Century 21 Local Realty is focusing on key residential growth and development areas such as Papakura, Takanini, Karaka and Drury.

Franchise owners Gary Bal and Iresh Tennakoon bring considerable form having already been successful in real estate in Auckland's southern suburbs and districts.

With a top performing sales team - including Harsha Thanthriwatte, Anjali Amarasinghe, and Kevin Ratnayake – Gary & Iresh anticipate they'll be recruiting more and more salespeople by the end of this year.

"This is yet another positive development for Century 21 New Zealand with Local Realty a great addition. We welcome similar high-performing salespeople like Gary and Iresh. Good on them for having the business foresight to establish a new franchise in such a strategic part of Auckland. It further strengthens Century 21 in the south," says Derryn Mayne, Co-owner of Century of 21 New Zealand.

"Over the years Gary and Iresh have earned a huge local following. By adding Century 21's fresh new branding, fantastic service and great results, the team at Local Realty will do very well indeed," she says.

Ms Mayne says Century 21 New Zealand is seeing real momentum. New franchise owners were announced in Te Awamutu last month, with plenty of enquiries coming in from senior realtors, attached to other real estate companies, considering their options and ownership opportunities with Century 21 New Zealand.

"Since purchasing a stake in Century 21 New Zealand from Australia in April, prospective franchise owners and salespeople can now see more autonomy in our direction and decision-making, which they like. What's more, the public and other salespeople are loving our stylish new branding as well as our strong marketing presence via digital platforms," says Ms Mayne.

Gary Bal and Iresh Tennakoon say they were attracted to the brand by the positive traction and cut-through Century 21 New Zealand is gaining. They are proud to be part of that new energy in an area of Auckland they love and know well.

Mr Bal is a passionate, enthusiastic and driven real estate professional with a proven track record in sales and negotiations. While before getting into real estate, Mr Tennakoon worked as a retail manager for several years where he fine-tuned his exceptional selling and marketing skills.

The new franchise owners are totally committed to helping people fulfil the Kiwi dream of home ownership.