'I still take a photo every time I put a sold sticker on a board'

Edward Pack has been in the real estate industry for 10 years, and for the last two he has been the top selling agent at Bayley’s Ponsonby office. But he’s not one to rest on his laurels – he says success only spurs him on to work harder.

Congratulations on achieving the top spot for the second year running.

Thank you. It’s exciting and I feel very lucky to be working alongside some of the top agents in the country, who set the bar really high. It makes me want to continue doing better and better. I have been doing this for a while now but I genuinely feel like I have only just started and I have still got a lot to prove. I feel like the sky is the limit in terms of what can be achieved in real estate.

A decade into your career, do you still get a kick out of what you do?

Absolutely. I still take a photo every time I put a sold sticker on a board. It’s always a thrill, and every sale gives me a huge sense of pride. My level of enthusiasm is the same no matter what the price. I wake up every morning smiling because I get to do what I do for a living.

Surely it can’t be fabulous all the time?

You do have your bad days, without a doubt. There are some very tough times in real estate, when you go from the heights of exhilaration because you’ve just sold a house for a really great price, through to rock bottom because a property didn’t sell at auction or a deal falls through and you know that is going to be devastating for the owners. It can be really hard having to deliver bad news like that, and as the agent you have to be the rock for your clients and just keep going until you find a way to navigate to the finish line. You learn to be resilient and to look for solutions.

My attitude is to celebrate the small achievements as much as the really huge ones – that is a way of keeping things balanced.

Why did you go into real estate?

I have always been interested in property and the way people live their lives. My mother, Jen Pack, has her own interior design business and she and my dad Alan created beautiful homes when I was growing up. Thanks to them I got to appreciate all aspects of a property, from architecture and art to interiors and gardens. Without really realizing it, I think I built up a visual dialogue around how homes can look and that has helped me when it comes to helping clients prepare their homes for sale. I can advise them on what they need to do to present the house well.

Was real estate a career option at school?

No, unfortunately. It wasn’t something my careers advisor suggested which I think is a shame as it is an incredible industry to get into as a young person. It teaches you a range of valuable skills, not just how to sell and to market, but how to deal with people in difficult situations and have empathy and compassion.

You were still quite young when you started out, weren’t you?

I was in my mid-twenties. I’d gone overseas for my OE then came back to New Zealand to study business and marketing. Some of my friends were getting into property and real estate and it seemed a good idea to get my real estate licence. It didn’t take me long to realise that this was the career for me. My dad always said the real estate industry had my name all over it and I think he was right. I feel that is exactly what I am meant to be doing with my life.

What advice would you give twenty-somethings considering real estate?

It’s a great career to have. It helps to have really good mentors. I was so lucky to have Barry Thom and Grant Lynch (the founders of UP Real Estate) as my mentors and they taught me so much. I have continued to learn and develop my business since joining Bayleys three years ago and I’ve had a lot of support from everyone here. Bayleys is an incredible company to be part of.

Support is so important. I grew up with amazing, loving parents who were so encouraging of me and what I wanted to do.

And I couldn’t do what I do without my partner Mads (Madeleine). She’s been a huge part of my success and my number one fan as well as my sounding board. I am also really close to my stister Poppie, who lives in Sydney. We speak pretty much every day.

Do you get much free time?

I do tend to live and breathe real estate – I think about it 24/7. But I also love to spend time with my family, they are my everything. Mads and I have a daughter called Freddie who is a year and a half, and we have another baby on the way which we are thrilled about. I’m also blessed to have a wide group of amazing friends. I also like to run to keep fit. I ran competitive marathons and trained really hard for years to run a sub-three hour marathon. When I finally did it in two hours and 57 minutes, I thought , I am never putting my body through that again. I think I still do have a few competitive marathons left in me but not just at the moment.

When was the last time you bought and sold a house yourself?

Just recently actually. We bought straight after lockdown then put our place on the market and sold relatively quickly. It was useful though to go through the process because it reminds you what it is like to be the vendor and the feelings they go through.