Former All Blacks Andy Dalton, Wyatt Crockett, Wayne Graham and Casey Laulala are also in the industry.
Perhaps the first big-name All Black to begin selling homes was Kel Tremain, the world-class loose forward of the 1960s.
Tremain, who died in 1992, established his own company in Hawke’s Bay – a brand that is still going strong and which now boasts Harris and his wife Nat as agents.
Tohu and Nat Harris of Tremains Real Estate in Hawke’s Bay.
“That’s the reason why we chose Tremains to begin with, because of that, parallels from sport to real estate and the family aspect of it as well. Kel started it, Simon Tremain, Chris Tremain, Will Tremain, they’re all a part of the business still,” says Harris, almost six months into his new career.
“That sort of resonated with us and we’ve enjoyed being a part of it, enjoyed this new career, and hopefully we can make something of it.”
Fame: help or hindrance?
Having been the face of the Warriors for so long, Harris says he is trying to “build trust” with his new role and identity in his home province of Hawke’s Bay.
“People will beep their horns and yell out ‘Up the Wahs’ and things like that. That gives us a bit of joy in itself because we loved our time at the Warriors, and we loved that club and the people there,” says Harris.
“I guess that’s part of the challenge, really, trying to build that trust that we’re in real estate now and that we know what we’re talking about. Whether I was in footy or not, I think, building that trust with people, you’ve got to do regardless.”
Former Warriors captain Tohu Harris braces for impact with Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles prop Josh Aloiai in 2024. Photo / Photosport
As the tooting horns attest, Harris is a famous sportsman – not that he’s comfortable with that label.
But does fame help in getting a listing?
“To be honest, bugger all,” says One Roof editor Owen Vaughan.
“At the end of it, if a famous person rocks up and can’t do the job, you’re not going to give them the commission, you’re not going to give them the job.”
The Harris duo are off to a great start, and Tohu says they’ve had several memorable moments already.
“We managed to get a sale, where they had a previous campaign that struggled to sell it and whatnot, and we helped them get it over the line and they were able to move into retirement, which was really cool to see.”
Transferrable skills
Harris is quick to point to his wife Nat’s role in their professional partnership – she’s spent time with New Zealand Rugby, Melbourne Rebels, One NZ Warriors and New Zealand Rugby League.
“She’s incredible. She’s had 20 years of elite sports admin. She’s got massive amounts of experience, and she’s taken to real estate – especially the admin side, but also the people side as well.”
NZ Warriors captain Tohu Harris negotiating on field. Photo / Photosport
The people aspect, according to Harris, is one of the biggest parallels between real estate and professional sport.
“The most successful teams, in our experience, they’ve had a good connection with each other. They get along, they enjoy each other’s company and things like that, and it’s the same in real estate too. To build that trust with people wanting to sell or people wanting to buy, you can’t just be transaction-focused.”
Given the parallels, has Harris been recruiting any of his former teammates?
“I don’t know how serious it was, but I was having those sorts of conversations with Dylan Walker [now with Parramatta Eels], trying to convince him that he’ll do really well.”
Harris says top sportspeople have an “attention to detail” that many people don’t fully appreciate, and both he and One Roof’s Owen Vaughan believe that skill is highly transferable.
“I think this is why you see a lot of sports people go into real estate; there’s a certain amount of discipline that they have,” says Vaughan.
One Roof editor Owen Vaughan.
“Every real estate agent is essentially their own small business; they may be part of bigger agencies, and there’s benefits to that, but essentially, they’re individual contractors. If they don’t make the sale, they don’t get the commission; they’re relying on their own skills because no one else will do it for them.”
Shane Cortese
Whilst Tohu and Nat Harris are in the early stages of their new career, Shane Cortese made the switch from acting to auctioning about seven years ago.
After successful roles on Shortland Street (as Dominic Thompson), Outrageous Fortune (Hayden “Bloody” Peters), Westside (Danny Peters), The Almighty Johnsons (Colin Gunderson), Nothing Trivial (Mac Delany) and The Brokenwood Mysteries (Dennis Buchanan) – the buzz was wearing off.
“I wasn’t enjoying it as much as what I thought I would be. I was a very lucky actor. I got some great roles, and when I was getting the roles later in my career, they weren’t giving me the same kick that I got earlier in my career,” says Cortese.
Shane Cortese made the switch from acting to real estate about seven years ago.
When Cortese began in real estate, his employer suggested a career in auctions.
“I thought it can’t be that hard. I’ve done a few charity auctions as an actor before. I didn’t realise it was quite so difficult.”
Encouraged to compete at the New Zealand auctioneering championships – an event he wasn’t even aware of – he soon fell in love with the role. Watching the elite auctioneers, he thought they were “the coolest guys I’ve ever seen”.
“I threw myself into it 100%, made sure that everything I did was based around auctioning, and I went to see as many auctions as I could.
“The very following year, I competed in the finals again in that elite division, so it was a pretty quick trajectory once I decided that that was what I wanted to do.”
Shane Cortese playing Danny Peters in Westside, the father of his original Outrageous Fortune character, Hayden. Photo / South Pacific Pictures
Superpowers
As an accomplished actor, Cortese is clearly comfortable in front of a crowd – but he says the performance aspect of the auction is not important at all.
“My superpower probably comes from my old job, making people feel comfortable very quickly in a very stressful situation. It’s not acting at all.”
He says forging on-screen relationships with other actors was good practice.
“You’re thrown together. You’re told that you’re in love with this woman, and you’ve only just met her, and you’ve been married for 20 years, and you’ve got to fall into that relationship really quickly,” he says.
“So, you’ve got to find those little idiosyncrasies, the ability to build a rapport with someone really quickly.”
Since the early part of the century, Cortese has had a very public profile – one that he can’t just switch off. So has his fame helped or hindered in real estate?
“It works both ways. Although it helped me probably get my foot in the door, it also worked against me. ‘Okay, well, this guy’s been in my lounge for the last 10 years or whatever, why is he going to sell my home? Where, where’s his headspace at? Is he acting or is he real estate?’”
Shane Cortese transitioned from acting to real estate for family time, finds joy in wearing suits daily, and values building relationships in sales.
Lights, camera, auction
Cortese realised early that he couldn’t be both.
“I felt that once I moved away from acting altogether and focused totally on [real estate], it went better for me. You can’t be dabbling on the other side and selling … somebody’s 1.5 million-dollar property.”
Now Cortese is the national auction manager for Harcourts.
“I’ve probably got the best job in auctioneering in New Zealand. But there’s a lot of work that’s gone into that.”
Cortese is regularly asked about the industry by other public figures – canvassing him about their own suitability. He doesn’t sugar-coat anything.
“There is money to be made in this industry, but like there are All Blacks, and then there are Super Rugby players and NPC players, and then there are club rugby players – there’s a majority of real estate agents that are in the club rugby or NPC level. It’s only the All Blacks that you see or hear about. So, generally, it’s a grind to earn an income, so you’ve got to be prepared to get out there and graft and grind,” says Cortese.
He’s adamant that the hard work is worth it. Cortese loves his job.
“It gives me a massive amount of joy. Seeing an agent sell their first home by auction, seeing people crying because they bought a home. That’s the greatest feeling I’ve had.”
Mike Thorpe is a senior journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.