One man, one street
A single house sold five times, earning $150,000 in fees. Meet the real estate agent who lives New Zealand’s superheated property market.
Few real estate agents dominate their patch as much as Steve Koerber – who swears by a trick he calls the ‘‘skip bin’’ test.
For the past 20 years the former navy warfare officer has been stamping his mark in the leafy Auckland suburb of Remuera, with an extraordinary dominance on one street in particular – Armadale Rd – home to properties worth more than $4 million.
Koerber has completed 48 house sale transactions on Armadale Rd since he first started selling there in 1998 – including one property he’s sold a staggering five times.
The Ray White agent sold 39 Armadale Rd for $447,500 in 2001, $880,000 in 2006, $1.2m in 2007, $1.17m in 2010 and $2.31 most recently in April last year.
All up, he estimates the rundown five-bedroom villa has brought in $150,000 or more in agent fees.
‘‘The amount that comes to me is not quite that,’’ Koerber said, referring to a cut taken by real estate companies he has worked for.
The most recent buyer was a property investor who was most likely land banking the 885sqm property, he said.
It was the first time it had been sold to an investor during his association with the property.
Koerber believed it was a matter of time before it was subdivided and the 1920s villa removed, to make way for three or four townhouses.
Another section on the street which he sold for $2.5m around 2011 was subsequently subdivided into three townhouses which would now individually sell for close to $3m each, he said.
During his time involved with 39 Armadale Rd, very few changes had been made to the house, despite his postulating to buyers that it had ‘‘fantastic potential’’.
‘‘It’s very easy for me to show them through and show them the areas that I would change but no one’s ever taken my advice,’’ he said.
‘‘They’ve always just lived in the house and enjoyed it.’’
He liked the area so much he bought his own place on Armadale Rd in 2013. ‘‘I wish I’d done it years ago.’’
Taking a risk, he bought a 1999 plaster townhouse – a leaky building. He invested more than $700,000 in re-cladding and bringing it up to a modern standard and it now has an estimated value of $1.9m on homes.co.nz.
‘A huge volume of [agents’] business will be on repeat and referral customers.’ REINZ spokesman Bryan Thomson
‘‘It is difficult buying a house with problems. Banks don’t like that.’’
REINZ spokesman Bryan Thomson said real estate agents tended to be location specialists, demographic specialists or a bit of both.
Koerber was a location specialist and was well known in Remuera.
‘‘He focuses on making sure he is an expert in the area,’’ Thomson said.
Living and working locally was also a huge advantage.
‘‘If your offices are based in that area it makes sure you’re very efficient with your time.’’
Selling the same property over and over again was not all that unusual for agents who had long and successful careers, he said.
‘‘A huge volume of their business will be on repeat and referral customers.’’
Out of 658 real estate agents registered with homes.co.nz, Koerber held the top five spots for repeat house sales.
Last month figures from homes.co.nz showed high numbers of Auckland property speculators were netting huge capital gains through buying and selling property in quick succession – a practise coined known as house flipping.
Between January 2015 and May this year 1427 Auckland homes sold twice, 99 sold three times and eight sold four times.
Koerber said that although the New Zealand market had slowed down slightly over recent months there was no shortage of investors looking at doing up properties for a quick buck.
And the skip-bin test? Koerber keeps an eye out for them when walking his beagle around the neighbourhood, because they’re a sign of a potential sale.