What REINZ Awards Mean and Why They Matter When Choosing an Agent

Walk into any Canterbury real estate office and you will see REINZ award certificates displayed on walls and featured prominently in listing presentations. But what do these awards actually measure, and how useful are they when choosing an agent to sell your property?

What REINZ Is

REINZ is the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand - the professional body that represents real estate agents across the country. REINZ is the organisation that collects sales data from agents, publishes monthly market reports, manages the House Price Index in partnership with the Reserve Bank, and administers the REINZ Awards for Excellence. REINZ membership and MREINZ designation (Member of the Real Estate Institute of NZ) indicates that an agent or agency meets REINZ's professional standards and has access to their data, training, and network.

What REINZ Awards Measure

REINZ awards are primarily sales volume-based. The annual REINZ Awards for Excellence recognise agents and agencies across multiple categories, with the most prominent being: Residential Salesperson of the Year (highest sales volume nationally); regional sales volume awards; property management awards; and agency awards for office performance. Sales volume is measured by the total value of unconditional sales an agent or agency has transacted in the award period. Chris Jones of Bayleys Canterbury has won the REINZ Residential Salesperson of the Year title for highest sales volume, having cleared over $2.2 billion in career sales. Cameron Bailey of Harcourts Gold has been the number one Harcourts sales consultant nationally for five consecutive years and has also won REINZ awards.

What REINZ Awards Tell You

REINZ volume awards tell you that an agent sells a lot of property. This is a genuine and useful signal: agents who consistently sell at high volume understand the market deeply, have large buyer databases, and are experienced in managing complex negotiations. A high-volume agent has seen many variations of the situations your property sale might throw up. They have also likely developed efficient systems for managing multiple campaigns simultaneously. What REINZ awards do not tell you is: whether the agent sold properties above or below market value; how satisfied their vendors were with the experience; whether they manage 30 listings simultaneously and spread themselves too thin; or whether their specific expertise is relevant to your property type and price point.

How to Use Awards Information

Use REINZ awards as one data point among several, not as the deciding factor. An agent with five REINZ volume awards who has never sold in your suburb and carries 35 active listings is not automatically a better choice than a locally focused agent with fewer awards who has sold 12 properties in your street in the last three years. Combine REINZ award information with RateMyAgent reviews, specific sales track record in your suburb, and the quality of their appraisal and listing presentation before making your decision.

REINZ information from REINZ (reinz.co.nz) and 10best.co.nz. For general information only.