Someone who’s had a ringside seat as Arrowtown’s property values have gone through the roof has just retired.
Michael Tierney pulled pin on March 31 after 29 years selling real estate, principally in Arrowtown, and exclusively for Richard and Leanne Newman’s Newman Real Estate Ltd.
Having sold his business, Southland Batteries, and relocated from Invercargill to Arrowtown, he decided to move into real estate, having always been interested in it.
He joined Richard Newman, who then had a Harcourts franchise, on July 4, 1994.
‘‘He said, ‘there’s probably no room for you in Arrowtown, we only sell 20, 30, 40 houses, if you’re lucky, a year, and they’re all done over Christmas-New Year — if you want to start, you can start in Queenstown’.’’
After about 18 months, Newman Real Estate joined with Queenstown’s Locations Realty and opened its Arrowtown office, Tierney initially teaming up with Graham Paape.
In 2007, the company gained Ray White’s Arrowtown franchise, then switched to Bayleys in 2021.
In 2017, Tierney teamed up with Holly Hargreaves and Todd Weeks, whom he’s really enjoyed working with, and then, latterly, Annah Dowsett — ‘‘all four of us made a formidable team’’.
A numbers man, he says he’s been involved in 2150 real estate transactions, worth almost $1 billion.
In earlier days he also made sales around Frankton, Dalefield, Lower Shotover and Malaghans Road.
Tierney says he and Richard probably sold every Arrowtown commercial building available for sale.
He created an Arrowtown residential record when selling former mayor Jack Reid’s Reidhaven for $4.25 million to Irish developer Eamon Cleary on the proviso Reid stayed there till he died.
When he started, he says residential properties averaged $100,000 and sections $35,000.
He recalls a Caernarvon St property selling for $145,000 that’d nowadays fetch $2.5m to $3m.
Arrowtown, he says, took off due to a combination of factors.
Making it desirable to Aussie and Auckland buyers, in particular, were its increasingly-vibrant food and beverage scene, its historic character, four seasons and the airport’s proximity.
He acknowledges those prices are deterring young families, but hails the council’s decision to zone much of the town medium-density, and the housing trust’s impending Tewa Banks subdivision.
Tierney says it’s the people — clients and colleagues — who’ve been his biggest enjoyment.
His policy was always to keep in touch with clients after he’d sold a property — and they’d frequently end being repeat clients.
Looking back, he singles out Leanne and Richard Newman for their contribution — ‘‘I cannot begin to list all these people have done to support both myself and the other agents’’.
‘‘Also, there’s not one corner of this town that has not been sponsored or assisted by Newman Real Estate.’’
Now 76, he says he’s retired as ‘‘it’s one of those businesses you have to be fully committed to, and I found I wanted to do other things’’.
A keen biker and skier, he’s keeping his real estate licence, for the foresee able future, just to help anyone calling him by referring them on ‘‘to the younger ones’’.
‘‘For me, there are new challenges waiting, as life must be lived to the full est. I leave with just one regret; I should have started in real estate sooner.’’
