They were tough shoes to fill, but Jayne Kiely and Paul Glover did such a good job of being New Zealand’s answer to Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer that their show AA Insurance Location Location Location NZ is back for a second season.
The Ray White agents both had previous TV experience before signing up for the TVNZ programme – Jayne as the host of Mitre 10 Dream Home and Paul as an actor in shows like Educators – but had focused in recent years on building successful real estate careers. They explain how they manage to juggle their busy day jobs with TV work, and why they sometimes look like they’ve coordinated their outfits.
Q: How has it been doing another season of Location Location Location NZ?
Jayne: We’ve had such a good time. I’ve loved it. I did have a few nerves before the first one because I hadn’t been on TV for a while, but as soon as the cameras started rolling, I was fine. Because it’s not scripted, you can be yourself. The crew is great – you get beautiful direction and they give you the skills to make sure you give the best performance you can, and to also help the people who are on the show buying homes feel comfortable. After two days of shooting, our buyers didn’t even realise the cameras were there anymore.
Start your property search
Paul: It’s been so nice that people have really embraced the show. We’ve had a blast working together.
Jayne: This season, we know each other so much better, and it’s been like working with an old friend. From the moment we first did the chemistry test, I think everyone knew it would work.
Paul: We just sort of sparked, and the more we’ve worked together, the easier it has got. We’ve become really good friends.
Paul Glover has only been in real estate for a short time, but he's nailing it. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Q: Jayne, after 10 seasons on Mitre 10 Dream Home, did you have tips to pass on to Paul about presenting a TV show?
Jayne: I didn’t need to. Paul was a natural.
Paul: I think what she’s saying is that I don’t have a filter!
Jayne: That’s good because it makes life way more interesting.
Paul: It didn’t really feel like presenting. In season one, there were a few scripted bits, but they threw those away in season two and said, "Just come up with your own words."
Jayne: Everything we said came from the heart. Not everything got done in one take. Our poor director, Marcus, sometimes had to say, “Okay, you two, get back on track.”
Paul: They’ve probably got enough for a whole episode of out-takes.
Q: Your roles in the show are quite different to your day job as agents, where you act on behalf of the vendors. How has it been representing the buyers instead?
Paul: It is the opposite to how we normally work, but we want the buyers to feel that we’re doing our best for them and treating them with respect. When it comes to buying, we give them the same advice we would give our own families.
Jayne: We get quite protective of our house-hunters. We can be tough with the agents who are selling the properties. The boot is definitely on the other foot!
Paul: What’s nice is that we are still in touch with a lot of the people who have been on the show and are still looking for a home. We set up WhatsApp chats, and some of them will still message and say, “What do you think about this property?”. We help from a distance. It’s not a matter of saying, “Better luck next time” and disappearing.
Discover more:
- Grand Designs house that ended in romance, not tears
- Burt Reynolds wouldn’t leave: Famous Taupō lodge for sale
- NZ's worst houses - shootings, meth stashes, gruesome deaths
Jayne: There’s one couple who keep missing out on houses. I’m not able to go and look at houses with them, but I am on the phone giving them advice when they need it. We spend two full days with our house-hunters, and there’s a lot of downtime, so we end up chatting to them about their family, their backgrounds, their dreams. We get quite involved.
Paul: People ask us, “Is it real? Are they really looking for a home?” I’ve had people ask if I’m really a realtor. Yes, I am, and yes, we really are shopping for houses. They have very real budgets.
Jayne: It is the real deal. You can’t fake the delight, the disappointment, everything that comes with buying and selling a home. I think that’s why people get into it.
Q: You filmed AA Insurance Location Location Location NZ – and in your case, Paul, you’ve also worked on Love It or List It and Educators – while still having busy careers selling houses. How do you manage to do everything?
Paul: It’s a juggling act. We couldn’t do it without the support of our families and also our colleagues. They’re amazing.
