It was a love of horses and the discipline, dedication and compassion involved in riding them professionally that provided the foundation for Ryan Teece’s thriving real estate career. The other half of Hits radio host Matty McLean spills the beans on life and property.
Q: How did you get into real estate?
A lot of people who get into real estate tend to have family ties or connections to the industry. I didn’t. I grew up on a farm and was obsessed with horses. When I first left school, I worked for a family in Rotorua called the Duncans. They owned Duncan Realty at the time, so while I was working with their horses, I was observing this industry that I knew nothing about and found it really fascinating.
As a kid, I loved anything to do with property. I would draw floorplans and that sort of thing – I acknowledge that’s weird! – so I always thought I’d go into architecture or interior design. I had never really considered real estate.
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Q: Why not?
Back then the real estate agents I knew were semi-retired or had other careers. It didn’t seem like something I could do until I met the Duncans. I saw the incredible business they were running and how well it worked for them and their family – they’re very well-regarded in that area.
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So I kind of fell into it because of that. The last season I worked for them they only had a few horses so it was quite boring and they said, “You should come and do some real estate for us”. So I got my license in 2010 but didn’t want to do it full-time straight away as I was still very committed to my horses and there were still things I wanted to do overseas.
But I owe them a lot. Even now they’re still great mentors. I’m really lucky to have them.
Q: When did you decide to go full-time?
Around 2017. That’s when I left horse riding. I used to ride professionally, competing in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. I loved it, but very hard work. It did teach me discipline, though, which has helped me in real estate. I’m not afraid of hard work. Even on the days you don’t want to do it, you’ve still got to get up and feed the horses.
Q: What’s kept you passionate about your real estate career?
I love the connections I make with people. Many of my clients have become good friends and we still catch up regularly, even though they’re not planning on selling or buying anytime soon. It sounds cliché but I genuinely love property. I’m fascinated by architecture and finding out the history of homes.
Teece: "It sounds cliché but I genuinely love property as well. I’m fascinated by architecture and finding out the history of homes." Photo / Fiona Goodall
Q: Any memorable sales?
It’s easy to think of the high-value stuff, but one that jumps out is a modest, brick and tile house in Hillsborough. The vendor was 94 – she’d bought the section with her husband in the late ‘50s. She had never sold a house before but she was fiercely independent. Her kids were involved in some ways but she was the decision maker, as her husband had passed away a long time ago. It was honestly one of the best experiences because she 100% trusted me, which is really hard when you’re that age and have never done it before. We ended up selling it for about $500,000 above the reserve.
That’s the kind of high I chase in real estate – meeting people like that and doing a really good job for them.
Q: You recently changed agencies to Whitefox. Why?
It’s been a real shift. I’m not going to lie, I did struggle in a lot of ways in the industry – there’s a lot of interesting people in it. I’ve always had in the back of my mind that I wasn’t 100% sure if I loved the industry itself, even though I loved my job. But shifting to Whitefox has highlighted it doesn’t have to be like that and there are people like me, who do it the same way I do.
I’m loving the people I work with. We’re in a cool environment, connecting to incredible minds.
Q: What do you do to relax when you have a spare moment?
That’s a bit of a luxury in real estate! My mind is always quite busy so I try and do stuff that switches that off. I’ve just gotten back into swimming, which I haven’t done since I was a kid. It means my phone is away and I’m just in the pool and I don’t have to think about anything else, which is quite nice.
Teece and husband Matty McLean. "His job is pretty weird too so any time we can find together is often quite fleeting," Teece says. Photo / Supplied
Matty and I love hiking so we’ll go out into the bush when it's sunny. His job is pretty weird too so any time we can find together is often quite fleeting, but we’ll try and take the dog for a nice walk and things like that.
Q: Anything horse-related?
I still am involved in the industry. I’m an ambassador for Auckland Thoroughbred racing. So still get out and about and go to the race days and enjoy that side of it as well.
Q: What’s next for you?
I’ve just been made sales director for Whitefox Auckland. I’ve always kind of fallen into a helper role. Even back when I rode horses, I’d go to nationals and miss my own competitions to help people that I trained. I get a higher buzz watching people succeed rather than myself in some ways. So getting the opportunity to lead the team up here is fun.
We’re not a huge company but we are growing. Our network is expanding almost monthly at the moment, which is very cool as well.
I definitely had imposter syndrome at the beginning but I’ve learnt that’s a good thing because it just means I want to do a really good job! Ultimately in my personal business, I want to get to a point where I can be a little bit fussier on the homes that I sell and who I sell for. I don’t really want to concentrate on a specific area and I never have. I’ve got a listing coming up in Kerikeri which is an incredible property and will be so much fun. I love something slightly different.
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