Sarah Liu is consistently in the top 5 per cent of agents at Bayleys, having sold over $300 million worth of properties in her decade in the job. A self-confessed lover of beautiful homes, she specialises in luxury properties, and has sold some of Auckland’s most stunning – and expensive – houses. The one she’s most proud of even has a Hollywood connection.
Q: What did you do before real estate?
After doing a bachelor’s degree majoring in finance and then a master’s in economics, I was a manager at a major Chinese bank. My job involved overseeing financial operations and managing a team of professionals. That experience was invaluable when I moved to real estate.
My husband and I moved to New Zealand 20 years ago with our oldest son. We wanted to get some experience overseas. We chose New Zealand because we heard good things about it, that the people were very friendly. We looked at some photos and thought, ‘that looks like paradise’.
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Q: Did it live up to your expectations?
It did. New Zealand is very beautiful and the people are so nice. We decided to go to university first to get some more qualifications. I did a diploma majoring in business administration. At the beginning we thought we would go back to China after we had got some knowledge and experience in New Zealand. But we fell in love with it and decided to stay.
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Also, my youngest son, who was born here, has a very serious allergy to peanuts and in China there are peanuts everywhere. We thought it would be safer for him to stay in New Zealand and we are very glad we made that decision.
Q: How did you end up in real estate?
Because I had small children, I wanted to find a job that was flexible and allowed me to control my time. Working in a bank is not very flexible. I’ve always loved beautiful houses and some friends who were moving to New Zealand said to me, “Sarah, can you introduce us to some beautiful property?” I organised some viewings for them and that made me think maybe I could be a real estate agent. I thought that would be more flexible for me, so I became a real estate agent nearly 10 years ago.
Q: Was it hard starting out in a new industry?
It was because when you have no experience, who will trust you? They won’t hand you their property to sell if you haven’t done it before. That’s a very risky thing to do. So I started out as a buyer’s agent, taking people to look at houses. You do get a little bit of the commission if they buy the house, but not very much. I was lucky because my husband was working and could support the family.
One of Liu's recent listings, a Fearon Hay-designed home on Shore Road, in Auckland's Remuera. It sold for close to $13m. Photo / Supplied
I worked really hard as a buyer’s agent to help people find the right house for them. I drove all over Auckland. I had people who were looking for a lifestyle property in Queenstown so I flew down there with them. My clients could see I was working really hard and eventually, when one of them decided to sell, they gave me the listing because they knew I would do my best for them. Gradually, I got more and more listings, as people were trusting me.
Q: Are luxury homes harder to sell?
They can be because you do have a smaller pool of buyers. Not so many people have $10m or $20m to spend on a house. But I like the challenge of finding the person who will love that house, and can afford to pay that kind of money. I love seeing these beautiful homes and helping the vendor to sell them to someone who will love it.
Q: Is it a challenge dealing with the high net worth individuals who buy and sell these homes?
It can be. Often they have very strong personalities. That has got them where they are. They can be very good negotiators because that is part of their business. You need to be strong to deal with them but not aggressive. I am quite a soft person and I think people feel comfortable with me. My background in economics helps me because I can talk to them about the housing market and the property cycle and what is going on economically.
Q: Why do you think you’ve done so well?
I think it is a combination of having a deep understanding of the local market and experience in finance, which help me to provide tailored advice. Also I have been very committed to providing exceptional service. I go above and beyond to understand my clients’ needs and ensure a stress-free transaction.
Inside the Rawene Avenue rented by Hollywood star Jason Statham while he was filming in New Zealand. The property is one of New Zealand's most striking houses. Liu got more than $17m for it. Photo / Ted Baghurst
Statham and his partner Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Statham's star power meant the Rawene Ave home got global attention. Photo / Getty Images
I think being able to build strong relationships with clients and industry professionals has been instrumental in my success. Trust and rapport are essential in real estate and I work hard to cultivate those qualities. I have ended up becoming good friends with some of my clients.
Q: What are your most memorable sales?
The sale I am most proud of was of a house on Rawene Avenue, in Westmere. There were a lot of stories about the house, it had had movie star Jason Statham staying there. It was a very beautiful home right by the water. It had been with some other agents but they didn’t get it sold. My friend introduced me to the owner and I just loved it, so I was very enthusiastic. I got it sold for $17.68m, which was much higher than the CV of $12m.
The other house that was very memorable was on Shore Road, in Remuera. It was very luxurious, designed by the famous Fearon Hay architects. That sold for almost $13m – almost $6m over the CV.
I also found the buyer for a beautiful home in Mellons Bay that was listed by another agent. My buyer paid $26.3m for the house.
Q: What do you do when you are not working?
I don’t have a lot of free time because work is very busy but I like to give back to my community, either through my church or charity organisations. I feel that I have been very blessed so I want to help out. I also like to do yoga and listen to music, and when I can, I like to travel. When my children were little we did quite a few cruises and went to some wonderful places. I especially like Italy – it’s so beautiful and I love the culture. And the coffee.
Q: Do you ever wish you could buy some of these homes you sell?
We don’t have the ability to buy at the level of many of the homes I sell but I just like to see how beautiful they are and enjoy looking at them. I don’t feel the need to own them. Helping other people to be able to own them is enough for me.
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