Nor'West News: March 10, 2020

4 Tuesday March 10 2020
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
NOR’WEST NEWS
NOR’WEST PROPERTY UPDATE
As local as Elephant Park
Local Ray White franchise owners,
husband and wife team Barry and Karen
Ellis, clearly demonstrate what hard
work and sound values can achieve. They
are certainly not your typical real estate
cliché, in fact you could say they are an
example of the Kiwi way of getting things
done.
In less than four years they have established
two successful Ray White franchises
– Bishopdale in September 2016 and
Strowan in April 2018, with many years’
experience in the industry creating the
foundation for their venture.
Karen gained her real estate licence
in January 2008, after discovering her
passion for property through buying and
renovating their own investment portfolio.
Barry gained his real estate licence in
2009 and assisted Karen with her real estate
work in the evenings and weekends,
while she also pursued her other passion,
coaching netball. He joined Karen fulltime
in 2014.
Two years later they decided to launch
their own business, opening the new Ray
White Bishopdale office on September 5,
just four weeks after leaving their previous
company.
“It was an empty shell, so we had to
set it up and learn all the new systems,”
Karen says. “We wanted to get going so
we didn’t procrastinate.”
There had been previous real estate
offices at Bishopdale, but many had since
closed, Barry says. “We started Bishopdale
as a new franchise from scratch, and
since then we’ve continued to grow.”
In April 2018, Barry and Karen acquired
Ray White Strowan, and like Bishopdale
it has also flourished. In between time,
they had also set up a property management
business from scratch in July 2017,
which runs from both offices.
“We’ve had a lot of private landlords
come to us to take over their property,”
Barry says. “With increased regulations
like healthy homes, many landlords are
handing the responsibility to us, and
usually we can take it over with minimal
added costs – after all, it’s our job to
maximise their retirement freedom generated
from their Canterbury investment
properties.”
The relationships Barry and Karen develop
with their clients is the key factor,
both before and after a sale.
“We believe in doing the right thing for
our clients,” Barry says. “We genuinely
want to help people move forward. We
offer market advice, so they can make
informed decisions, and if we don’t think
it is the right time to sell their property,
we’ll tell them.
“We often give advice to home owners
on what renovations will or won’t add
value. Often we’re also simply conducting
appraisals for clients’ properties
throughout their ownership so they can
stay up to date with their market value.
A partnership in every way:
Barry and Karen Ellis at Bishopdale’s Elephant Park.
Even though they might not be wanting
to sell for another three to four years
we’re always happy to provide advice and
support.
“Our promise is to provide a lifetime
partnership for our clients’ home ownership
journey, no matter what stage they’re
at.”
They help many first-home buyers, and
have the advantage of an in-house mortgage
broker from their sister company
Loan Market.
Karen also has a reputation as a problem
solver, Barry says, especially when
EQC issues arise. “It might seem complicated
to the property owner, but Karen
steps in and makes it simple.”
Being connected to the community is
important for Barry and Karen, too, and
they value the reciprocal support from
the Nor’west community.
“We exist to proactively add value to
our community, and the way we deliver
on this is through real estate. It’s this
ethos that drives our entire business,”
Barry says.
He is on the committee at the Papanui
Club and Karen is involved with netball
in Belfast. They also support schools and
community organisations in the Nor’west
area and are strong supporters of Ronald
McDonald house and Canterbury Rugby.
For them, it is about working alongside
people in all aspects of life, a philosophy
that has brought not just business success,
but great personal satisfaction too.
Nor’West Market Snapshot - January
Total
Sales Value
$79.8m
Total Number
of Sales
122
January 2020
Median Sale Price
$520,000
(+ 7%) Compared to Januray 2019*
January 2019
Median Sale Price
$486,000
January property sale values in
Nor’West Christchurch have
increased by 7% on the same
period last year.*
Now is a great time to check
the market value of your home,
Book Online today
scan me
Or call 0800 YELLOW
*Statistics have been sourced from REINZ
Ray White Bishopdale & Strowan
0800 YELLOW (0800 935 569)
rwbishopdale.co.nz | rwstrowan.co.nz
Inline Realty Limited (Licensed REAA 2008)
Proudly owned by
Karen Ellis
021 519 275
Barry Ellis
021 519 274