Bayleys Southland finding its stride

The western Southland area is already benefitting from the arrival of Bayleys on the rural real estate scene with enquiry rolling in both locally and nationally to the two experienced salespeople who have taken this ‘patch’ on as their part of the world to work in under the umbrella of Bayleys Southland.

Murray Jackson and Paul Carran both have strong links with western Southland. They’ve both farmed in this area and have a solid working knowledge of the land and its people but despite its fairly isolated geographical location, the Bayleys Southland guys are quick to assure the rest of New Zealand that they are very much on the map.

While property values in the Southland area are going through an adjustment phase, Mr Carran says some fantastic properties are making their way on to the market opening up new lifestyles and opportunities for both Southland people and those with rural aspirations from throughout New Zealand.

“We’ve already had some calls from our colleagues in Bayleys North Island offices who have buyers on their books who realise they can get a ‘better bang for their buck’ down here in Southland. The other positive is that this area can generally offer reliable rainfall!”

Murray Jackson has the look of the quintessential southern man and having worked in real estate in western Southland for the last five years, has developed strong networks within the rural community. He says his move to Bayleys has been welcomed by his extensive database of rural clients and he’s pretty excited about the challenges and opportunities ahead.

“There are quite a lot of ex-North island people farming down this way and so they are familiar with the work that Bayleys does across the country. I have been really impressed with the family philosophy that lies behind the Bayleys organisation – it sits well with the family values that rural folk have,” says Mr Jackson.

“The daily contact I have with farmers is one of the things I love most about real estate and with a background in Federated Farmers and Meat and Wool New Zealand, I have a good grasp of the economic stresses that farmers go through. I know it’s tough out there for a lot of people at the moment but you can never underestimate the importance that the rural economy has for New Zealand overall and so my role is to make sure that I get the best outcomes for my clients to keep that rural momentum going.”

Director of Bayleys Southland, David Murray says despite a popular perception that Bayleys only deals with very expensive properties, every property is important to Bayleys and every client will be given the same level of service regardless of the perceived value of the property.

“Every marketing tool and profile opportunity that is available to a Waikato or Hawke’s Bay farmer, for example, is available to a Southland property owner. Our networks spread to very corner of New Zealand and far and wide on a global scale. Rural real estate is in good heart in Southland and Bayleys aims to enhance this through superior customer service. We are building a great team in Southland and while the area has always been well catered for in real estate terms, we are here to provide a wider range of options and in this market, particularly, options are exactly what rural people need,” says Mr Murray.