johanson
Council Linwood
Greg Sugrue
Community Board Burwood
Bebe Frayle
Community Board Burwood
Jackie Simons
Community Board Linwood
The
People’s
Choice.
Authorised by J McLellan, Braddon Street Addington