Rotorua real estate changes: EVES and McDowell Professionals form new bigger company

EVES Realty Eastern Bay of Plenty general manager Steve Lovegrove. Photo / Andrew Warner

Two long-standing names in Rotorua real estate have merged in what they say is an attempt to ensure they are around for another 100 years.

For the first time since 1911, McDowell Real Estate, which later operated under the Professionals brand, is no longer in Rotorua. The company has merged in a strategic expansion with EVES Realty Rotorua to create a larger organisation under the EVES brand, operating as EVES Eastern Bay of Plenty.

The move has also seen EVES expand into the Eastern Bay of Plenty for the first time, taking over the former Whakatāne McDowell Professionals office.

Through the merger, Rotorua Professionals McDowell Real Estate owner Steve Lovegrove has now become the EVES Eastern Bay of Plenty general manager based in Rotorua. He said it was the right decision for the business, but it was also “heartbreaking” given the long history of the brand previously owned by four generations of the McDowell family.

He said more small real estate businesses were popping up, but larger organisations could offer a wider range of services.

“We have decided that working together is better than working as an individual.

“Together, we are stronger, more capable, and more committed than ever to raising the bar in real estate service.”

He said the companies had a long history of working together.

Ian McDowell's family owned McDowell Real Estate in Rotorua over four generations and more than 100 years. Photo / NZME

In 1976 – a time when the New Zealand real estate landscape was “a patchwork of independent, family-branded businesses” – the then leaders of the two companies, Ian McDowell and Max Eves, helped form the United Trading Society, a co-operative network of land agents across the country.

“They were pioneers.”

In the mid-1980s, McDowell andEves decided to adopt the Professionals brand that had emerged in Australia. In later years EVES became its own independent brand while McDowell continued with the Professionals group.

In 2016, McDowell sold the business to Lovegrove and his wife Melanie.

Lovegrove said the real estate world was evolving with new technologies and shifting client expectations, so it was “only fitting that our two pioneering brands unite to lead the way”.

Lovegrove said the new team aimed to dominate the the real estate and property management industries.

“Having the organisation on a solid foundation will ensure its life for the next 100 years.”

Former McDowell Professionals staff had moved into the EVES building on the corner of Haupapa and Tutanekai streets and there were plans for future office expansions, Lovegrove said.

The Rotorua office had 18 salespeople and 10 property managers, with four salespeople and one property manager in Whakatāne.

Heath Young, the chief executive of Realty Services Limited, which operates EVES and Bayleys, said the McDowell team was a great cultural fit for EVES.

“We share underlying family business based values while maintaining a professional approach and applying high energy levels to the customer experience, there is a natural synergy.”

Heath Young, chief executive of Realty Services Limited, which operates EVES and Bayleys.

Realty Services Limited now has a network of 27 offices across four regions and a team of 557 staff.

He said the joint venture was an investment into the region, and he believed it had huge potential.

History of McDowell & Co and McDowell Real Estate

The McDowell company was started in 1911 by Thomas McDowell and his son John .

Thomas McDowell was still working in the business when he was elected the Rotorua district’s second mayor in 1927. He died the following year.

John McDowell retired in the mid-1950s. Gordon McDowell joined the company in 1945 and was still working for it when he died in 1976. Ian McDowell joined in 1970 and sold it to Steve Lovegrove in 2016.

Ian McDowell said he was a little bit disappointed the brand was gone, but said he understood things changed.

“You have to change with the times but it is a bit sad after all that … You either be very small or be very big in real estate. They have moved on and I have too.”

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.