Archive for November, 2009
Loan Market Acquires Plan NZ
Loan Market New Zealand has acquired PLAN New Zealand as part of its strategy to provide a broader financial services platform to mortgage brokers and their clients across the country.
PLAN New Zealand and Loan Market’s business will continue to operate as independent entities in the market place.
Loan Market Executive Chairman Sam White said the acquisition gives Loan Market the scale and reach to invest further into its New Zealand operations.
“I am delighted that we are able to bring together two of the most highly regarded mortgage broking groups in NZ under one company.
“This acquisition is good news for all brokers in both PLAN New Zealand and Loan Market, in that it gives certainty of ownership in the groups they belong to.
“It also facilitates our goal to build a broader financial services platform, inclusive of an insurance broking business, for the benefit of Loan Market/PLAN mortgage brokers and their clients.”
Mr White said there would be areas of synergy between the two companies.
“We believe the sharing of processes and information in areas such as technology, commission processing, training, and in the management and implementation of upcoming national regulation will prove beneficial,” he said.
“The combined resources of both companies will bring more value to every broker in the group regardless of which brand and business they trade under.
“The mortgage broking industry has been tested through the global financial crisis and has emerged as an industry that provides real value to its clients. As a consequence I believe that quality mortgage brokers should be expanding their product range to better look after the needs of their clients.”
Mr White said there is no plan to integrate PLAN New Zealand mortgage brokers into the Loan Market brand.
“We will continue to grow the PLAN New Zealand business aggressively,” he said.
“Of course if a broker wishes to change either the Loan Market brand to the PLAN brand or vice versa, from one business model to another, we will be happy to facilitate that.”
Mr White said there will be no changes to the management structure of either Loan Market New Zealand or PLAN New Zealand. The operational leaders of both businesses will report to Mr White.
Loan Market will also honour all commitments that the previous management of PLAN New Zealand has made to their brokers in moving to a flat fee model.
Mr White also anticipates that both PLAN and Loan Market mortgage brokers will reap the rewards of shared knowledge and processes to better facilitate existing and pending legislation that aims to regulate the mortgage broking industry.
PLAN New Zealand is part of the PLAN mortgage broking group which operates in both Australia and New Zealand, and was previously owned by Challenger.
In October 2009 Challenger sold its Australian mortgage management and broking business to the National Australia Bank and it was at that time that Loan Market began exploring the opportunity of taking the 100 per cent stake in PLAN New Zealand.
Loan Market currently has approximately 50 mortgage brokers and staff in New Zealand and over 400 mortgage brokers across every state in Australia; securing in excess of $600 million in home, commercial and business finance each month.
ENDS
For further information:
Sam White
Loan Market Executive Chairman
Opportunity in Northland
Please see Opportunities Tab
Herald on Sunday Lift Out – 29 November
The Ray White Group are pleased to present, in conjunction with APN, our 36 page property lift-out that will be appearing in the Herald on Sunday this weekend 29th November 2009. This is the third of our feature lift-outs and has over 100 properties displayed on behalf of our vendor clients throughout New Zealand.
Alongside the lift-out we present the Ray White e-book which is available for our agency business and their clients to distribute through to databases, family and friends. Ray White prides itself on its ability to provide innovation in marketing and also to offer value through its various marketing mediums, including media, websites, property signage and our own internal client databases.
The Herald on Sunday is the leading Sunday media and is distributed throughout the North Island with a readership of over 307,000.
Our next series Herald on Sunday lift-outs will be published during 2010 and we welcome enquiries to be part of these marketing outstanding opportunity.
New Real Estate Agents Act
Ray White welcomes the new Real Estate Agents Act together with the new Real Estate Agents Authority (REAA) that aims to provide greater transparency and professionalism in the industry and more protection for consumers involved in residential and commercial real estate transactions.
Under the new Act, anyone who is carrying out, or wants to carry out, “real estate agency work” must be individually licensed by the REAA as an agent, branch manager or salesperson, unless specifically exempted. “Real estate agency work” is defined in the new Act as any work done or services provided, in trade, on behalf of another person for the purpose of bringing about a transaction. “Transaction” is defined widely as the sale, purchase, or other disposal or acquisition of (i) a freehold estate or interest in land, (ii) a leasehold interest in land; (iii) a licence that is registrable under Land Transfer Act 1952 (LTA); (iv) an occupation right agreement within the meaning of the Retirement Villages Act 2003; or (v) any business (either with or without any interest in land).
agents to carry out real estate agency work on his or her own account (whether in partnership or otherwise);
branch managers to carry out real estate agency work for or on behalf of an agent; and
salespersons to carry out real estate agency work for or on behalf of an agent, provided the salesperson is supervised by an agent or a branch manager when carrying out any real estate agency work.
The new Act will extend to people carrying out the sale and purchase of businesses on behalf of others (business brokers),although this will not apply to the sale and purchase of shares unless the shares entitle the holder to a licence that is registrable under the LTA. There are 2 approved guides for consumers New Zealand Residential Property Agency Agreements Guide and the New Zealand Residential Property Sale and Purchase Agreements Guide.
At the real estate agent’s branch office, branch managers are now an option rather than a requirement, but any person assisting an agent with real estate agency work is likely to need a licence, at least as a salesperson, and the element of proper supervision and management required for all salespersons must be met either by an agent or a branch manager.
Additional changes
Some further key changes under the new Act and related regulations include:
New regulatory body. The independent REAA has been established to replace the role previously performed by the industry’s Real Estate Agents Licensing Board. The REAA is responsible for licensing, complaints, disciplinary action for unsatisfactory conduct, industry standards (including the newly issued Professional Conduct and Client Care Rules 2009) and consumer information.
