- Gary Morris, 88, is one of the country’s oldest active real estate agents, with no plans to retire.
- Morris started in 1971, transitioning from selling vacuums to real estate, and has sold $5m in property this year.
- He emphasises personal contact with clients and has seen significant industry changes over his career.
Northland real estate agent Gary Morris says the day he quits real estate will be the day he’s no longer standing.
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The 88-year-old was shoulder-tapped by a real estate firm in Ōrewa to sell houses in 1971 after making his name door-knocking residents while flogging Electrolux vacuums.
He doesn’t regret the career change. For one, the money was too good for him to refuse. The commission of around $400 to $500 a house sale offered at the time was almost 10 times what he was making on vacuums.
“They thought I knew the area and properties well enough to be a successful real estate salesperson,” Morris told OneRoof.
Morris likes to give back to the community and has been sponsoring up and coming TQ Midget racing driver Ben Morrison for more than a decade. Photo / Supplied
He was a Seventh Day Adventist back then, so he couldn’t work Saturdays and real estate agents weren’t allowed to work Sundays. That left him just five days to do all his work.
Morris said many people thought he wouldn’t last. Not only did he manage to work around his other commitments, but he also thrived in his new role.
Morris is now one of the country’s oldest active real estate licence holders. According to the Real Estate Authority data, the oldest person with an active real estate licence is 89.
Morris, who celebrated his 88th birthday last month and is a great-grandfather, has already clocked $5m in property sales so far this year and told OneRoof he has absolutely no plans of retiring.
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“I’ll keep going as long as I’m standing. I say to people that they can pick me up out of the paddock one day, but most people don’t want to do that because they are nice people.”
Morris can still remember one of the first properties he sold – a farm around the Tomarata School area.
It turns out the buyers still remember it, too. He recently got a call from them asking him to sell the little house they had built on a part of the same farm he sold them.
“I said to them, ‘That’s a long time ago’, and they said, ‘We worked it out, and it’s 50 years!’.”
It’s not the first time he’s been asked to sell a property more than once, but he admits one of the other times was a bit more embarrassing.
Morris runs a colouring Christmas competition every year, and the winners get giant teddy bears. Photo / Supplied
Morris had just sold a property in Warkworth and bumped into the new owner a few weeks later. He asked him how the property was, and he was shocked by the response.
“He said, ‘I hate the thing, I’m never gonna go back there. You can sell it again’.”
Morris has seen big changes in the real estate industry over his career, many for the better. The once male-dominated industry is now far more reflective of New Zealand. Also, things happen much quicker.
When he started, it would take him an entire day to show someone around a farm, with stops for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea.
Once the deal was sealed, he would then have to travel down to Queen Street in Auckland to see a solicitor because there weren’t any north of the Harbour Bridge. “Today they want everything done in five minutes.”
The one thing that hasn’t changed is Morris’ work ethic. He still picks up the phone regularly to talk to clients. “I think the best advice I could give anyone at this stage would be that you must have personal contact with those you are dealing with and throw away half your paperwork,” he said.
“Stop firing out things for them, ring them, and talk to them personally each time. I find this works really well – so you can pick up all sorts of things that are relevant to what they’re buying and what they want by talking to them personally rather than just sending an email to them.”
Morris, who has handed the reins of First National Kaipara to his daughter, Jill Powell, loves working with people from all different backgrounds and helping them to achieve their goals.
“There is something different to think about or a new problem to solve or deal with every day,” he said.
“I always say to people that if you are taking up real estate, you don’t need to be on drugs, because you have so many highs and lows in real estate – that’s sufficient.”
His other favourite thing about working in real estate? “I also enjoy it when purchasers find just the right property and say, ‘Thank you for selling that property to me, Gary. We really enjoy the property, and enjoyed working with you’. That gives me great satisfaction.”
Morris recently made a move himself – leaving his lifestyle block and moving to a retirement village with his wife in Maungaturoto. Although it doesn’t mean he has any plans to actually retire – absolutely not!
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