From rugby to auctions via Obama and Gump
Getting into real estate wasn’t a straightforward path for Conor Patton; he took a couple of detours along the way. But once he got his foot in the door it didn’t take him long to fall in love with the industry and rise to the position of Bayleys’ national auction manager.
Where’s your accent from?
People think I’m from Southland because of the way I speak but I’m actually from Scotland. My dad is Irish and my mum is Scottish, and we moved to Christchurch when I was 11.
Was real estate on your radar growing up?
No, not at all. All of my family are medical — my dad’s a doctor, Mum’s a pharmacist, my grandparents are both doctors, so are my auntie and uncle. And somehow I ended up becoming an auctioneer.
I went to Canterbury University to do law and politics, but about a week into my second year I thought, bugger this, and I went off to Scotland to pursue a career in rugby. I was obsessed with rugby and I’d done okay, I’d got into the Canterbury Under-19 team. I played for a semiprofessional team in Scotland but it turned out I wasn’t all that good.
How long did you stay in Scotland?
Nine months. It was good to go back, but it made me realise that New Zealand was home. They had the worst winter they’d had in 46 years, which helped to convince me! We couldn’t play for weeks because there was too much snow on the ground. But it wasn’t just the weather. I came back and finished my politics degree — I dropped the law.
Did you continue playing rugby?
I did for a bit but I had a few concussions, which was not ideal. They said to me, “Look, you’re not going to make a lock, you’re too short, and we’ve got this guy Kieran Read so we’ve pretty much covered the number eight space.” It turns out he did pretty well.
I didn’t really want to play socially, so that was the end of rugby.
What did you do after finishing your degree?
I went off travelling. I’d already been to South America in my gap year, and after university some friends and I drove across the United States. Afterwards my plan was to go to Central America, and I was about to get on a ferry to Honduras when I heard that I’d got an internship I’d applied for in Washington, DC. So off I went to live there for three months and work for a
“I had friends who worked on Capitol Hill, and through them I got to go to President Barack Obama’s reinauguration in January 2013.”
non-profit NGO that did Latin American development programmes.
It was very cool, I had a great time. I had friends who worked on Capitol Hill, and through them I got to go to President Barack Obama’s reinauguration in January 2013.
I met a lot of interesting people from all around the world who were politically engaged and it was a fascinating time. When my time was up, I decided I would walk across the States to the West Coast — I’d been watching Forrest Gump and thought it would be fun. But my boss was worried about me. She said, “You’re not doing that,” and bought me a plane ticket to the West Coast. From there I came home to Christchurch.
Was that when you got into real estate?
Eventually. I applied for embassy and political jobs and got nowhere. I thought with what I had done in Washington, DC and the fact that my degree had a minor in Spanish I would get a job, but I didn’t. I had to do something and then I saw an ad in the paper for a buyer’s agent. Through that I ended up joining Harcourts.
I sold for them for about a year and a half but within the first year I started looking at the auctioneers and thinking that looked like a lot of fun.
Did you instantly know that it was what you were meant to be doing?
I really loved it. I did an auctioneering course and I remember doing my first fake auction, standing in front of a rose bush. I was hooked straight away. There are only two times in my life when I can remember that sense of excitement — one was the first time I got lifted up in a lineout during a rugby game, and the second was standing in front of that rose bush.
I won the rising star award that year and knew it was what I wanted to do.
What makes a good auctioneer?
Being able to count is helpful! You’ve also got to have an understanding of people and their mindsets. And it helps to have confidence when it comes to standing in front of a room full of people. Sometimes you have to fake it until you make it. If you’re confident and can relax the buyers, that gives them confidence. But at the same time as relaxing them, you ‘ve got to be able to crank them up to buy.
My first auction was of a house that had been damaged in the Christchurch earthquake. It was a case of where is, as is. I remember being very nervous, but it sold under the hammer.
Does being national auction manager for Bayleys mean you get to see a lot of the country?
I do. I live in Christchurch but I spend Monday to Wednesday every week in Auckland doing auctions. Then I call auctions in Christchurch on Thursday, and often I will travel to other parts of the country on a Friday. I recently did 11 in Gisborne in a day and 10 in Queenstown. Just after Covid, I did 22 in Queenstown in one day. After a day like that, you feel like not talking for a while!
What do you do in your spare time?
I don’t get a huge amount of time off, but when I do, I keep pretty busy. My partner, Julianne Liebeck, and I have bought a vineyard almost an hour north of Christchurch and we’re building a house there. It’s going to be a beautiful spot to live. We won’t be hands-on with the vineyard, we’ll get someone in to look after the vines, but we’ll look forward to drinking the wine.
We also have an accommodation and events business in Christchurch called The Tack Rooms. We renovated two dilapidated former army barracks and they’re used for accommodation or events like private dining and pre-wedding gatherings.
This year we’ve published a journal called Consider that has a collection of stories and photos from around the world. My partner was the publisher and editor and I was the copy editor. I enjoyed doing that.
Any plans for the future?
Continuing to do my best in my job, getting the house finished and perhaps enjoying some Patton’s pinot. I’d like to do some more writing, and the one thing I really can’t wait to do is more travelling, once we’re allowed. I really miss that.
Favourite places you’ve been?
I love Greece. My partner lived there for 10 years and since we’ve been together we’ve been there to visit every year. And Iran was great. The people were so friendly.