Joe Blakiston

I have had a long association with Joe Blakiston of PGG Wrightson Real Estate over my farming career, and have always found his advice to be invaluable and sound.  I entrusted Joe to sell my lifestyle property in the Onamalutu, having previously had a number of other agencies represent me to achieve a sale.  Joe made an honest appraisal and was prepared to work in with another trusted agent to come up with a sound marketing plan to get me a very satisfactory outcome.  I was able to trust his advice and he was always prepared to work hard for me to get a very good result, whereas other agents had tried to get me to accept any price when they ran out of ideas.  I would have no hesitation in recommending him as an honest and upfront salesperson with integrity.

The purpose of this letter is to testify that in March 2015, I contracted Joe Blakiston of PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Blenheim, to sell my farm forestry property in the Branch River area.  He achieved the desired result in fewer than two weeks, and kept me fully informed throughout the whole sale process.
I found him to be very knowledgeable and entirely honest, forthright and efficient, and I would have no hesitation in recommending his services. 

“We appointed Joe Blakiston of PGG Wrightson Real Estate as salesperson for our dryland run-off property outside Blenheim in October 2014. This was not an easy property to sell as it was in a very dry area and would only appeal to a certain type of buyer. We were impressed by Joe’s determination to get us the best price and the efforts he made to keep us informed of progress. He regularly phoned or emailed after a visit and was always enthusiastic when it came to getting us the right price rather than any price. By contrast, when we bought the property from another agent, we were told to drive over it ourselves and received no advice. When we were on the verge of getting an offer, Joe negotiated on our behalf very well and we were extremely happy with the outcome, and we understand that the buyer is also very pleased. All in all, Joe was a very professional salesperson who achieved a great outcome. We would have no hesitation in recommending Joe to potential clients if they want a salesperson who really works for them.”

"The process was indeed easy and smooth with regular, clear communication. Everything was actioned promptly and all promises kept. After a short and sharp marketing effort we ended up with a very good result. I am very happy to recommend Joe to anyone thinking of selling a rural property."

"After 50 plus years farming my 850 hectare sheep and beef property in Ward it came time to sell, Joe Blakiston was recommended to me by family. The good advice and dedication to seeing the sale through from start to finish was top class and Joe always was available and took the time to clarify any point large or small, right through to hosting a BBQ to feed the troops at the farm valuation and hand over to the wonderful young family who were successful. I could not have been in better hands."

"I have been wanting to contact you to say thank you for the way you handled our property sale, we admired the discrete way that you marketed the property to suitable buyers and how calm you remained in the face of the anxious sellers.  Even though the relationship between seller and agent is only a temporary one, such is the nature of the industry, you made us feel as though our sale mattered to you and helped to ease the transition from dairy farmers to the next big adventure."

"The term “star” springs to mind when I think about Joe. He has had a long relationship with the Maher family which spans over a decade, so when it came time to market the property he was our first choice. 

As we were selling the property from afar, we needed someone we could really trust.  His advice around water rights, viticultural potential, regional history, local contacts and method of sale enabled us to achieve an outcome that far exceeded our expectations.

Joe has excellent communication skills. He and his team went over and above on several occasions.  His empathy and good humour with our family over a long period made this a very pleasant experience. He is professional, diligent and we now consider him our family friend. 

We would have no hesitation in recommending Joe to anyone looking at marketing their property.  Your property is in very safe hands."

Selling my home to move into a retirement village was a task I wasn’t looking forward to. I had approached Joe a year earlier to find out what my property was worth. Joe provided me with a very professional appraisal and left me to ponder what I should do. When I was ready to list my house for sale I was contacted by a real estate agent who provided me with a proposal and a marketing plan. I approached Joe who also provided me with an updated proposal and a marketing plan. I liked Joes’ personality and honesty so chose to list my house with him. Joe bought Sophie on board and between them they executed a sound marketing plan resulting in a very quick sale at a value I was very happy with. All through the process Joe and Sophie communicated well with myself and my daughters who were helping me prepare for my move. Joe and Sophie provided me with sound advice and the whole process of selling my home was low stress and a lot of fun, with a result and experience I have been very happy with.

"When we made the call to sell our dairy farm and adjoining forestry block at Rai Valley in August 2016, we approached several real estate companies in Blenheim before settling on Joe Blakiston and Greg Lyons from PGG Wrightson Real Estate. Their proposal was professional and thorough, and we valued the national network that working with PGG Wrightson Real Estate offered vendors and buyers. Joe and Greg had to work hard to get our two properties sold at acceptable prices through a period of weaker demand, particularly for smaller dairy units. They always kept us well informed and when a buyer emerged for each property, they really made sure we received fair, full value in both cases. I would thoroughly recommend Joe and Greg to other farmers who have land for sale in the Marlborough region."

