New Zealander says U.S. Realtor association is losing focus

By Kenneth V. Smith

NEW ORLEANS New Zealanders have a world-wide reputation as being leaders in embracing the Internet as a tool in real estate, and they are among the most aggressive in competing for and marketing listings.

While most of the 1,100 international participants were bubbling with enthusiasm at the annual convention of the National Association of Realtors, two real estate executives from New Zealand were less than thrilled with this year's event.

Neil Baker, managing broker of Ray White United Realty in Aukland, New Zealand, said a tour of the exhibits convinced him that his office is up to speed on available technology. "But, what surprises me is how far behind Americans and Canadians seem to be in using auctions to sell real estate," Baker said.

Baker also said U.S. Realtors appear to lean more toward promotion of the brokerage and the listing agent rather than marketing the listing of the property for sale. He made this observation after visiting booths of exhibitors who make yard signs and other displays.

"Real estate signage here appears to be quiet understatements compared to us in New Zealand," White said. "Perhaps we go a bit overboard with a number of comparatively large signs on a property, but I believe we have a more effective method of selling homes."

Stephen Collins, executive chairman of Harcourts Group Ltd., with headquarters in Christchurch, New Zealand, is one of the world's most powerful individuals in residential estate.

Harcourts has a 20 percent market share of real estate sales in New Zealand, Collins said. The firm is 112 years old, with 200 offices and 2,500 agents and employees. Last March, Harcourts moved outside of New Zealand for the first time by opening up a branch division in Australia. "We are now opening a new office each week in Australia," Collins said.

Collins was attending his 14th NAR convention, and he said it was by far his least worthwhile trip. He said past conventions had a more diverse array of speakers, and he and his staff especially enjoyed real estate trainers such as Monica Reynolds and Roald Marth.

"For example, Monica Reynolds was on the program this year, but her role was downplayed," Collins said. "NAR put her in a very small room that quickly filled to capacity. We were standing in the hallway, trying to see and hear the presentation through the doorway."

Collins said the sessions and exhibits on technology were less than he expected. He was especially critical of NAR for selling exhibit booths to vendors of "costume clothing and junk jewelry." Like other trade groups, NAR sells exhibit space to companies that have no direct interest in real estate.

"With the shrinkage of key speakers compared to several years ago, most of the sessions were disappointing," Collins said. "It's a very long trip from New Zealand and if next year's convention wasn't at Disneyland I doubt that I would come."

Despite the disappointments, Collins said the long trip was not a complete waste. "Prudential and RE/MAX are always worthwhile for me to talk to," he said, "But otherwise, the quality of the NAR convention is deteriorating. NAR has a mixed focus about why its members are attending this conference."

Collins exudes confidence and wastes few words. When asked if he sees Harcourts as the HFS south of the equator, he smiled but did not answer.

Although operating in only two countries presently, Collins clearly understands the global dynamics of real estate. "The survivors in this business will be people who have boxed a variety of services for the real estate buyer. The consumers are going to drive all this in the future."

Included in Harcourts' box of services is an Internet-based mortgage division. While there had been in the past some concerns about one umbrella company covering all phases of the real estate transaction, Collins said his company works very hard to gain public confidence. "Consumers want fast and efficient service from somebody they can trust," he said.