Laura McClennan meets two imports, Andrea and Duncan Ritchie, who bring skill, passion, and magic to the Bay.

WORDS LAURA MCCLENNAN / PHOTOS TRACIE HEASMAN

Thinking about her first sale always makes her laugh. “It was 1993,” Andrea Ritchie recalls, “and I was checking out some open homes, busman’s-holiday style, when I came across a villa that was perfect for a buyer I had just met.

I called the woman and she raced over, still in her gardening clothes, and wanted to make an offer then and there. Of course, I had no contracts on me at the time, or keys to the office, so I had to take her home with me. My house was an absolute mess, and I was
a nervous wreck – I’d only been in real estate for three weeks! She just smiled and told me to make us both a coffee, while she wrote up the offer.”

TIMES MAY HAVE CHANGED, BUT ANDREA’S KNACK FOR FINDING THE PERFECT HOUSE FOR HER CLIENTS HASN’T. “It’s all about tuning in to what people want. It’s what we do best.”

BY ‘WE’, of course, she is referring to herself and her other half, husband and real estate business partner at Bayleys Tauranga, Duncan.

THE DUO WORKED TOGETHER FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES BEFORE MAKING THE MOVE FROM PONSONBY TO PAPAMOA. They’ve only been here a couple of months but, with a long list of professional achievements under their belts, and down-to-earth dispositions, they’re already making their mark on the Bay.

“WE ALWAYS THOUGHT WE’D END UP SOMEWHERE NORTH, BUT ONE NIGHT WE MET A COUPLE WHO LIVED BESIDE THE MOUNT GOLF COURSE,” Andrea explains. “We were intrigued, so decided to come down for a few weekends in winter. Duncan always says winter is a great ‘litmus test’ to see what a place is really like – when it’s at its worst. We were pleasantly surprised. We came across Post Bank one July night and couldn’t believe it was fully booked! Luckily, they managed to squeeze us in. The meal was beautiful, and the restaurant was buzzing. That night really cemented the move for us.”

THE COUPLE BOUGHT A HOLIDAY HOME, JOINED THE LOCAL GOLF CLUB AND HAD THEIR FIRST PAPAMOA CHRISTMAS. It’s no surprise the thought of going back to Auckland had somewhat lost its appeal.

“IT TOOK US A FEW MONTHS TO CUT TIES, THEN WE HIT THE GROUND RUNNING WITH BAYLEYS TAURANGA IN SEPTEMBER,” says Duncan. “We thought we’d be in Auckland for a few more years, but The Mount seduced us. There are so many people coming to the Bay, of a similar age group, from all over New Zealand, for the lifestyle.”

“PONSONBY IS A NICE COMMUNITY BUT IT’S DIFFERENT HERE; PEOPLE ARE JUST SO HAPPY. Business is thriving, and there are beautiful homes popping up everywhere, so we’re still running a highly active real estate business. But at 6 pm we’re walking down the beach – not sitting at our desks,” says Andrea.

THEY MAY HAVE BID FAREWELL TO PONSONBY, BUT IT DIDN’T TAKE THEM LONG TO SNIFF OUT THE BEST LOCAL COFFEE SPOTS. “George Café is fantastic, and so is the newly opened Heath Street Café. We love the salads at Central Deli and, in Tauranga, we’re big fans of Alimento and Me & You.”

AFTER A LIGHT-HEARTED DEBATE ABOUT WHERE TO FIND THE BEST SCONES IN TOWN, I ask Duncan how he met Andrea. He laughs and proceeds to explain, with a thick Scottish accent, that they were first introduced when he was working at the Maritime Museum.

“I REALISED EARLY ON THAT A WOMAN IN REAL ESTATE OFTEN WORKS WEEKENDS so, thinking I’d never see her again, I quit my job and decided to try my hand with property! Initially, Andrea was selling houses in Ponsonby, and I was working for the city apartment team. When the market turned upside down during the global financial crisis (GFC), we decided to join forces.”

IT TURNS OUT HE WASN’T HALF BAD, EITHER. DUNCAN WAS CROWNED ‘ROOKIE OF THE YEAR’ in 2003 and, since then, the pair have won multiple awards, gone back to Massey University to attain further qualifications, and accumulated a whopping $400 million in sales: an achievement held by only 17 out of 1,060 Bayleys agents nationally. They were also the winning marketing team on The Block NZ. Twice!

“WE’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT LEARNING AND UPSKILLING – you have to be when you’re dealing with such large sums of money. Years ago, you could throw up a sign and have people queueing up to buy, but the market is different now. When you’ve worked through tough markets like the GFC, you learn to adapt and innovate,” says Duncan.

“BUYING OR SELLING IS AN EMOTIONAL TIME FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED, WHETHER IT’S A FIRST HOME OR A MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR PROPERTY. Duncan and I love working as a team, and we’ve found that our clients appreciate a choice of who they deal with. It’s the power of two,” adds Andrea.

THE BAY’S BEST SCONE IS STILL UP FOR DEBATE, BUT ONE THING IS CERTAIN – Andrea and Duncan are very welcome imports, who bring with them a classy mindset and skills that put them in hot demand.