"We recently sold our property through PGG Wrightson Real Estate and the dynamic duo of Joe Blakiston and Greg Lyons. From day one, we found them to be not only professional and friendly but this was backed up with their tenacity, optimism and, of course, results. They were always available and approachable, had great people skills and put in long hours on the job. Joe and Greg have sold a number of properties recently in the area where we lived and have become the 'go to' guys for people wanting to sell. We recommend them highly."

"I entrusted the sale of my weekend lifestyle and forestry block to Ken McLeod and Joe Blakiston of PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Blenheim. They diligently worked on a sale over a six-month period and despite initial buyer feedback that it was incorrectly priced, I listened to their advice. The outcome was a multiple-offer situation where I received $50,000 more than my asking price, an amazing result! As well as giving me great advice, they employed professional marketing and the use of drone videos to outline the potential of the block. This leaves me in no doubt that these two hard-working professionals had my best interests at heart and I cannot be more grateful for having had them sell my property - great service, great support and great guys."

"I am a very happy customer!  Joe Blakiston sold my house and did so in just three weeks.  I found Joe to be polite, friendly, extremely helpful, sympathetic to my situation, understanding, energetic and positive.  His willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty was refreshing and comforting in a stressful time and he did so in a reliable and professional manner.  His happy and enthusiastic disposition gave me confidence and not only rubbed off on me but I think also on people coming through the open days.  I cannot stress enough how pleased I was to make his acquaintance and to engage his services and not only would I recommend him thoroughly but I would go so far as to say one shouldn’t look any further.  Joe Blakiston from PGG Wrightson Real Estate is the man, and I am 110% satisfied.  Thank you Joe, for all your help.  You did an excellent job and I wish you all the best for the future."

"Joe was engaged by me on behalf of a local Blenheim-based forestry partnership to market for sale a block of forestry land in the Wairau Valley in about October 2016. Joe advised on a suitable marketing plan to create maximum exposure of the property. He used his contacts to create interest also and, over a period of about four months, fielded several serious inquiries. He kept me fully informed of developments and made helpful recommendations at the appropriate time. A very satisfactory sale of the property has been concluded due to the diligence Joe demonstrated throughout the marketing process. I think Joe has a deep knowledge and understanding of the local rural property scene and, along with his cheerful, friendly and straightforward approach, he is the ideal person to involve in the business of rural real estate. I wholeheartedly recommend Joe Blakiston to anyone considering buying or selling rural property."

"These guys don’t just sell farms! I believe I had one of the most unusual houses that has ever been sold in the Marlborough Region, a bespoke, multi-storey holiday home on the banks of the Wakamarina River. Without doubt, historic compliance issues made this a difficult prospect for any agent, however, as an absentee vendor who could no longer enjoy the beauty of this house and the Wakamarina, I asked Joe Blakiston and Greg Lyons of PGG Wrightson Real Estate to market it. I was astounded by the effort put in by these two hard-working salespeople to achieve a great result for me. They appraised the property well, gave accurate and honest vendor reports, and generally kept me involved totally in the process 1,000km away, even after the perfect purchaser had been found. A great result and I am sure the pleasant experience that the purchasers have had will mean they enjoy our wonderful property as much as we did. If Joe and Greg apply the level of service I received to high-value rural property then they deserve every success, as they must have some very happy vendors. Thanks guys for a great job."

"Joe Blakiston is the most friendly and sensible real estate salesperson to deal with. Ours was not the easiest property to sell but Joe remained cheerful and supportive in the face of two unexpected, last-minute purchaser withdrawals from a signed contract. Despite the disappointments, Joe never attempted to bring forward collection of his fee by proposing that we should sell for less than the property was worth. In the end, and thanks entirely to Joe's patient efforts, we received the full asking price."

"If you are looking for a real estate salesperson who will go the distance then don’t go past Joe Blakiston. His efforts to sell my property at the head of a remote valley in Marlborough went well beyond what anyone would expect of a salesperson. I had it listed with several other agents who were happy to go for a quick commission but disappeared when the going got tough. Joe was amazing with tenants, skilfully negotiated removal of an awkward forestry right on the title and generally looked after my interests over a long period. His advice to remarket the property by deadline sale secured me two of the best offers I had seen and I understand that the buyers are very pleased. He is upfront, hardworking and has a lot of patience. Joe always had a smile and was pleasant with never a cross word. I cannot thank him enough for seeing this sale through and, in my book, he certainly earned his commission and then some."

