Trust in the process pays off for Waikato family

Daphne and Angus Jamieson farmed a 41-hectare Pukeatua, Waikato property for 52 years. After Angus moved into a retirement home earlier this year, Daphne realised it was time to sell the farm. She called Martin Lee of PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Cambridge, who met Daphne and her daughter Debbie at the farm to make an appraisal and discuss the options, as Martin explains.

“They needed a quick result, so I suggested taking the property to auction. However, realising a real estate salesperson was there, a neighbour showed up directly after I arrived, and hearing the word ‘auction,’ made an on-the-spot cash offer for the farm.

“As no agency was signed, I told Daphne and Debbie they could accept that offer and save themselves paying a commission. However, I also said that an auction should attract a premium on the neighbour’s offer price,” he says.
Fortunately, Daphne and Debbie took Martin’s advice.

“We trusted Martin, so committed to go through with an auction,” says Debbie.

Come auction day though, Daphne was nervous. Martin and auctioneer Sloan Morpeth realised recent regulation changes meant the property couldn’t be offered as a dairy farm, which they needed to disclose at the start of the auction. As it happened, that didn’t affect demand.

“About 50 people attended, and we joked that they would need a bigger room. More than 20 had registered their interest, and there were six serious bidders.

“When the opening bid was $1.7 million, Mum’s apprehension faded quickly, and from there the auction went crazy,” says Debbie.

When Sloan brought down the hammer a few minutes later, the winning bid was $2.64 million: an excellent price for the Jamiesons and their willing buyer.

“A day like that can be emotional when a family has held a property that long, with all that history. Such an excellent result caps it off nicely – and was certainly well in excess of what the neighbour offered when I was doing the appraisal,” says Martin.

If you’re thinking about selling your rural or lifestyle property this spring, fill out the form and a local PGG Wrightson Real Estate salesperson will be in touch.