Spy: Rich Listers brings in the alpha rivalry of real estate agents

Aman Gulia of Harcourts Mt Albert. Photo / Fiona Goodall

Reality show Rich Listers’ second season will be as much about the social scene and parties as the rivalries of real estate agents to add drama and glamour to the show. Alex Breingan, managing director of the show’s producer, Stripe Studios, is unapologetic about his “genre of reality TV,” which came under fire last year for using fictional storylines and fake deals.

Breingan insists this year the deals on the show will be real and he is using the downturn in the market to ramp up the drama and competitiveness.

“You just have to look at Selling Sunset taking the world by storm, which is very much about the agents and even Million Dollar Listing which is the longest-running of the US real estate shows. You might get 15 minutes into an episode more recently and you’ve not even seen a house yet,” says Breingan.

The show recently filmed at a party in Viaduct Harbour hotspot Bivacco and last week, Spy sprung the crew and new agent to the show Aman Gulia, filming at Botswana Butchery.

Next Saturday Gulia has invited the cameras and cast to his birthday party at Auckland’s Sunset Room rooftop bar.

Aman Gulia. Photo / Norrie Montgomery

A spokesperson for Bravo, which screened Rich Listers and has featured Stripe Studios’ shows The Circus and most recently Snow Crew, told Spy they were unsure where the second season of Rich Listers would screen.

Breingan could not confirm which New Zealand network was picking it up - citing confidentiality - but insists it will be seen here. The show wraps up production around October. Season one was sold to broadcasters in Europe and Canada, and he’s confident that his recent meetings in Los Angeles will crack the US market.

“Two weeks ago I met with the likes of MGM Prime Video and Warner Bros/Discovery in Hollywood and there’s a huge appetite for unscripted and reality TV formats for the US market and then globally. And just like Rich Listers, all these shows hang on the cast. I had a beer with the producer of the Bachelor in Paradise and he said the same. It’s all about the talent,” Breingan says.

“The main difference with New Zealand is that in the US success is praised and admired, which is refreshing,” he says.

The show’s biggest star, former deputy PM Paula Bennett is out this season. Cheryl Whiting is back and will take over the role of matriarch while her granddaughter, former Miss New Zealand Holly Cassidy is back too. Her boyfriend and fellow agent Ross Tierney will feature to spice things up.

Joining Gulia, who says he and his team transact more than $150 million in property sales within a year and feature prominently on billboards around the city, is estate agent Paul Neshausen. His listings include $10 million-plus properties in Auckland’s blue-chip suburbs and he’s also a familiar face on billboards.

Gulia says he consistently places within the Top 15 Harcourts’ agents internationally and is currently the No 1 Harcourts’ agent for Auckland Central.

West Auckland agent Diego Traglia is returning to the show, telling Spy he has sold more than 500 houses in the past 24 months. He boasts it’s the third year in a row that he has sold the most properties out of any agent in Auckland.

West Auckland real estate agent Diego Traglia.

“A lot of people see me as a super successful agent, with a perfect life, because that’s what social media shows. But behind the fancy cars, beautiful house and all the filtered pictures on Instagram, I am a simple, hard-working person who came from nothing. My first job in New Zealand was at Burger King. I then washed cars for six months,” he says.

Gulia says he has loved being able to showcase the real side of real estate.

“I’m looking forward to sharing real stories and the real me with New Zealand, from listing a modest New Lynn townhouse to showcasing a luxurious Gulf Harbour mansion and securing a multimillion-dollar development site,” he says.

The deals may be real this season, but Breingan has the whole season’s storylines pre-planned out. That’s the way shows like the Kardashians do it, he says.

“You’ll see sparks fly between the men this season as they battle to be the alpha dog in the real estate world.”