Operating since 1888, Harcourts are proud to provide a full range of real estate services in our local communities and international networks. 

We're a global real estate brand of over 6 800 team members worldwide, operating in over 900 offices in 10 countries and counting. 

We strive to provide exceptional client experiences that challenge and push the industry standard, all the while giving back to the communities in which we live and work.

John Bateman Harcourt  was a visionary; a man who redefined the real estate industry and created a part of New Zealand history. Born in England and having lived in Melbourne since 1856, JB Harcourt arrived in what had recently become New Zealand's capital city, Wellington at the age of 21. He worked for AP Stuart and Co before purchasing the soft goods business in 1879 and renaming it 'Harcourt & Co.' In 1888, JB transferred all his attention and energy (of which he had plenty) to an exciting new business in property services, and so began the Harcourts that we know today. JB clearly demonstrated a sharp entrepreneurial instinct, and, driven by a boldness that enabled him to overcome obstacles and conventions alike, quickly established Harcourt & Co. as one of the best-known businesses in the region. 

From day one of Harcourt & Co. opening their doors as a land and estate agency, the company flourished. It quickly established itself as an expert in the sale of not only city property, but also country, seaside, mining, farms and station properties and was recognised as having a strong auction presence. With the introduction of "The Register and Property Investors Guide", the equivalent of today's Bluebook, Harcourt & Co. published and circulated an impressive 4,000 copies throughout Wellington on the last Saturday of each and every month. Its success and progress as a company grew in line with Wellington's development. Life doesn't always go according to plan and just one year after Harcourt & Co. opened their doors they were caught up in a scandal that has been described as 'the most dramatic auction' in its history. 

Headlines of 'A Sensational Shooting Case' tells the story of a woman described as "particularly excitable and passionate" entering the auction rooms and proceeding to shoot a builder, Mr Norbury, with whom her husband had a dispute with at the time. Thankfully, Mr Norbury recovered and the woman and her husband were arrested. And to think that auctions in this day and age are considered exciting! It is testament to JB's work ethic and commitment to excellence that very little was done in Wellington's business circle or community without his involvement. Having been a member of the Chamber of Commerce since 1884 (a position he held for over 25 years), he was also a City Councillor for three terms, a Director of several companies and the President of the Wellington Racing Club for a record 26 years. 

JB was a man who never owned a racehorse and wasn't even a punter - instead he was a man who loved the administration and business side of the club and he is widely recognised as being instrumental in the club's success. In 1928 JB Harcourt passed away but right to the very end he was recognised as one of Wellington's best-known citizens and acknowledged for his part in the evolution of Wellington. His obituary refers to him as 'one of the city's pioneers' and just one month before his passing was made a life member of the Chamber of Commerce, a prestigious honour recognising his influence in shaping the region's infrastructure. Sadly, without JB around, Stanton and Gordon did not always see eye to eye and in 1929 Gordon ended up heading out on his own establishing Gordon Harcourt Ltd. Harcourt & Co. still continued as a family-run business, with Stanton at the helm ably assisted by his two sons. Neither remained with the company for long, leaving Stanton as the last of the Harcourt family to run the company. 

There is no doubt that Stanton had a stern disposition, not dissimilar to his father, but also like his father, he was a prominent member of Wellington society. Stanton was the first of three Harcourts to serve as the President of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), followed by his brother Gordon and then his nephew Ted. Collins MergerShortly after going into partnership with Hec Fisher in the 1950s, Stanton chose to retire. Hec had already been with the company for 30 or so years and had learnt to deal with Stanton's somewhat rigid and uncompromising approach to business. Hec, who took sole charge of Harcourt & Co. following Stanton's retirement, was a large contributor to the establishment of the Real Estate Agents Act and was in charge until his son Robert took over as Managing Director in 1968. Roger Whyte, who had previously worked for Gordon Harcourt Ltd, then joined Robert and together they built upon both the residential and commercial sides of the real estate business. Harcourt & Co. continued to be a proud Wellington company right up until 1980 when it expanded into Auckland amidst plans to list on the Stock Exchange. 

In 1985 Collins Real Estate, a company founded in 1972 with an emphasis on marketing, training and technology previously unseen in New Zealand real estate merged with Harcourt & Co. to create Harcourts Real Estate Ltd. The new company quickly became the major force in Christchurch real estate and made the number one spot its own as 'the house sold name'. The merger effectively formed one of the largest real estate companies in the country and, according to Stephen Collins, then Managing Director, illustrated an increase in client expectations for a wider range of services at the time. 125-year-stephen-collins In 1988, celebrating 100 years in business, Stephen introduced the current franchise model and then set Harcourts up as a publicly listed company. 

