NZ champs to represent at Australasian comp

Harcourts auctioneers placed well in yesterday‟s 2011 REINZ National Real Estate Auctioneers
Championships, with auctioneers from within the group being named winner and runner-up in
novice and senior categories.

Harcourts Mairangi Bay Auctioneer Richard Kerr convincingly won the novice competition ahead
of fellow Harcourts contestant, Kerry McCormick of Tauranga; the only two Harcourts
contestants competing in a field 15 strong. While Harcourts Mairangi Bay Manager and
Auctioneer Andrew North was narrowly defeated and placed as runner up in the senior‟s
section.

Richard Kerr featured midfield with a great opening preamble for a Takapuna property. He had
the crowd laughing with comments such as, „no bidding at an auction is like no snow at a
Winterfest.” His big stature matched didn‟t overwhelm as he confidently delivered an engaging
number sequence with perfection, seeming to own the stage from the moment he walked out.
Richard says winning the national novice competition this year has strengthened his resolve to
focus on auctioneering full-time.

“I‟ve been interested in auctioneering for some time and having gained experience as a Sales
Consultant in a company with a strong auction focus I‟ve had the advantage of being able to
train as an auctioneer with some of the best in the country."

Kerry McCormick and Richard Kerr were early on in the day avoiding the 8 hour wait some
contestants had in a lockup, designed to keep competitors isolated from knowing bidding
patterns or questions to be asked by pre-organised bidders in the audience.

Although smooth in his delivery, his energetic performance did not rattle with questions from
bidders relating to the new GST laws which tripped up other contestants.

While the novice competition ran as a straight final, the seniors battled over a day with only four
contestants qualifying day one‟s heats for day two‟s nerve racking final.Runner-up Andrew North displayed a commanding performance and had the crowd laughing with creative prose linking the vendors 17 nieces and nephews with their love of The Cat in the Hat books. 

Finalists Robert Tulp manager of Harcourts Mairangi Bay and Campbell Dunoon, an exHarcourts agent hotly contested the coveted prize.

Mark Sumich from Sumich Estate Agents & Auctioneers claimed the upset win of the
competition narrowly claiming the prize in the senior section.

Harcourts New Zealand CEO Hayden Duncan says he is very proud of the Harcourts' 
auctioneers who have been judged to be the best of the best in New Zealand.

“Five years ago auctioneers were on a very different level than today. Now a great auctioneer
needs to be engaging and facilitate an open environment. This level of success in a national,
industry-wide competition is a testament to the strong auction focus within Harcourts and the
investment made in developing our auctioneers along with the hard work and talent of the
highly-skilled Harcourts auctioneers involved."

Correction

The annual auctioneer competition, held at the Ellerslie Event Centre in Auckland 4-5 July, has qualified only Mark Sumich and Andrew North to represent New Zealand in the Australasian Auctioneering Championships being held in Melbourne on 12-13 September.