Ex-Block judge on why she gets her kicks from real estate

Victoria Bidwell has been interested in property since she was a child, when she would read out For Sale listings in the paper to her parents, trying to convince them to buy a new house. She has gone on to become one of Bayleys’ top agents, with close to $700m in sales and numerous awards to her name. But it’s been an interesting route to getting where she is today.

What was your first job?

I was a professional ballet dancer. My mum sent me to ballet classes when I was a child because I was so terribly shy and she thought it might help. I immediately loved it and had some natural talent but I was also very hard-working and I am quite an obsessive person with things I love. I went through the National Ballet School and then onto the New Zealand Ballet Company.

I wanted to retire from ballet while I was still at my peak. I left for a year but then I went back when the possibility of dancing in China arose, which would have been amazing. The first six weeks back dancing full-time I thought I was going to die – I could hardly move, I was so sore after a year away. I realised that you get to an age where it is just so hard on your body. Plus I was engaged by then and it is very difficult to have a “normal life” as a dancer because you are away on tour so much. I was in my late twenties when I retired. It was a few years before the Ballet Company went to China.

Did you think about a career in real estate then?

No not at that time.

After living on a pauper’s salary as a dancer, going to a commission-based job would have terrified me. I wanted something interesting but I didn’t know what. When you do a job like being a ballet dancer, people identify you with what you do rather than who you are. When you stop, you think, "who am I now?" I went to recruitment consultants to find out what I was suited to and after a while I thought, actually, I’d love to do this job. So I created a new career, then I started my own business with two other women, GBL Personnel. We had a wonderful time and created one of Wellington’s top recruitment companies. It was 1984 and we were just coming out of a wage and price freeze under (former prime minister) Muldoon. Things were so different then - everyone said three women in business would never work. All of the banks except one wanted our husbands to act as guarantors even though they had nothing to do with the business. Once our families came along we sold out to our staff members. I was pregnant with my second child and I decided I didn’t want the commitment of my own business - I wanted to be with my children. I loved motherhood.

Did moving into real estate allow you to do that?

First, I had some time off with my children (I have two sons and a daughter) and then worked in human resources at Victoria University before making the decision to move into real estate. I didn’t fall into real estate - I had planned to do it when the time was right and family commitments allowed it. My husband Stephen was in real estate. We met through friends but got to know each other when he showed me houses. One of the reasons I loved real estate was that you could be flexible and arrange your day to allow for things like picking the kids up from school or go to their sports events. Also, I don’t like routine so I enjoy the random hours and effectively having my own business.

Was it difficult making the move from Wellington to Auckland?

It took me a while to find my feet because I only knew two people when we moved up here in 2002, so I had no networks or connections. In fact, I wasn’t intending to be an agent anymore because although I loved the job, it is commission-driven. I came from the touchy-feely HR industry where it was all about being in a team, and real estate was a culture shock. But in Auckland I went to work for Bayleys and it was completely different. It is a family firm and they have a wonderful culture.

Why do you think you have done so well in real estate?

I think coming from the discipline of a ballet background has really helped me. Like dancing, you have to be dedicated and hard-working, and it becomes your lifestyle. It is not just a job. When I was first getting established and going to do a submission to try to get a listing or negotiating a sale I would look at what I did as a performance. I would do as much preparation as I could beforehand – doing research was like rehearsing – and then give the performance to the best of my ability. I found I had a natural instinct negotiating and still get a real buzz out of achieving a great result.

Did your performing background also help when you were asked to judge the first series of The Block?

Definitely. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it. I was surprised how popular it was. People would stop me in the street and get upset about the room we had chosen as the winner or ask, “Why did you pick that bedroom? The other ones were better!”

After the first series I did some consulting work for the show but I couldn’t commit to judging because of the time it took to film. I had to be available for nine or 10 weekends in a row and with my work, I need to be available at weekends. It was too much.

After nearly two decades in the business, do you still get a kick out of selling homes?

Oh yes, I get very excited. I specialise in waterfront and top end properties in the Takapuna/Milford and Devonport areas and I’ve sold a lot of really amazing houses and met so many interesting and wonderful people One house I sold set the record for the highest residential sale for Bayleys and on the North Shore at the time – it was $11.5m. It was huge at the time but has been surpassed now.

You get to meet many wonderful people in this job. You became very immersed in people’s lives for a short time dealing with something that is very important to them – their home – and you always want to do your best for them.

Do you still dance?

Only when I’ve had a few wines! I go to the gym and do yoga, and I walk around Mt Victoria in Devonport every day, but it is very difficult to commit to going to a regular dance class in this job. However, a friend and I have decided we are going to do adult ballet classes this year. My brain still thinks my body can do these things but then I look in the mirror and think, Oh no. But you have to get beyond that and enjoy it.