Aman Gulia lives and breathes real estate, and his passion for property is paying off. At just 29, he’s twice been the top Harcourts agent in New Zealand, for the months of June and August last year, and in 2021 he sold over $150 million worth of property. And with over 100 current listings, 2022 is looking good.
Q: When did you get into real estate?
In 2015. I came to New Zealand from New Delhi in 2011 to study mechanical engineering at Manukau Institute of Technology, and that led me to a few different opportunities, some following on from my degree, some not. I had always had a passion for property and in 2015, when I was running a company that helped people to subdivide their properties, I bought my own home in Massey. Being a first-time buyer was quite a daunting experience and it made me want to learn more about real estate, so I enrolled in a course and ended up becoming a salesperson.
Q: When did things really start to take off?
Start your property search
I started out working with a company that sold properties off the plans, and then I worked for another company. But the big shift for me came in July 2020, when I ended up at a beach café in Takapuna with David Findlay, the owner of Harcourts JK Realty in Mt Albert, where I work, discussing how development would be the next big thing.
We talked about how a lot of people were sitting on untouched parcels of land which could be intensified, and how there was money on the table for both homeowners and developers. We felt there was more that could be done in this area so we came up with a strategy then and there.
I said to Dave, “I want to be number one in New Zealand in the next 12 months,” and he just smiled at me. By June the next year I was number one for Harcourts for that month.
Q: How did you achieve that?
After the meeting with Dave, we put some plans in place. A month and a half later, I did a sale in Pt Chevalier that involved two neighbours selling their properties together. The owner of the house at the back, which had a lot of land, wanted to sell, so I approached the owner of the front property, which had the road frontage, and explained that selling both together would be the perfect opportunity for a developer. Together, they were a gold mine and I got $6m for them.
Gulia: “I can do it because I love it so much. It does not ever feel like work to me.” Photo / Fiona Goodall
That was September 2020 and the beginning of my successful journey. After that I sold two houses, three houses, and eight houses together. People started to contact me about unconventional deals. For one sale, I sold three properties in Pt Chev and two of the owners took the houses with them.
I learned from each sale and was able to upskill my real estate knowledge. After becoming the number one salesperson in June 2021, I was number one again in August. It was one of my biggest months, even though Delta had hit and we went into level four lockdown.
Q: Why did you do so well in lockdown?
I knew how to avoid getting caught up in external panic and noise, to put my head down and just focus on doing an amazing job for my clients. From memory, I sold around $55m worth of property that month, even though it was difficult because of lockdown.
Our office was the number one nationwide office, medium group, and after these achievements Dave and I knew we could take this to the next level, growing my brand and his business together. He started Development Projects Ltd and I teamed up with my now business partner, Joe Steel, who is a former Harcourts franchise owner. In 2021 Team Aman and Joe sold over $150m of property.
We currently have over 100 listings, which are not just properties that are selling to developers. They include a $2m apartment, a $7m house in Gulf Harbour, $6m house in Onehunga, a $25m piece of land in Papatoetoe and a $50m piece of land in Drury. And we have six off-the-plans townhouses.
Q: How do you juggle all of this?
I can do it because I love it so much. It does not ever feel like work to me. Plus Joe and I have a team of 10, and we have hand-picked every agent. We have a team that looks after off-the-plans, one that looks after residential, one that looks after development. Having the right team is very important.
I am very organised. I am the first one into the office at 5.30am and I leave the office last. My day usually ends around 10.30pm.
Q: Do you have time to have a life outside of real estate?
I do make time to do other things, it is important. I go to the gym, I play social soccer and I have just got into golf so I am spending a bit of time on the driving range. I try to spend time with my friends, and my girlfriend loves travelling, so we hope to do more of that once places start opening up.
After working all day I like to go home and watch a real estate show on television – that’s relaxation for me. My absolute favourite is Millionaire Listing New York. I have learned a lot from watching that show. We do things differently here but it is good to see how other people do things.
I also like to read real estate books and OneRoof articles or listen to podcasts or go through YouTube videos, looking at what real estate agents are doing overseas.
Q: Have you had any particularly memorable sales?
There have been a lot, but one that stands out was in Henderson Valley. I was contacted by a home owner who wanted to sell their house, and the also the rental property they owned in front of their home. I looked around at the location and saw there wasn’t much development happening. I spoke to other owners in the neighbourhood and ended up getting eight properties together to sell. I found a developer who could see it was an amazing site, and got the deal done. If each property had sold individually they would have got between $700,000 and $900,000. I ended up selling the eight of them for $10m.
It was memorable for me because there was a lot of emotion involved – some of the owners had lived there for 30, 40 or 50 years – and I spent a lot of time making sure everyone was happy.
Q: Do you still have the house in Massey that started all of this?
No, I sold it. Now I live in Castor Bay. I like living by the beach, and I found a place with a big section. It’s a 1970s house, nice and quirky, 209sqm on a 1351sqm site. I thought it was a good deal, so I bought it.