Improved disclosure obligations. Real estate agents have additional legal responsibilities, including obligations to provide certain information to consumers. This information includes approved guide publications, new requirements to disclose conflicts of interest and also disclosure by the agent of the source of, and estimate amount of, all rebates, discounts or commissions that the agent will receive.
New rules on agency agreements. A client of a real estate agent must be given a copy of the agency agreement within 48 hours after signing it. Sole agency agreements have a cooling off period until 5pm on the working day following signing, allowing time for the client to cancel the contract. However, if work undertaken on a transaction during the cooling off period enables the conclusion of a contact, that contract will be binding.
Public register. There will be a public register of every person licensed under the Act which will include a record of whether a licensee has been subject to disciplinary action in the last three years.
No compulsory REINZ membership. Membership of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand is no longer compulsory for agents.
New complaints and disciplinary processes. New complaints and disciplinary processes have been introduced, including a new Real Estate Disciplinary Tribunal, administered by the Ministry of Justice, to deal with more serious complaints of unsatisfactory conduct or misconduct by any person (or officer of a company) licensed (or formerly licensed) under the Act. Under the new system, licensees can face a fine of up to $10,000 or, in the case of a company, $20,000 for complaints bought against them and for serious misconduct complaints heard by the Tribunal, individuals can be fined up to $15,000, or $30,000 in the case of companies. Agents can also be ordered to pay up to $100,000 in compensation to the complainant or have their licence cancelled or suspended. Under the old regime, most complaints were dealt with at REINZ sub-committee level, which meant that decisions about disciplinary action were made by fellow real estate agents, and $750 was the maximum imposable fine.
First Ray White Office in India
Ray White to Open in India – Delhi and New friends Colony
The Ray White Group is delighted to announce the signing of agreements with Gulshan Nayyar to open our first offices in India in New Delhi.
Gulshan owns and runs a family business in which his two sons play key roles. He has 75 staff and attended the Wealth Conference on the Gold Coast last week, during which agreements were made which had been negotiated between Carey Smith and Andrew Jamson over a period of many months.
“This is an important event for our company and continues our drive to have representation in the Asian markets. Gulshan has committed to drive Ray White beyond New Delhi in India and will do so at a pace that makes sense,” says Brian White, Joint Chairman.
We will keep you posted on changeover dates and contact details – it will wonderful if our network can make them feel welcome. We anticipate this changeover to be happening prior to the new year.
Brian White
Chairman
Ray White National REA Presentation
The Ray White NZ Group will conduct a National Presentation this week outling the documents that we have for our members in preparation for the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 that comes into force next Tuesday the 17th of November.
Our Presentation will cover the discussion and distribution of the following documents:
Ray White Document Schedule Now Available
The Presentation will be held throughout the country at the following venues:
Ray White National Presentation Times and Venues
We attach a PDF copy of the Real Estate Agents 2008 (this is a larger document):
Ray White NZ sales up 50% in October
The Ray White Group in New Zealand recorded a 50 per cent increase in property sales during October, 2009, compared to the same period last year.
Ray White New Zealand CEO Carey Smith said all regions also reported a record number of listings and a 37 per cent increase in turnover for the year to date.
Mr Smith said the Auckland market had the greatest rise for the month of 55 per cent, with total sales in excess of $205 million.
”The top five Ray White offices for last month nationwide were Ponsonby, Manukau, City Apartments, Remuera and Kingsland,” Mr Smith said.
”These offices combined to complete $65 million in turnover. Other standout offices included Mangawhai, Papamoa, Palmerston North, Richmond, Merivale and Arrowtown, which all had record results for the month.”
Mr Smith said Ray White also had a significant boost in turnover on the upper South Island.
”Ray White has five offices in this area and their turnover surged to $20 million,” he said.
The Ray White Group trades through 131 offices in New Zealand and turns over approximately $5.3 billion in property sales per annum.
ENDS
Further inquiries:
Carey Smith
Ray White New Zealand CEO
Ph: 64 9 377 5069
About Ray White
Ray White is the largest real estate and property group in Australasia. The company, established in 1902 at Crows Nest in Queensland, has almost 1,000 individual offices spread across Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, China, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, more than 8,000 staff, annual sales turnover in excess of $30 billion and manages more than 200,000 rental properties.
Ray White offices support Amazing Grace
The Ray White Dunedin and Mosgiel teams have recently found a very good cause to support. During the Otago Woman’s Expo over the past weekend the Dunedin and Mosgiel Teams utilized their presence to not only promote their services, but also to raise money for Grace Hughes. ABC Photosigns have also assisted by providing some stunning banners to highlight Grace’s story. Grace, for no apparent physical reason has never eaten and has been nil by mouth since she was born. Grace and her family are planning to go to Graz in Austria to visit a specialist hospital that can help children who do not eat. However to do that they need to raise $50,000. Being able to eat would be life changing for Grace and assist her learning and development, particularly her speech. As a baby Grace was fed milk via a nasal tube and had difficulty keeping any liquids down. Grace, after an operation when she was a year old, is now able to receive food via a tube into her stomach. Grace’s story was recently aired on 20/20. You can view the 20/20 story by visiting: tvnz.co.nz/20-20-news/nil-mouth-2840892/video. If you would like to help Grace you could make a donation via: Amazing Grace Medical Fund, National Bank, 06 0901 0396524 00, or contact Craig Latta at Ray White Dunedin 021 771 996.
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