Cici Wang found she had a natural talent for selling property when she started in real estate in 1998. Today she has a long list of accolades to her name, including being the top salesperson at Barfoot & Thompson’s Remuera office on numerous occasions.
Q: What did you do before real estate?
I did a degree in mechanical engineering in Shanghai, where I was born and grew up. I then worked for a French company that manufactured steel in Shanghai and exported it to France. It was a good job with a good income, and I used to travel a lot to France and also to Spain, because our company had a branch there. I would go to Beijing to the embassies to get visas and one day I walked past the New Zealand embassy, and I was interested. I thought, Why not check it out? I got an interview and thought, I will go home and think about this. After my second interview I got a permanent resident’s visa. That’s how I ended up coming to New Zealand with my husband in December, 1996.
Q: Did you know much about the country?
Start your property search
They asked me what I knew in the interview and I told them, “I know there are a lot of sheep and there’s blue sky and boats.” I thought that when I came to Auckland I would see a lot of sheep everywhere. Now my friends are shocked and they say, “How could you just come here when you didn’t know anything about New Zealand?” But I think it is in my blood – I am always willing to try something new. And I was still young, only in my twenties. You take more risks when you are young. I knew that it if didn’t work out, I could always go home to China.
Q: Was it difficult to settle into a new country?
It was hard at first. I could speak English but I didn’t know anybody. Luckily the New Zealand people were very kind and honest and willing to help me. Although on my first day in the country, I went out from my rental property in New Lynn to buy some cups at the Warehouse and on the way back, I got lost. I didn’t have a map, there was no GPS on the phone then. I could not find a single person on the street to ask for help, there was nobody around. It had taken me 10 minutes to walk there, it took me two hours to get home.
Auckland was very different to Shanghai, a completely different culture. But I liked the people and the landscape and the weather. I wanted to stay and New Zealand is now my second mother country. I love it.
Q: How did you get into real estate?
In 1997, the year after I arrived, I found I was pregnant. I felt I needed to find a job that would give me more flexible time to look after my child and I thought real estate would suit me well. I started two months after my daughter was born in 1998 but I found it was not easy at all. I had less time than I would have had in a regular 9-5 office job. In real estate you work long hours.
I worked for LJ Hooker in Blockhouse Bay and it was a tough time. But I became a top agent very quickly and I got the LJ Hooker award for the most properties sold in the North Island in 1999.
Q: Why do you think you did so well so quickly?
I feel like real estate came naturally to me because I truly love property. I am fascinated by houses and wherever I go, not just in Auckland, I am always looking at houses – the different styles, the building materials, the landscaping. It’s like fashion, which I like as well. Each house has its own style which will appeal to different people. Every time I step into a new house, I find it exciting, and I enjoy helping people to find the unique house that will match their personal style.
Q: You’re still doing very well, all these years later – what’s the secret of your success?
I enjoy what I do. If you treat it as a 9-5 job I don’t think you can be very successful in real estate. I work long hours – before I go to bed I always reply to every email in my inbox. I never leave my emails unread and unanswered. My clients know they can always reach me when they want me.
I treat every house I sell as if I own the property and I always think, What is the best thing for the owner? The priority is not only to sell the property but to get the best price for the vendor. They are selling their biggest asset so it is about helping them to make a step forward in their future life.
Wang finds that gardening is a great way to ease pressure. Photo / Fiona Goodall
As the world becomes more globalised, understanding different cultures is essential to conducting business. I speak fluent Mandarin and because I have worked here for so long, I also understand Kiwis. I have vendors and purchasers from both cultures.
Also, I have wide connections and a large network. I get a lot of referrals and recommendations. I like meeting people and communicating with them, and I have met so many wonderful people, some who have become good friends. But over the last two years, since Covid, I have noticed that I have had a lot more clients from overseas that I have never met.
Q: Are they vendors or purchasers?
Both. It is a lot easier now to deal with clients who are overseas because of the technology we have – it was much harder years ago. People are getting very used to doing everything online when it comes to buying and selling their properties. I sold a property in Mt Wellington for a client who was in Perth. It went very well and they said to me, “Cici, we also have a house in Perth, can you sell that for us from New Zealand?” I had to say, “No, I am sorry, but I can’t do that.”
Something else I have noticed is that lately I seem to have sold quite a few houses for people getting divorced. It is sad that they have to sell the house but the thing I feel happy about is that getting a good result can make both the husband and the wife happy during this difficult period. One texted me to say the result was above their expectations and they could go on to the next period of their life now. That is good to hear because I always try to make people feel calm and cheerful.
Q: Have you had any particularly memorable experiences in real estate?
I have had many, but one of the latest was helping to find a home for a Kiwi man who was getting a divorce, and was also a pilot who had lost his job because of Covid. His elderly parents were supporting him to buy an apartment, and they found somewhere they liked. After I told the vendor the whole story, they signed the contract straight away. When I rang to tell the parents, whose son was with them, the news that the deal was done I could hear everyone crying down the phone. I was sitting in my car with tears in my eyes. They had suffered in their family, with Covid and divorce, and I was so happy I could help during this painful period.
Q: What do you do in your spare time?
I love gardening. When I am in the garden, it releases any pressure I might be feeling. I am also a badminton player, I play every week.
One of my big interests is travelling around the world and I have been lucky to go to a lot of countries. I really like Italy, especially Florence, and Paris. I like the history, the castles, the churches of Western Europe. I am looking forward to flying again when Covid is finished. I also haven’t had the chance to go back to China since the border has been closed so I hope to do that.
