Selling property involves a lot of work behind the scenes, including the commitment of sales consultants and the expertise of lawyers, financial advisers and other specialists. Perhaps the most satisfying fact is that Harcourts Four Seasons builds charitable work into every transaction. Since 2008, The Harcourts Foundation has gifted millions of dollars to reduce poverty, enhance learning and education, foster the arts and support closer communities. All costs are met by the company with funding gained by sacrificed salary and “off the top” contributions from sales commissions, and through organised fundraisers. Operating as a 100 per cent charity, The Harcourts Foundation gives every bit of funding directly to the recipients of grants. A volunteer-run structure sees Harcourts employees donating their time and expertise to ensure no management fees, salaries or running costs are taken from the donation account. Harcourts Four Seasons has involved all eight of its Canterbury offices in the programme, which is now in the process of delivering its latest grants. Recently among those to benefit were Fernside School’s Kapa Haka group, students at St Patrick’s School in Kaiapoi, where new bark is being provided for the playground, the North Canterbury branch of Endometriosis New Zealand, and the Lincoln toy library. Harcourts Four Seasons co-owner James Twiss says the charity work has grown from the connection the company’s salespeople have with those in their territories, which, of course, are their homes too. “We love the communities we work in, especially when we're working so much in smaller towns with a strong community feel. It's about giving back to the communities that support us,” James says. The commitment helped Harcourts get voted New Zealand’s most trusted real estate brand for the seventh consecutive year in 2019, according to surveys by Reader’s Digest. Harcourts is now the only real estate brand in the country to achieve the honour since the award’s inception in 2013. Within the group, Harcourts Four Seasons has been leading the way, achieving another in-house “Inspiration” award in May for their work with The Harcourts Foundation. Harcourts has 254 offices around New Zealand contributing to charity, which as well as funding local initiatives also has ongoing partnerships with Plunket and Hospice New Zealand. Details on how to apply for a grant from The Harcourts Foundation can be found online at harcourtsfoundation.org. Grants must be for a specific event, project, item or initiative that is scheduled to occur within four months of a grant being received. For people keen to support the good work, it’s as simple as choosing Harcouts Four Seasons to sell your property. With nearly 100 sales consultants, they have North Canterbury, Christchurch and its surrounds covered. * Harcourts Four Seasons has offices in Hanmer Springs, Kaiapoi, Rangiora, Belfast, The Palms, Hornby, Lincoln and Rolleston. Call them on 0800 789 1011, email [email protected] or visit harcourtsfourseasons.co.nz. A group previously proposing a world-leading aquasports park for the Christchurch residential red zone is turning its sights to Kaiapoi due to the efforts of Enterprise North Canterbury. The WHoW Charitable Trust is looking to co-locate whitewater, surf and cable wakeboard parks in one location alongside the Kaiapoi River in the residential red zone. The land for the proposed facility sits within the Waimakariri Residential Red Zone Recovery Plan area, which received Government sign-off in December 2016. Waimakariri District Council own the residential red zone land and are responsible for implementing the recovery/regeneration plan, following a land transfer from the Crown in 2018. WHoW Trust chair, Tony Joseph, says investigating Kaiapoi makes a lot of sense. “Enterprise North Canterbury approached us asking if we would consider Kaiapoi. The case they put to us was compelling. That, coupled with ongoing uncertainties around building in the Christchurch red zone, made it logical to investigate Kaiapoi in more detail,” Joseph indicated that the group hasn’t completely ruled out the Christchurch red zone just yet. “We’re only at the preliminary feasibility stage and there are still many hurdles to jump.” says Joseph. Enterprise North Canterbury’s role is to attract businesses and visitors to the Waimakariri District and they have worked closely with WHoW to consider Kaiapoi. Waimakariri District Council have been assisting the charitable trust to complete early feasibility work on the proposed location. “Globally, water sports have a huge following. Participants happily travel nationally or internationally to experience facilities such as this. Combined with other adventure offerings within Canterbury it makes our region a very compelling place to visit,” says Miles Dalton, Enterprise North Canterbury business support manager. Simon Markham, Waimakariri District Council manager strategy and engagement, says, “This proposal is closely aligned with the regeneration remit we’ve been given by the community and we’re excited to be working with the trust to see if this might work in our district.” All parties hope the facility can be developed quickly. Surfing is now an Olympic sport and this facility, which could become the only wave garden in New Zealand, would provide a much-needed training facility for New Zealand and Pacific Island qualifying athletes. The aquasports park would provide water lovers with perfect waves, whitewater and cable wake at any time of year, and would be within easy reach of Christchurch International Airport and main transport routes. A Give A Little campaign is being launched next week to assist the trust with raising funds to complete the preliminary feasibility work. The Enterprise North Canterbury Board have already committed some funding towards the project, believing it would be a great visitor attraction and business to have in North Canterbury. Information sourced: Enterprise North Canterbury With the much maligned Capital Gains Tax behind us, June saw the welcome return of investors and a positive step forward for a steady Canterbury real estate market. Their presence is particularly prevalent in the apartment sector with many out of town and local investors seeing the Christchurch rebuild as a city where higher yields can be achieved versus other heated New Zealand property markets. Bank lending and pre-approval rates have risen, providing a welcome return to positive sales growth from this time last year. We are happy to report that new listings in Canterbury were up 5.7% compared to June 2018. Days on market has stretched to 47 days, up from 40 days in May. This increase is a seasonal stretch as buyers wait for the Spring rush to get a better selection. The median sale price dipped a little to $445,000, encouraging those first home buyers to take advantage of the low interest rates on offer and lack of seasonal demand. Auctions are still seeing strong support from those wishing to sell and purchase in a transparent environment. Our auction rooms remain busy each week, a reflection of the positivity in marketplace. Property listings are the lifeblood of any real estate business and the volume of listings coming into Harcourts across the city continues to track well. Harcourts remains the preferred company in Christchurch with close to every second new property to the market being listed by your city’s favourite real estate brand. |
James Twiss
Licensed Business Owner of Harcourts Four Seasons Realty 2017 Ltd Greg Roberts
Licensed Business Owner of Harcourts Four Seasons Realty 2017 Ltd Archives
September 2020
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