"We engaged Joe Blakiston to sell our property in the Marlborough Sounds. The property had been on the market with several agents previously with no satisfactory result. Once Joe listed it, he kept us in touch throughout the whole process and when he got interest in the property, he pursued this with utmost diligence. Finally, he received good interest from a party and Joe constructed a deal that took a lot of creative thinking as it was far from an ordinary contract and worked with this until both parties were entirely satisfied. I would have no hesitation in recommending Joe to handle any real estate needs as he does it with professionalism, discretion and flair."

"As long-term PGG Wrightson clients, it was good to be able to talk to Joe on my brother's passing and get some honest advice on our options for the sale of his property. Joe not only ran a fantastic auction campaign that achieved a very good outcome but he also arranged the clearing sale and short-term leases, and was our eyes and ears in the area, as we live six hours away.  His weekly reports were accurate and we felt confident through the whole process.  We enjoyed working with Joe and the result was tremendous."

"We purchased our 68 hectare dry land finishing block in Marlborough through Joe Blakiston. However, a change in circumstances saw us farming in the North Island so we entrusted Joe to sell our land again.

We found he offered great advice, was prepared to listen to our wishes, and went the extra mile to arrange a short-term lease and provide us with property updates on the condition of the property.

While not an easy property to sell, the outcome Joe achieved was exceptional, and we were delighted with the service and professional way Joe worked with us over the period of the sale.

We understand the purchasers are also happy so a great result all round.”

“A very big thank you to Ken McLeod and Joe Blakiston of PGG Wrightson Real Estate.  I am more than happy with the result these guys have produced for me.  They were professional and motivated, and kept me well informed as to what was happening every step of the way.  I highly recommend them.  Give them a try.  I’m sure you won’t be disappointed."

"Having known Joe Blakiston for many years, he was for us Hobson’s Choice as the salesperson for our Rarangi property. The soundest advice over the years and an honest assessment of the market and current values left us no option but to exercise his services to obtain a great price. Joe worked extremely hard over the marketing campaign and went many extra miles for us with local tradespeople to ensure the property was brilliantly presented. Inevitably, he achieved an outstanding result. As Christchurch-based vendors, we were delighted that the property was in such capable hands and would thoroughly recommend Joe’s friendly manner and ability to work with buyers to achieve a fantastic result for all parties. Many thanks, again, from all of us."

“I was so happy I had chosen Joe to market my property. Even though market conditions had slowed down, with his positive attitude, he worked tirelessly in order to find the right purchaser and secured a quick sale.”

"Joe was a great help during the process of buying our new property. He promptly provided useful answers to all our questions without applying any pressure on us. A pleasure to work with."

Vendors had a high-producing dairy farm and, after significant discussion, a subdivision of forestry blocks and a separate residence & land was agreed to make the sale work.

“The process for selling our property was developed over a two year period working closely with Joe. His advice on subdivision and potential issues we needed to address, and sound marketing ideas, saw us achieve a very good outcome for our dairy farm.

His skill in negotiating a final deal that saw a further subdivision completed was an innovative outcome and benefited all parties. His rapport with farm staff, professionals and prospective purchasers gave us a lot of confidence in our choice of agent. We would both like to say a big thank you for a job well done."

I have had a long association with Joe Blakiston of PGG Wrightson Real Estate over my farming career, and have always found his advice to be invaluable and sound.  I entrusted Joe to sell my lifestyle property in the Onamalutu, having previously had a number of other agencies represent me to achieve a sale.  Joe made an honest appraisal and was prepared to work in with another trusted agent to come up with a sound marketing plan to get me a very satisfactory outcome.  I was able to trust his advice and he was always prepared to work hard for me to get a very good result, whereas other agents had tried to get me to accept any price when they ran out of ideas.  I would have no hesitation in recommending him as an honest and upfront salesperson with integrity.

The purpose of this letter is to testify that in March 2015, I contracted Joe Blakiston of PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Blenheim, to sell my farm forestry property in the Branch River area.  He achieved the desired result in fewer than two weeks, and kept me fully informed throughout the whole sale process.
I found him to be very knowledgeable and entirely honest, forthright and efficient, and I would have no hesitation in recommending his services. 

“We appointed Joe Blakiston of PGG Wrightson Real Estate as salesperson for our dryland run-off property outside Blenheim in October 2014. This was not an easy property to sell as it was in a very dry area and would only appeal to a certain type of buyer. We were impressed by Joe’s determination to get us the best price and the efforts he made to keep us informed of progress. He regularly phoned or emailed after a visit and was always enthusiastic when it came to getting us the right price rather than any price. By contrast, when we bought the property from another agent, we were told to drive over it ourselves and received no advice. When we were on the verge of getting an offer, Joe negotiated on our behalf very well and we were extremely happy with the outcome, and we understand that the buyer is also very pleased. All in all, Joe was a very professional salesperson who achieved a great outcome. We would have no hesitation in recommending Joe to potential clients if they want a salesperson who really works for them.”