THOMPSON family

From watching the Auckland Harbour Bridge open in 1959, to launching the first fully interactive industry real estate website in New Zealand in 2001, Barfoot & Thompson been part of Auckland and Northland real estate for more than 90 years.

Resilience has been the key for the family-owned company and it has not tried to expand beyond Auckland and Northland, where it has 40% market share of the residential market.

It now has 65 residential and commercial branches across the two regions and is still run by the Barfoot & Thompson families.

In the year to June 2018, the company sold 9320 properties at a total value of $8.6 billion.

It also manages more than 14,000 properties. Included in that is the management of more than 6400 three-bedroom rental properties.

Director Peter Thompson is upbeat about the Auckland residential market and says there is a growing acceptance that where prices are at is likely to be the benchmark for the autumn sales season.

Mr Thompson, grandson of Maurice Thompson, who teamed up with Barfoot brothers in 1934 says the company a major sponsor of various sports groups and community events including the Auckland Blues and the Lantern Festival.

It is also a proud sponsor of the Starship Foundation, raising more than $2.5 million since 2003.

The company also donated $1 million toward The Lighthouse art installation, which opened on Queens Wharf on Auckland’s Waitemata waterfront in February last year.

In the miniaturised shape of a 1950s state house, artist Michael Parekowhai’s controversial project is part of Auckland Council’s public art collection and Mr Thompson says “Michael is an outstanding Auckland artist with a list of notable works to his name. I am in admiration of the thinking behind this latest piece of his art.”