Just two years after launching into the residential sales market in the Bay of Plenty, Barfoot & Thompson is entering its next stage of growth and will soon be adding to the region’s branch leadership team.

From what began as a regional property management office in Tauranga, Barfoot & Thompson has opened four branches in just 24 months, in each Cherrywood, Mount Maunganui, Omokoroa and, most recently Waihi Beach.

Current manager of the Cherrywood and Mount Maunganui branches, Louise Findlater, led the simultaneous establishment of two branches, first in the neighbourhood of Cherrywood in November 2023, and then in the beach suburb of Mount Maunganui in May 2024.

Today, the branches collectively position the Barfoot & Thompson brand within the Top 8 agencies for market share in the Bay of Plenty region.

“We are steadily increasing market share month-to-month, ahead of brands that have been well-established locally for many years, and sales for this financial year are already eclipsing our first full financial year in 2024/25, with several months still to go.”

She says her teams have focused heavily on bringing a truly local experience of Barfoot & Thompson’s century-long legacy to the region.

“The company’s family-owned, non-franchised structure, along with its core values, and reputation for integrity and exceptional service, have been key to building our profile and trust in the local market.

“Many vendors already know our brand from their time in Auckland, and seek us out, or they are getting to know us from our close involvement in the local community through numerous events and sponsorships.  

“Buyers are responding to our Barfoot & Thompson way of doing business too - even little changes like increasing open home times to include Saturdays and mid-week twilight viewings, and not accepting vendor bids at our auctions, are being well received.” 

From a founding team of five people, the two branches now boast 22 salespeople, including rural and lifestyle specialists, as well as property managers overseeing a portfolio of more than 400 properties.

With the foundations for continued success firmly in place, Barfoot & Thompson is now expanding its leadership in the area to support the next phase of growth.

“The next step is welcoming a dedicated branch manager to the team in Mount Maunganui,” Findlater says. “This will allow me to focus on the continued growth of our cornerstone Cherrywood branch, while Mount Maunganui builds on its strong trajectory.”

Recruitment for a Mount Maunganui Branch Manager commenced this week. 

The new branch manager position is well timed too, as early signs of a seasonal uplift in activity hit the local market. 

“One of our first and simplest measures is shoes outside the open home doors, and we are certainly seeing more stack up outside each viewing,” says Findlater.

“We’re also starting to see and increase in the number of offers being presented, and more bidders willing to go unconditional in the auction room.”

National data echoes the experience, with the Bay of Plenty region recently outperforming national housing market pricing trends according to the REINZ House Price Index for October, recording a 2.3% rise compared with the nationwide increase of 0.3%.