A transparent relationship with a real estate agent is critical when it comes to selling a home – the most significant transaction most will make in their lifetimes! However, trust and transparency aren’t words typically associated with real estate, Tall Poppy’s Susan Northey contends.
“Along with Janet O’Shea (also from Tall Poppy), I have put trust and transparency at the heart of my local business, seeing it successfully disrupt the Bay’s property market since 2018. Tall Poppy was among the first real estate agencies to bring transparent pricing to the New Zealand market, along with our extensive, results-based marketing packages, which are free when you sell with Tall Poppy, meaning more money in your pocket.”
Working to build trust from day one, Susan and Janet begin with Tall Poppy’s ‘list and sell’ model, which sets them apart from other agencies, she says.
“We are 100 per cent responsible for the properties we list and we deal with 100% of all buyers. This means we’re dedicated 24/7 to your property. When a commission deal is on the table, agents will compete fiercely for their cut – it’s not unheard of for this competition to get in the way of a seller’s best interests. However, our model means we’re always focused on getting the best results for our clients. When you remove commission from the equation, you genuinely achieve the best results for sellers.”
Being transparent does mean having tough conversations, something other agents may shy away from as many prefer to keep everything light and positive, Susan adds. “The truth is that selling a house isn’t always smooth sailing – we need to be able to have honest conversations but this builds genuine trust.”
Tall Poppy’s structure, which supports the hundreds of agents from one head office, allows the company to offer lower, fairer fees, Janet explains.
“Overall, our vendors pay around a third less to sell their homes with Tall Poppy because we don’t have office rents and other unnecessary overheads. We’ve achieved this through investing in technology that streamlines everything we do.
“Our marketing package led the way for digital real estate marketing in NZ. We embrace new tech, which means we have unique relationships with the likes of Trade Me and we have tools at our fingertips that other agencies don’t, including property launches across major real estate websites and complete digital campaign strategies. We don’t rely on more ‘traditional’ methods of marketing a home.”
Fully New Zealand-owned and operated, Tall Poppy was the first real estate agency in NZ to be certified by Buy NZ Made, Susan confirms.
“This means we invest back into the communities we work in and all our profits stay here – there aren’t many agencies who can claim this. The’ Kiwi way’ is embedded in everything we do, ultimately delivering a fair and transparent real estate experience that’s built on trust.”
Janet agrees: “And, we wouldn’t have it any other way!”
REINZ figures show the median house price for Tauranga was $850,000 in August 2024. Selling a home of this value through Tall Poppy would result in savings of up to $13,136.00, the pair concludes.
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