Real estate is in the blood for Holly Jones and her associate Charlotte Mason. Both have family members in the industry, and both grew up listening to talk of property deals around the dinner table. Holly, who has just been named Ray White’s number one residential salesperson for 2023, is the more senior of the two but both she and Charlotte make a formidable team and dominate in their patch of Christchurch.
Q: Was real estate always what you wanted to do?
Holly: Definitely. I grew up with it, my parents Maxine and Phil have owned the Ray White New Brighton franchise for 25 years. Real estate and buying and selling were talked about all the time. I went to Otago University and did a double degree in marketing and psychology. I did potentially look at going into psychology and although I ended up in real estate, there is a massive amount of psychology involved in the industry. I’ve found it really useful, it complements what I do.
Charlotte: My dad was in commercial real estate for 12 years, so it is something I grew up with too. He owns a farm now but real estate and investing in property was always discussed.
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Holly: I always knew that it was a lifestyle, not just a nine-to-five job. I had seen what my parents did; as a child I would go to open homes. I could see how rewarding it could be.
Q: Did you go straight into it after leaving education?
Holly: After leaving university I went to London where I worked for a real estate company called Foxtons. My dad is originally from England and I’d done a university exchange to Manchester so I had a connection with the country. Our office was in St John’s Wood and I lived and worked around West Hampstead and Maida Vale. It’s an amazing part of London, and it was an incredible experience, working there in sales and property management.
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They do things differently - the structure is very different. It made me realise how fortunate we are here to have contracts that are tight and tidy. Over there you can be gazumped [when your offer on a property is accepted and then someone else comes along with a higher offer so you lose out]. It can be very stressful. I worked there for three years then came home and went straight to work for my parents’ company.
Charlotte: I fell into it after I met Holly at the end of my final year at school. We met through one of her good friends and by the following February I was working with her after doing my real estate papers.
Q: Was it easier to get started in real estate because of your family connections?
Holly: I think it was the experience I’d got in London that really helped me. I got excellent training over there and it was exciting to come back with a different approach and be able to bring that to my parents’ business.
Q: What’s it like working with your parents?
Holly: It’s amazing. We are really close and I feel fortunate that I can work with them. I’ve learned so much from them. You can be upfront with family, which I think is good. You’ve got everyone’s best intentions at heart so it works really well. Actually, the whole office feels like a family.
Q: Can you remember your first sale for Ray White?
Holly: It was a family friend’s mother’s place, a little unit. It went really well. I was so grateful to be given the opportunity and to be able to deliver an outcome. That’s what we have done ever since.
Q: Have you had any particularly memorable sales?
Charlotte: They are all memorable, to be honest. We are dealing with everything from deaths in the family, break-ups, helping people to buy their first home … Helping people to move onto the next stage in their life is really memorable.
Q: How do you manage the large number of listings you take on?
Holly: We’ve got the best team. We have an amazing admin, Laura, who we couldn’t live without. Everything is very streamlined and managed well.
Charlotte: As well as a good team, we’ve got good structure. We make sure we structure our day so that works really well.
Q: What do you think is the secret of your success?
Holly: It definitely comes down to the team. Everyone plays a massive part to pull it together.
Charlotte: We all support each other and everyone is very committed.
Q: What do you love about your job?
Holly: For me it is the connections we make and being able to make a difference in people’s lives. Selling a home, which is usually your biggest asset, can be very stressful so we want to make it as stress-free as possible and be there to support people along their journey. It’s rewarding when you can make a difference in someone’s life.
Charlotte: We are lucky because we get to help make people’s dreams a reality. It sounds pretty cheesy but it’s true.
Q: What advice would you offer anyone thinking about getting into real estate?
Charlotte: The first months are going to be hard but don’t give up. That’s when you need to start building your database and building up your clients. Talk to agents who are more experienced and ask for their advice. Offering to help them out with their listings is a great place to start. When I started, I was very grateful to be working with Holly. Learning from her was amazing. You have to be prepared to do everything – door-knocking, cold-calling, delivering fliers. There is a lot of work involved, a lot more than people realise.
Holly: We work very long hours. It’s not as glamorous as people think.
Charlotte: But it is very rewarding, being able to help people.
Q: Have you had experience of buying and selling your own property?
Holly: We both own property. It’s interesting being on the other side and experiencing what it is like to buy. It helps you to know what it is like for clients, and understand how stressful it can be for them. It makes you want to do the best you can for people.
Q: Do you have time for hobbies?
Charlotte: I do Pilates, go to the gym and walk my dog. I like to hang out with my friends. Work is busy so you need to have a balance. Exercise is good because it de-stresses you.
Holly: I do a lot of yoga every day as well as Pilates. It’s important to do something that is good for you. You do have to schedule time off or you can just end up working a lot.
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Power rankings: The OneRoof Stats
No.4: Holly Jones
Agency: Ray White, Christchurch
No. of listings: 211
Total value of listings: $117,159,000
Average value of listings: $555,256
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No.52: Charlotte Mason
Agency: Ray White, Christchurch
No. of listings: 95
Total value of listings: $57,618,000
Average value of listings: $606,505
* Data covers 12 months from August 2022 and based on listings on OneRoof for that period. Value of listings based on search price
