Lesley McLellan

As a rookie joining one of New Zealand's most successful residential sales teams in January 1998, Lesley McLellan had a big reputation to live up to.

But not to be intimidated by the achievements of her peers, Lesley launched her new career as she meant to continue. In her first day in the job, she chalked up 31 listings. By the end of her first two weeks, she had sold five properties. Not bad considering it's not uncommon for a new agent to take weeks, months even, to make that first sale. Or that sales in Canterbury at the time were at their lowest. Even more impressive is that for most of 1998 and 1999 Lesley held the 13th slot in Canterbury.

Lesley's background before real estate was mainly teaching. She has spent 15 years involved in education in intermediate, international and private schools. She has two sons, James is 30 and Ben is 27. Jamie is a furniture designer with quite an artistic flair as you will see from his drawings. His Heath Robinson like drawings can be accessed via his armsflyingeverywhere website. He has already had a fullpage article as one of Auckland's bright young things and is in the next issue of Urbis.

Lesley set up Peri Drysdale's marketing and PR department and had the privilege of driving the 2001 Clinton media coup. She left Untouched World to become the South Island Training Manager for Harcourts New Zealand.

Lesley is the Past President of the Friends of the Christchurch Arts Festival, now remains as a committee member. She was a judge in the 2005 House of the Year for Canterbury and Ashburton. In her spare time she entertains friends, runs, studies French at University, belongs to a book group and is a fly fisher woman.

So what is it about Lesley that has brought such extraordinary success in such a short time? She has owned 10 houses during her years of moving around and has personally been part of 26 offers during these years! She has experienced lots of the pitfalls of buying and selling so can now be wise for you! She is a renovator, is practical and can visualise potential. She also understands the emotions of selling and buying, the process of moving on and moving in and of 'belonging' again.

Sure, there's dedication, commitment, passion, confidence, drive, honesty ... those are fundamentals no agent can survive without. Then there's the enormous support from her colleagues at Harcourts Holmwood to which Lesley attributes much of her success. Which is true to a point. But, as you will discover when you meet her, there's much more to it than that.

It's the H-Factor, the thing that says, above all else - honour your clients. Honour them for having the courage to place control of their most valuable asset in your hands.

Lesley will do everything she can to justify your faith in her.

8th in Canterbury for 2008/2009.

Second in the Holmwood Franchise for 2008/2009 year

25th in Harcourts NZ for 2008/20009