Real estate innovator turns 10
The real estate company that set out to shake up the industry is celebrating a decade in business as it emerges as one of New Zealand’s most rapidly growing agencies.
Beginning in Kāpiti, where the business is headquartered, Tall Poppy is now in 37 locations nationwide, a market leader in a number of areas.
Saving Kiwis more than $93 million in real estate fees so far, its focus on fairness and top-level service has seen it dominate platforms like Rate My Agent and win awards for its approach.
The company is set to launch soon in Waikato, along the North Island’s East Coast and Northland, upping the ante among the existing players by recruiting top talent in these regions.
Tall Poppy was the first agency to offer the transparent, flat-fee model, followed by its industry-leading free marketing offer in 2019. This unwavering approach to questioning practices and doing things differently has led to resistance from industry players, but CEO Michael Seymour says the company’s continued success, especially during difficult market conditions, has proved real estate can be done differently — without compromising service or results.
“In New Zealand, we’re no strangers to throwing out the rule book. It’s part of who we are . . . We’re a nation of pioneers, inventors, and risktakers. I believe it’s this typically Kiwi spirit and attitude which Tall Poppy embodies that has helped us get to where we are.”
“We started from humble beginnings — but from the very first day, took a basic consumer offer that hadn’t been questioned at all and evolved it into one that respects Kiwis and doesn’t hide behind the smoke and mirrors of unknown real estate commissions.”
Based on the current average house price of $900,000, Tall Poppy currently saves people around $14,000 on commissions. As Tall Poppy looks to accelerate its growth, people remain critical to the business’ success — an area Seymour believes is underinvested and ignored across the industry.
“Over recent years, we’ve placed greater emphasis on values, culture, training, and support; we are always asking how we can deliver better service and continually challenge the ‘accepted’ way of doing things. When you look after your people — and help them succeed — the result for the client is incredible. I would even be so bold as to say we’d leave every other real estate company in the dust when it comes to this. It’s simple — when you match great agents with the best offering in the market, the best training programme, and an unwavering culture of support, it’s a recipe for success.”
Tall Poppy celebrated 10 years of disruption with a national event hosted virtually from Ka¯ piti on Wednesday last week.