Established before Google, realestate.co.nz is New Zealand’s longest-standing property website and the official website of the real estate industry.

Dedicated only to property, our mission is to empower people with a property search tool they can use to find the life they want to live.

As for our team, we’re a tech company that lives and breathes property. We’re always looking for new ways to make the journey of buying, renting or leasing property easier and more enjoyable.

On the flip side, if you have a house, rural property, commercial building or business to sell or rent, we have every real estate brand in New Zealand on our site, and a dedicated audience of property seekers.

Our vision is for New Zealanders to always have a valuable place where they can buy and sell properties online.

Our story

Back in 1995, buying a home looked very different. Property listings were largely found in local newspapers and real estate agency windows, making it difficult to search beyond your local area or compare homes easily.

As the internet slowly began making its way into homes and businesses, a group of industry leaders began exploring how it could change the way New Zealanders searched for property.

Among them was Leonie Freeman, who was consulting for the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) and saw firsthand the frustrations of the property buying and selling process. Today, the idea sounds obvious, but in 1995 it was met with scepticism: “No one will ever look for real estate on the internet,” Leonie was told.

With growing backing from across the industry, including REINZ President Peter Cook, the concept took shape and, after around 12 months of development, www.RealENZ.co.nz went live in August 1996.

Google was still two years away, dial-up internet was the norm and buying anything online still felt futuristic. Yet property search in New Zealand had officially entered a new era.

The business was originally established as a joint venture between REINZ and the Auckland Multiple Listed Bureau. In 2005, Property Page Limited (PPL), comprising Bayleys, Barfoot & Thompson, Harcourts, Ray White and LJ Hooker, joined the shareholding and the company became realestate.co.nz.

That industry-owned model remains today, with realestate.co.nz continuing to reinvest in the platform to help New Zealanders find, buy and sell property.