Real estate is in the blood in the Horrobin family. Phil Horrobin went from selling homes in South Auckland to running City Realty, the largest Ray White group in New Zealand. His son Daniel now runs four of the group’s offices, including the super successful City Apartments agency.
What did you do before real estate Phil?
Phil: I was a motor engineer, I’ve always loved cars and motor racing and that was the first thing I did.
But prior to getting into real estate, I owned a hobby shop in the city, which was heavily into radio-controlled cars. Daniel came to work for me in the school holidays when he was about 15 and never went back to school.
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I said to my wife Dianne, “I’m really going to miss him when the holidays are over and I think he will learn more staying in the business.” He was keen and he ended up working with me for the next three years.
Why did you make the move to real estate?
Phil: The hobby shop business changed when shopping online started to become more popular. I thought about what I could do next and I’d always had an interest in real estate. It appealed because you could be your own boss.
So I started in South Auckland in 1998. The first property I sold was a lovely home in Papatoetoe. I ended up selling that house three more times. In 2002 I joined the Ray White office in Papakura as manager. My instructions were to grow it, so I did.
A couple of years later I got the opportunity to buy the City Apartments office. It was new and it was struggling a bit.
I couldn’t resist the challenge of trying to turn things around. That was when I suggested to Daniel that he should think about a career in real estate.
Daniel: You’d been suggesting it for a while.
Phil: I did a bit of a sales pitch on him - I thought it would be a great job for him. It took a bit of time for him to make the move.
Why were you reluctant, Daniel?
Daniel: I really enjoyed the job I was doing, which was being a rep for a company that sold mag wheels and tyres. Plus there was the worry of going from a really secure job to one that was commission-based. Dad said, “Just make the leap, you’ll be fine.” So I trusted him and did it.
Phil: Just as well it has worked out. I’d have been in trouble otherwise.
Daniel: We make a lot of decisions based on our gut in this family and on that particular day when he suggested it again, my gut told me it was time to do it. We worked together to start with and it went really well right from the beginning. I knew I was doing the right thing. I love what I do.
The pair both live in apartments and love the freedom that comes with apartment living. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Phil: My daughter Delanie is also in the business. She saw Daniel’s success and after coming in as a salesperson, she found she had a sway towards property management, so she is now the business development manager in that side of the business.
Can you remember the first property you sold, Daniel?
Daniel: It was a house in Papakura. First-home buyers wanted to put in an offer so I went to see them. I wrote out the offer and gave it to them to sign and they said, “We want to put a condition in.”
I had no idea what to do so I said, “My conditions book is in the car. I’ll just get it.” I shot out to the car, rang Dad and said, “What do I do?”
He talked me through it. I was sitting there in the car leaning the paper on the centre console and writing in the condition for a building report.
I went back in and they said, “Oh, we want solicitor’s approval as well.” And I said, “I’m going to have to go back to the car and refer to my book again.” So I rang Dad again and he helped me with that.
We got it done eventually but my blood pressure was going up and down! I thought I knew what I was doing but I didn’t. I learned a lot from Dad.
What is the most important thing you have learned from your dad?
Daniel: To be good to people and treat them well, in life in general as well as in real estate. He’s always been a great role model. He genuinely cares for everyone that works for him.
I am in awe of the way he turned the City Apartments business around. He took the business from rubble to standing tall as the number two Ray White office out of 1000 internationally. And he did it at a time when Kiwis had a love affair with the quarter-acre section dream and didn’t want to live in apartments.
Phil: We turned it into the highest volume sales business in Ray White internationally and won the REINZ award for the most volume of sales in one year.
That success must have felt great.
Phil: When I started out, the number one Ray White office for years was the Surfers Paradise one – nobody could catch them. But we did. I had watched them for years because they were very similar, selling lots of apartments, and they ended up coming to our office, seeing how we did things. That was definitely a highlight for me.
Daniel now runs City Apartments and three other branches, while I set up Ray White in Parnell. He’s surpassed his old man now. We do also have the property management business, a projects division and a mortgage advisory service.
Are you apartment dwellers yourselves?
Phil: Yes, we both live in apartments, Daniel’s in Freemans Bay and I’m in Remuera. Delanie also lives in an apartment. I love them – the security is great and they give you so much free time because you’re not having to mow lawns. And there can be a lot camaraderie between the owners in an apartment block.
Daniel: People are now starting to appreciate the great lifestyle.
Have you always lived in Auckland?
Phil: When the kids were younger I took the family to America for 18 months because of my obsession with motorsport. I wanted to be close to the action there.
We figured that it would be a good experience for them, living in another country. I didn’t race myself, I used to build the cars. I’d go away to a lot of race meetings and Daniel would often come with me – he was 11 or 12.
We lived in Fresno, California and for me being able to go to all the motor racing was like being a kid in a candy store, but after a while I realised I didn’t want my kids growing up there. We had a good time but the lifestyle was just not the same as ours in New Zealand.
The funny thing is when I got asked in primary school what I wanted to be when I grew up, for some reason I said a real estate agent. I didn’t actually know what one did, but I liked the sound of it.