Kiely, with her dog Frank. She turned to real estate after a successful career in TV. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Jayne: There’s no way we could do this without our teams at HQ. A big shout-out to Amy and Dinusha in my team.
Paul: And Libby and Fleur in mine. Jayne and I are both incredibly busy, and on the days we’re working on the show we are very committed to the people we’re helping. But behind the scenes, we’re on the phone, we’re trying to tie up deals.
Jayne: Real estate takes over your life. My kids are adults now but if I wasn’t going home to my husband every night, I could easily be working 24/7. There are many times when I get home and then sit in my car for an hour sorting out work things before I go in the door so I am not always bringing work home with me.
Paul: That was me last night. My kids are younger, my partner Belinda is incredible. She carries so much at home.
Q: You normally work in specific areas of Auckland – North Shore for you Paul, and eastern suburbs for you, Jayne. Has looking at real estate in other parts of the city and even out of Auckland taken you out of your comfort zone?
Paul: It’s been good, we’ve enjoyed it. We’d love to go even further, but unlike the UK show, we don’t have the budget or the time to travel all over the country.
Jayne: The GPS in my car did get well-used.
Paul: At least you managed to use yours.
Jayne: He did get lost a few times. Three times, I think?
Paul: And some.
Jayne: We did do quite a lot of filming at my house, which was good.
Paul: Jayne loves to host.
Jayne: I do. It saved me from having to get in the car and drive places. And I could do my hair and makeup, run downstairs and be ready to go.
Paul: It’s really nice when we do travel to other parts of the country and people come up to us and say they love the show.
The duo with house-hunters from this season of AA Insurance Location Location Location NZ. Photo / Supplied
Q: Do you get a lot of feedback from the public about it?
Jayne: We do. It’s really lovely. People are very supportive. Although I’ve been at the beach in tights and a sweater, my hair in a top-knot and no makeup on, and had a lady look at me and say, “Are you Jayne Kiely?” I said yes, and she said, “Oh. You look quite different.” Yep. I can’t always go out in full hair and makeup.
Paul: I can’t go to the local shops in a hoodie anymore. I got caught out in my Oodie and Ugg boots, looking pretty relaxed. Someone later said to me, “Did I see you at the shop in Ugg boots and a Oodie?” I said, “No, wasn’t me.”
Q: Paul, you’re becoming known for your wide range of colourful blazers. How many have you got?
Paul: Quite a few. In a lot of colours. I do like them. Although I bought one I loved, then got it home and wasn’t sure. It sat in my wardrobe for about four months, then I thought, I really should wear this. Once I had the courage to do that, people said to me, “That’s an amazing blazer.” It’s lilac.
Jayne: I love that one. It’s my favourite.
Paul: I’ve even started wearing my blazers with jeans. Jayne said to me one day, “Come on, try one with jeans.” So I did. Next, I’ll be wearing a singlet and board shorts.
Jayne: I’m a blazer and jeans kind of girl myself. I wear my own clothes for the show. I have borrowed a few pieces from shops near where I work, but I’m not a frilly girl, I’m happiest in jeans.
Paul: There have been a few days when we’ve turned up to film and pretty much been in the same clothes. I’ve thought, I really should have checked with Jayne to see what she was wearing.
Q: Having worked with house-hunters on the show, what’s the one piece of advice you would give buyers?
Jayne: Make sure all your ducks are in a row before you start seriously looking. Get your finances sorted, so if you see something you want, you can jump on it straight away. If you don’t have that side of things sorted, you can’t go to an auction, you can’t buy anything.
Paul: Don’t give up. It can be really frustrating if you keep missing out. When I was buying my first home, a mortgage broker said to me, “You’re going to look at 100 houses. You’ll maybe put offers on 10. You’ll end up buying one.” It may not be exactly those numbers, but it can be hard, and there will be some heartbreak, but eventually you will get lucky, and there will be a home for you in your budget.
- AA Insurance Location, Location, Location NZ appears on TVNZ 1 at 7.30pm on Sundays and on TVNZ+.
