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The Australian real estate network established 70 offices across the ditch in just a year.
For Angus Raine, executive chairman of real estate megabrand Raine & Horne, 2023 was a year of significant change.
Exactly one year ago, the brand announced its launch into the New Zealand property market. At the time, Raine acknowledged that the expansion would be a challenge, but expressed confidence in the brand’s ability to attract young New Zealand talents due to its established history and tech offerings.
“Watch this space,” the executive chairman had advised.
Over the following months, the brand gradually grew to encompass 13 New Zealand offices, and in December 2023 Raine & Horne announced the acquisition of Mike Pero Real Estate, which would add 55 principals and offices to their trans-Tasman operations.
According to Raine, the network would not have been able to make good on its aggressive strategy had it not grounded itself in a strong knowledge of the local market.
“There has been a significant appetite in New Zealand for a large real estate brand with the heritage, technology and support that we offer,” he said.
Speaking on the close connections between the two countries, Raine observed that “there’s a notable alignment in our agency practices, paving the way for our continued successful expansion”.
Similarities in each country’s real estate market, as well as close historical and political ties, offered Raine & Horne a crucial leg-up.
Equally important to Raine & Horne’s expansion was its proptech offerings.
Paul Billinghurst, co-principal of the Raine & Horne NRG Group in the Bay of Plenty and Hauraki region, recently adopted the brand’s Amplify technology into the agency’s operations, and expressed enthusiasm for the addition.
“It’s a great piece of technology,” said Billinghurst. “Since joining Raine & Horne in August 2023, we’ve run 85 campaigns exposed to 573,759 groups. I’m getting great feedback from both team and customers about our social media presence.”
Raine also pointed to the brand’s homegrown digital platform DigiKitPlus as an innovation that has proven popular with New Zealand agencies.
“We have always been big innovators in the proptech space,” said Raine. “Our appraisal platform, DigiKitPlus, is attracting an influx of new offices into our network.”
