Learn how one Real Estate manager achieved a successful result for a South Canterbury family.

In 2008 Barry and Heather Gray, their son Richard, and his wife Juliet, bought Hakataramea Station near Kurow in South Canterbury. It was a big change for the Gray family as they had been farming in Southland since 1975. However, the move to Canterbury gave them the opportunity to farm together as a family, as their previous properties had been spread over an area of 15 kilometres. Barry and Richard knew they could work smarter on one property, but it had to be the right one. Hakataramea Station was it.

When their move to Hakataramea Station was complete, they turned their attention to the sale of their remaining Southland property, Crosslea Farm. Located 30 minutes from Edendale, the 265 hectare farm was ideally suited to dairy support and grazing.

The Gray family contacted PGG Wrightson Southland Real Estate Manager Andrew Patterson to market the property on their behalf. Interest in the farm was muted due to a number of factors negatively impacting the dairy industry at that time. With that in mind, the Gray family decided to continue to farm the property until the market picked up, with Andrew continuing to monitor interest and identify opportunities for the sale of Crosslea Farm.

In 2016 the market picked up, so the Gray family listed the property. Interest in Crosslea Farm as a grazing unit to support local dairy farmers increased partly due to the effect of Mycoplasma bovis (M bovis) in the Southland region – as it allowed farmers to graze their animals on land that was M bovis free.

Andrew fielded a number of enquiries, resulting in the property being sold to a local dairy farmer in November 2018. Handover took place in May 2019.

Barry Gray said, “Southland is a close community and we only work with people who we trust and who have a good reputation. Andrew is one of those people. He’s straight up front and given his extensive experience in the region we knew he could manage the complexity that M bovis may add to any potential sale. While the farm wasn’t infected with M bovis, there were a number of conditions related to the sale that we had to comply with.”

“We were all delighted with the outcome Andrew got for us. The proceeds of the sale will fund future development at Hakataramea Station. Since we bought the Station our family has grown with the arrival of Ben, Sophie and Phoebe so these funds will allow us to set up the farm for the next generation too,” Barry said.

Andrew added, “Timing is everything in real estate. While the Gray family had a great property to market, the demand wasn’t there in 2008. They were in a fortunate position of being able to retain and manage the land in the interim. When the market did pick up, we got a good price for the property, with both vendor and buyer pleased with the outcome.”

Pictured: PGG Wrightson Southland Real Estate Manager Andrew Patterson takes a final look over Crosslea Farm with vendors Barry and Heather Gray, the day before their clearing sale in May 2019.

This article was profiled in our PGW Annual Report