One of the very first shareholders of substance was the National Bank of New Zealand, who continued to purchase shares within the company culminating in a return to private ownership. Just one short year later Tower Corporation took the plunge and purchased the shares from the National Bank. Stephen then, in 1992, conducted a management buyout with the aim of creating more of an industry-led company. After six extensive months of negotiation Stephen, together with his management group made up of Paul Wright, Bob Cooper and Jo-Anne Clifford, were the proud owners of Harcourts. The management team went from strength to strength and Harcourts' presence across New Zealand grew immeasurably. In 1993, Paul Wright was promoted from his role as South Island Regional Manager to General Manager and was instrumental in the growth and ethos of the company. His passion for Harcourts and its people earned him a massive level of respect not only within the company but within the real estate industry. He is a truly exceptional individual, who can be relied upon to build relationships and achieve successful outcomes, a great thinker and a person who gets things done. He is, without a shadow of a doubt, recognised as one of the single most important people in Harcourts' journey to date.

AUSTRALASIAN EXPANSION
Harcourts continued to diligently set up branches across New Zealand, all the while having its sights firmly set on the Australian market. In 1997, the dream became reality as Mike and Irene Green, former Harcourts franchise owners, headed across the ditch to spearhead the 'Harcourts-isation' of Australia. Over the course of a few years, the big blue signs went up in all six Australian states and Harcourts became the fastest growing real estate company in Australasia. Without Mike and Irene's vision and determination, Harcourts would not be the company it is today. Mike continued to define the industry, showing the determination and dedication necessary to create his own unique place in Harcourts' history. With a background in all areas of the company to his role as Managing Director, from 2009-2019, Mike is quite simply put, the past, the present and the foundation for the future of Harcourts. 125-year-mike-green Mike, like JB Harcourt, is a visionary, a man who continues to define an industry, a man with the determination and dedication necessary to create a piece of the world's history. His journey with Harcourts began in Christchurch however he soon moved to Auckland to take over the role of Assistant Regional Manager. Mike was the very first Auckland Franchise owner and his company was the No. 1 Harcourts Franchise in New Zealand for four consecutive years. 125-year-paul-wright

HARCOURTS STRENGTH
Since Mike and Paul took over the reins in 1999, Harcourts has expanded even further with almost 900 offices now in New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, China, Hong Kong, South Africa, Indonesia Canada, and the United States. As a company, Harcourts has always honoured success and each and every milestone reached was celebrated. In 2000, the prestigious Harcourts Hall of Fame was introduced to acknowledge the extraordinary contribution certain people had made to the successes, growth and stability of the Harcourts brand. Each year new members are inducted into this elite group of people. While Harcourts is quick to recognise and applaud accomplishment within the group, they themselves have been honoured for exceptional success and achievement on an international basis. In 2003, Mike Green was honoured by being invited to join the New Zealand Business Roundtable.

OUR BRAND
"The more things change, the more they stay the same" could well have been said about Harcourts. While the look of what Harcourts does has certainly changed over the years with both the logo and flagship magazine, the Bluebook evolving through the ages, there are also certain things that will never change. The Harcourts brand has always stood for dependability, quality, professionalism and has become known for the exceptional service and commitment provided to clients. Harcourts not only sells more than 1 in every 5 homes in New Zealand, it has also been consistently recognised over the years as New Zealand's most preferred real estate group and has top of mind awareness in AC Nielsen research. Harcourts, New Zealand's largest real estate group, is proud to be the brand of choice for the tens of thousands of New Zealander's who put their trust in them each and every day.

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
It's not just people who make a difference in the real estate industry. At Harcourts, it's also about the services and tools that are provided to each and every client. Harcourts takes pride in the fact that innovation and technology are a major focus of theirs - it is one of their very real points of difference. In 1996 that innovation in technology led to Harcourts launching the very first public searchable property database on the internet. Some 17 years on, www.harcourts.co.nz continues to be ranked as the most visited real estate group website in New Zealand. In 2015, Harcourts was selected from a world-wide category to be the first real estate company to be featured across Apple’s global web network, with a case study showing how they have used Apple’s iOS technology to transform their business. 

THE HARCOURTS ACADEMY
You don't get recognised for doing an average job - you get recognised by doing the very best job, by planning, creating and implementing excellence in everything you do. With this in mind, in 2002 Harcourts launched The Academy, a training academy providing courses for sales, management and administration to ensure that the Harcourts team received the best possible training. The Academy, headed by Irene Green, has fast become recognised as setting the benchmark for the entire real estate industry and has now achieved RTO (Registered Training Organisation) status allowing industry licensing to all Harcourts people attending the Academy programmes. Harcourts continues to be the only real estate group in New Zealand to provide such extensive in-house training opportunities.

