New Brokers join Colliers offices

The Colliers North Shore and West Auckland offices have bolstered their brokerage capacity with the addition of new team members.

Blair Smith recently began as a Sales and Leasing Broker in the North Shore team, while Sam Mackarell has moved into brokerage at the West Auckland office following a year learning the ropes as a Team Assistant and then Office Manager.

They came from different backgrounds before moving into property with Smith, an avid cricketer who still plays for senior club side East Coast Bays, working as a personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach.

Mackarell spent seven years as a primary school teacher in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Real estate has long been in Smith’s blood with a grandfather who worked in the industry, and he says the time is right for him to move into the property sector where he will focus on the commercial and industrial markets in Takapuna, Birkenhead, Belmont, Devonport, and Browns Bay.

“Having lived in the North Shore most of my life I am really passionate about being able to further my career in this area,” Smith says.

“There are some hugely successful Brokers in the North Shore team so being able to work alongside them and develop my skills is a great opportunity.”

The Colliers North Shore office have been named the Small Commercial & Industrial Office of the Year in five of the past six years at the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Awards, underscoring their dominance of the local market.

North Shore-based Directors Shoneet Chand and Matt Prentice jointly won the Overall Commercial & Industrial Salesperson of the Year award at last year’s REINZ Awards, an award for salespeople that work in a partnership.

Jimmy O’Brien, Director at Colliers Auckland North, says they’re excited to have Smith on board and believe he’s the right fit for their team.

“Blair has outstanding connections to the local area through his background on the North Shore and having those links will put him in a great position to develop as a Broker,” O’Brien says.

“Our philosophy in our office centres around ‘fewer better people’ so while we are a small team, we are full of high performers, and we welcome Blair to our office and look forward to seeing him develop.”

Mackarell first thought about joining the property sector following a chance meeting with Colliers International Sales Director of Capital Markets Richard Kirke a couple of years ago and Kirke continues to offer Mackarell mentoring and advice.

“I was thinking about taking on a new challenge and after meeting with Richard, I knew it would be a sector I could be successful in and now I am ready to get started and build a presence in the market,” Mackarell says.

“During the past year I have been lucky to work with seasoned Brokers Caroline Cornish and Benson Tarm at Colliers who have been generous in sharing their time and expertise.”

The West Auckland office is led by General Manager Nelson Raines who joined Colliers last year.

“We are thrilled to welcome a talented, energetic, and well-connected Broker to the team,” Raines says.

“Sam has proven himself to be an incredibly quick learner in his previous roles at Colliers and we are confident he will thrive in brokerage due to his outgoing nature and ability to build strong relationships.”

- Supplied by Colliers