There have been some big changes in Steve and Nila Koerber’s lives since One Roof last sat down to talk to them about their real estate careers five years ago. Then the couple, who were among the top Ray White sales teams in the world, were building their dream home on the slopes of Mt Hobson in Remuera. Not only have they moved house, to a 160-year-old heritage home that they’ve painstakingly renovated, but they’ve made the shift to Bayleys.
However, one thing has stayed the same – they’re still selling a huge number of homes in Remuera.
Q: You were so excited about the house you were building – what happened?
Steve: We didn’t build the Market Road house to sell, we intended on staying long-term. The project went really well and we loved the house. We were there for close to two years. But then we saw the opportunity to buy this place and we couldn’t let it go. We used to walk and drive past this house quite a lot, and we were mesmerised by it. It’s a beautiful home.
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Nila: I didn’t even need to see the inside. I just knew by looking at the outside. I grew up on tea plantations in Sri Lanka, and it looked like one of the colonial bungalows they have there. When we came inside and saw that things needed changing around, we didn’t care. We didn’t get a building report, it didn’t matter. I always tell people to buy a house with their heart, and we did that. This place has a lot of soul.
The Koerbers pounced on their new home. It took 18 months to get the house into shape. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Q: And a lot of history?
Steve: It was built in the 1860s, as the gardener’s cottage for Woodcroft, the house around the corner owned by Reverend John Kinder. In 1913, it was expanded from a two-bedroom cottage to a bigger house, adding a bit of a Frank Lloyd Wright style and Japanese influences.
The previous owners to us bought it in 2001 and renovated. After we moved in in 2022, we lived in it for a year before starting our renovations, which took 18 months. It was a big job.
Q: Did you have a vision for how it could be improved?
Nila: Everything was in the wrong place. There were internal rooms that were really dark; the kitchen was at the back of the house; there were a lot of things that didn’t work. I woke up one morning at two, and it just came to me. I knew exactly where every room needed to go. The next morning, I texted our architect, Megan Edwards, and said, “The staircase needs to move, the kitchen needs to go in the wrap-around veranda, the grand dining room needs to be a bedroom, the butler’s scullery should be a walk-in wardrobe ...” I could see how it would work.
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Steve: Because it’s heritage-listed, we had to keep the exterior look of the house the same, and we also wanted to. Heritage New Zealand also wanted to protect many of the internal character features in the interest of the people of New Zealand. We were happy to oblige and really enjoyed the process. It was easy to work with them, heritage architects Salmond Reed and Megan. We feel like custodians of the house, preserving it for future generations.
Nila: We also did a lot of work on the garden. We kept it like a cottage garden. There were roses that were 50 or 60 years old – they were taken to a nursery while the work was done on the garden, then brought back. We have a frangipani that is over 100 years old, and we were super-careful with that. We also kept the original farm fence. People say, “Why have you got that?” but it is part of the history of the house.
Q: Have your recent experiences of buying, selling, building, and renovating been useful when it comes to understanding what your clients go through?
Nila: We understand how stressful it can be, especially selling a house. The sale of our house in Market Road went very well, but we also just sold the Remuera house Steve and I first had when we got married. We moved back in there when we built Market Road and again when we did the renovations here. Selling it was hard. We had a failed auction, and then we had to keep it looking beautiful for months while we were trying to sell. When we heard about people’s comments and there were things they didn’t like, we’d think, “What? You don’t like my house.”
The couple know how stressful selling can be, but the agents are two of New Zealand's most successful sellers. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Steve: One of the things we are really big on is communication, including letting our sellers know the comments buyers make about the house. It’s important to keep the owners updated with everything people are saying. We use an app called Vault. We put all the feedback on it, and give the owners a link so they can look. I think keeping people informed is one of the reasons we have done so well.
Q: What would be your top tip to agents hoping to achieve a similar level of success?
Steve: Always be consistent. And never give up.
Nila: Be kind. And remember, not every day is a walk in the park. You do have days where you think, “Is this worth it?” But you have to hang in there, and you’ll find that the next day it’s all good.
Q: Have you had to do things differently in the last few years, with the downturn in the real estate market?
Nila: Work harder! You have to nurture buyers more than you used to when the market was good. In those times, if you marketed a house well, it would basically sell itself. In these times, you have to help the buyers to get ready to purchase and give them more customer care. We are working for the sellers, of course, but we get to know the buyers who come to our open homes and what they want – sometimes we see them looking for six months or even two years.
Steve: We get to know what people are looking for in this area so well that often, when another agent’s listing sells, I’ll think I know who the buyer could be. I’ll ring them and say, “Congratulations on buying”, and they’ll say, “How did you know?”
Q: You’ve not only shifted house, you’ve moved to Bayleys – what prompted that?
Steve: We just felt it was time for a change. We wanted a new challenge and that’s what we’ve got. I love the way that, over the years, Bayleys has established networks with businesspeople. I think that’s something we are benefitting from. It’s a slightly more corporate environment.
After 28 years in real estate, I’ve decided to focus more on high-end properties. I’m still involved in all of our projects but I will bring in a sales associate to help me with things like units so I can focus on the more expensive projects these days. We’ve got one coming up soon that is $12-14 million.
Q: Will you keep selling only in Remuera?
Nila: It’s our patch. The guy who did our lawn asked if we sold in other places, and Steve said, “No, it’s like you trying to do pools when you’re a turf guy.”
Steve: We love it here, we love the community, and we know it so well. And people know us now – we see them at open homes, we’re in their letterboxes all the time with the quarterly reports we send out. If you want to earn a decent income in this industry, you do have to promote yourself.
Q: So you’ll still be putting in the work to try to get those high sales numbers?
Steve: We will. We’re almost empty nesters. We’ve got seven children between us and only one left at home. That means we have got more time to work.
Nila: We can work now without feeling guilty about children waiting for us, so we can get more done. But it doesn’t feel like work; we love it.
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