Mark Sumich wins Australasian Auctioneering Championship

Media Release : Thursday, 22 September 2011

Mark Sumich wins Australasian Auctioneering Championship third time running

Mark Sumich of Sumich Realty, Auckland, has won the prestigious Australasian Auctioneering Championship for his third time! Kiwis cleaned up at the Championship award dinner in Melbourne Wednesday night with Harcourts’ Andrew North taking second place.

The two days of head-to-head competition represented the most professional and skilled auctioneers that the Australian states and New Zealand has to offer, it is a significant honour to win.

Neil Laws, Chairperson of the Steering Committee, congratulated Mark Sumich for the professional and entertaining auction he conducted, “After viewing 21 auctions over the past two days, the judges determined that, of the 16 contestants, Mark Sumich displayed the best combination of skill and technical knowledge. It is particularly significant that he has now won the Championship three times.”

“The devised bidding process tested the auctioneers’ skill, attention and ability to think on their feet. To be successful, they had to deal with – not unlike many auctions each weekend – a wide range of testing questions and unpredictable bids,” he said.

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, Helen O’Sullivan, crossed the ditch for the event. “We’re so proud of our boys and the fact that so many New Zealanders have come across to support them. It shows what a high calibre crop of competitors we have and the success of the industry events in raising the standard of auction performance.”

“Our data indicates that around 20% of properties nationally are sold at auction, more in some parts of the country. The auctioneer is obviously a critical part of gaining the best possible value for the vendor in that process, and it’s a tough role. These combined championships are an important part of giving auctioneers an opportunity to hone their skills, and to learn from and test themselves against the best.“

The 2011 finalists were Mark Sumich (NZ), Michael Fenn (SA), Andrew North (NZ), Charlie Powell (NSW) & Adrian Butera (VIC).

Included among the recent winners of the Australasian Real Estate Institutes’ Auctioneering Championship are:

2010 Jason Andrew (QLD)

2009 Phil McGoldrick (NZ)

2008 Mark Sumich (NZ)

2007 Mark Sumich (NZ)

2006 Scott Kennedy-Green (NSW)

2005 Justin Long (VIC).

ENDS.,

© Scoop Media