North Shore auctioneer wins national title

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North Shore auctioneer wins national Harcourts title

5 June 2008 – North Shore real estate professional Andrew North, 33, has won the coveted title of Harcourts New Zealand Auctioneer of the Year, ahead of 14 others who also vied for the honour in a tough competition witnessed by hundreds last week.

The announcement was made at a black-tie Harcourts awards dinner in Christchurch on Wednesday night following the hotly-contested Harcourts Open Auctioneers Competition, a two-part event that culminates with four finalists each calling an auction in front of a crowd of around 500, including three independent judges. 

Mr North, who started his real estate career as a sales consultant in Christchurch 10 years ago and is now co-owner of four Harcourts offices in North Shore City and also the branch manager of Harcourts Takapuna, has fast become one of the most popular and successful Harcourts auctioneers in Auckland and North Shore City.

Harcourts National Auction Manager Phil McGoldrick says Mr North topped a group of outstanding competitors who have all worked hard to hone their professional auctioneering skills for the benefit of Harcourts clients.

“In the final Andrew in particular showed he’s really mastered the craft, combining his natural mastery of words with an array of specialist auctioneering skills,” Mr McGoldrick says.  “During his winning call the connection he made with the audience and the various bidders was excellent, his salesmanship was superb and he described the property very well too.  He also proved to the judges that he had exceptional knowledge of the auction contract, which really set him apart.”

A finalist last year Mr North took out the highly sought-after title ahead of three other finalists:

Grant Child from Harcourts Taupo, an experienced auctioneer who was a finalist last year and the winner in 2006;
First-time finalist Chris Kennedy, a top-performing auctioneer and also the owner of Harcourts offices in Dunedin, Mosgiel and Balclutha;
Sabine Davison from Harcourts Orewa, an up and coming auctioneer who won Harcourts’ novice auctioneers competition last year.

Mr North says he is delighted to have taken out the Auctioneer of the Year title in just his eighth year auctioneering.

“Harcourts has a proud tradition of auctioneering training and success and some outstanding and hugely experienced auctioneers amongst our ranks so winning the competition was a great thrill, and a goal I’ve definitely been aiming for.”

Mr North says while he finds auction competitions more stressful than the real thing, he sees them as a vital part of his professional development.

“They’re an annual opportunity to analyse what you’re doing as an auctioneer, to get some feedback from the judges and to see how you compare to others. Ultimately they make you sharper out in the field.”

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