OUR STORY CONTINUES...
In 2019, Steve Caradoc-Davies was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Harcourts International, to lead the company into the next era. He was hand selected by Mike Green, Paul Wright and the Harcourts board. The change in leadership was planned as part of a succession plan and aligns with the organisation’s long-term focus on strategic initiatives across digital marketing, technology, training, people & culture and client experience. Mr Caradoc-Davies leads the executive leadership team to support the long-term vision of the business, while continuing to add greater value to the franchise business owners and their teams, who are the foundation of the Harcourts Group. As Harcourts' journey continues, we look back proudly at the people who have helped us along the road, the milestones that we've met and celebrated, the records that we've broken, the ideas that became reality and the family that we've created. 

Our mission is to create clients for life. To achieve this, we commit to Our Promise; a written assurance that we will deliver you an exceptional level of service and, most importantly, deliver on your primary objective - to achieve the best possible result for your property. Research has demonstrated that our clients expect an exceptional level of personal and professional service from our team. Our Promise is our way of being held accountable, and your way of assessing our performance every step of the way. Consider it a total commitment to working together to make the whole experience easier, less stressful and far more rewarding.

Here's how we make that happen...
Our Promise is made up of five essential services that you, our clients need from us to ensure you are confident in the process we use to market your property. Our Promise is your absolute assurance of how seriously we take our responsibilities on your behalf and the importance we place on working in relationship with you.

Written Marketing Plan and Calendar
Post Inspection Feedback
Regular Written Marketing Report
Marketing Review Meetings
All Offers Presented In Writing
You are in total control

We know that no two properties and no two clients are the same. We work closely with you to understand your situation, your wants and needs when marketing your property as well as how much or how little you want to be communicated with and by which method. We implement our tried and true Promise services, together with marketing strategies we have identified will best fit your property and your goals. We then regularly deliver on the progress of your marketing campaign to ensure all opportunities are being explored. Our Promise is extremely important as it gives you full transparency of the process, and sets the expectations right from the beginning of our relationship.

It's all about flexibility
Whilst we are committed to delivering the same exceptional service you have come to expect, through regular face to face contact, phone calls, emails or text message, we know that these methods don't always fit in with your schedule. You have told us you want your property progress on the go, so we have delivered. As an exclusive client of ours, we offer the benefit of a client login which gives you 24/7 access to everything you need to know about what is happening with your property. This valuable tool will house a copy of Our Promise commitment, the marketing plan and calendar, marketing reports and feedback about your property. 

In addition to this, all of the documents relating to the property will be held here, as well as you will be able to see how your property is performing on the various portals in which your property is marketed.

Our Client Login offers other beneficial features;

• Sends reminder alerts prior to specific calendar events
• Sends notifications when new documents have been uploaded
• Access to all reports and documents as and when they need
• View live website hits as required
• Your property will have its own unique login
• Manage any buyer searches with new property notifications that fit your set criteria

For us, Our Promise is all about our commitment to service, our attention to the small details and the clear expectations that ensures we achieve the best possible result for you and your property.

Harcourts is one of the top 5 real estate brands in South Africa as well as the fastest growing national real estate company over the past 10 years.

• Harcourts - resdential sales and property management 
• NAI Harcourts - commercial sales and property investment managment specialists 
• Nutrien Harcourts - Australia's leading rural regional sales and property management specialists. 
• Harcourts Academy - provides 1200+ highly valued learning opportunities to our network.
• Mortgage Express - financial services expertise aiding clients proeprty requirements.

After asking our Harcourts team if there was a better way to invest in the communities where we work, live and play, their overwhelming response led to the 2008 launch of our own charity, The Harcourts Foundation. For over 125 years, Harcourts has enthusiastically supported a myriad of community initiatives and our Foundation continues this purpose with our aim ‘to provide support that helps, grows and enriches our communities’.

Our Foundation really is at the heart of our core values – people first, doing the right thing, being courageous and fun and laughter – and is the embodiment of what it means to be part of Harcourts. Now operating in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and the United States, The Harcourts Foundation has raised more than $4 million dollars, made over 700 grants to charitable organisations, and assisted literally thousands of people in need, with 100% of funds raised going directly back into our communities.

As we grow the Harcourts real estate brand across new countries and markets, we also look forward to building this exciting legacy that is The Harcourts Foundation.