It’s no surprise that Tim Hawes has ended up selling Auckland houses for a living. His mum Lesley was a hugely successful salesperson who founded The Locals Ltd – otherwise known as Ray White Kingsland – with help from his dad Chris and also his sisters Rachel and Ruth, who now co-own the business with Tim. But in fact, real estate wasn’t his first career choice.
Q: You’ve been on The Block a couple of times selling houses – last year it was Meg and Dan’s house in Point Chevalier, which fetched $2.7 million. How was that?
It was super-fun. I felt quite comfortable with it although it isn’t the normal real estate process. It was good to be able to peep behind the curtain and see how these shows are made. There were some challenges, such as filming schedules that kept changing, and there were definitely a lot of problem solving needed, but we got to work with a really nice bunch of people and the homes turned out to be very cool.
It didn’t make me think I’d like to do reality TV myself, although my wife and I have often joked that we would be great TV talent. Not that we would be effective at winning something like The Block, but give us a flat pack to make up and it’s entertaining. I think I should stick at what I am good at, and that’s selling houses.
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Q: Was going into real estate inevitable for you?
I guess it looks that way. I grew up in the business – Mum started in real estate in the 90s when I was about 10, and I would deliver flyers, go to open homes and spend hours in the car with her as she drove around to houses, listening to motivational tapes. I knew a lot about real estate – it got talked about a lot in our house! But in fact I wanted to be a teacher. So I did my training and I taught health, PE and outdoor education for a couple of years. I loved it, but it was exhausting. By the end of each term you were wrecked.
Q: Why did you change careers?
Mum’s business was doing really well and growing so much that first Dad, who was a retired aircraft engineer, joined her. Then my sister Ruth left her job as a cardiac nurse in the early 2000s and took up the chance to try something different. My other sister Rachel joined from the corporate sector around the same time.
In 2006 Mum had the opportunity to open the business in Kingsland and it was a good time for me to come on board too. There was no pressure from Mum – it just seemed natural to give it a try and I always thought I could go back to teaching if I didn’t enjoy it. Fifteen years later I am still here, and still loving it.
Eventually Mum and Dad started phasing themselves out and they retired properly about five years ago. Ruth and I have been the face of the business since then, doing sales, and Rachel runs the administrative side of things.
Q: What’s it like working with your sisters?
It’s good, we’re all close and there’s no drama. They’re nine and 10 years old than me and growing up, it was like I had three mums. They left home when I was about seven or eight and then it was like being an only child.
Hawes: “My wife and I have often joked that we would be great TV talent.” Photo / Fiona Goodall
It’s great working with someone you can trust 100%, and who you know has your, and the business’s, best interests at heart. We’re operating on the same page. We do sometimes have disagreements which is only normal but it’s never anything major and the beauty of it is that two minutes later we have moved on.
Q: What’s the most important thing you learned about real estate from your mum?
There are so many things, it’s hard to name just one. I guess one thing I absorbed through osmosis is that she was always ready to work. It didn’t matter if the phone went at 10pm, Mum was ready to do what was needed. I could see that you have to work hard. Sometimes people think the job is just about holding open homes but there is so much more to it. There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes, and you have to be available all the time. Normally I get a call on Christmas Day about something to do with work – this year I didn’t, which was unusual. But I did get calls every other day during the holidays. Coming from a real estate family, I knew to expect that.
Q: You’ve done exceptionally well. What is the secret of your success?
Putting people first 100% of the time. Real estate is a funny game – I often get people asking me about getting into the industry and saying they love architecture and houses. But the thing is, you don’t talk to houses, you talk to people. You need to be totally focused on the people you are dealing with and if you don’t put your clients first in every decision you make, you won’t have a long career in real estate.
Essentially, the job is about being a professional problem solver. All I do all day long is sort out problems. That can be stressful when you are doing it, but when it all works out it is amazing. A while ago we were selling a house where the people who wanted to buy it had to then sell their house in five days so they could put in an offer at auction. We helped them, and then ended up having a relationship with their buyers. It got incredibly complicated, dealing with three lots of people and two houses, and we still had all our other listings to look after at the same time. We got there in the end and everyone was happy.
Q: You’ve always lived in the area where you sell homes – is having good local knowledge an advantage?
Absolutely. From the age of five I have lived within a few kilometres of where our office now is, and I have sold hundreds of homes in the area since I started in real estate. I have met so many people in that time. When we do a listing I will know who lives either side and who the people are across the road because I’ve dealt with them or met them at open homes or our kids go to the same kindy. I’ve got a good memory – I will remember somebody I once met at an open home three years ago.
We get a lot of repeat business and referrals. There are so many houses that I have sold three or four times – it’s cool because I can often tell buyers the story of the house. And I know everything there is to know about the area.
Q: What do you love about the job?
The people. I get to meet so many cool people and I have made some really good friends, both from selling their houses or selling to them.
Q: What do you do when you are not working?
Not much to be honest, because I work a lot of the time. I don’t have a social life, which is a consequence of being good at the job. I used to play first team premier football but it’s not compatible with open homes and late nights. It’s hard to be a member of a team when you are not reliable, so I stopped the footy about 10 years ago.
I have two daughters, aged five and three, so when I am not working my time is taken up with them. We try to go away in our campervan as much as we can, and that’s a lot of fun.
