The North Shore property market is about to get a lot hotter with a new and very well-known real estate agent set to make her debut in the coming months.
Former Shortland Street star Angela Bloomfield, a household name for nearly three decades, is about to start selling houses andshe has had an excellent mentor in fellow actor turned real estate star Shane Cortese.
The pair are part of a long list of celebrities who have used their A-list status to launch into the housing market, including former sports reporter Hamish McKay, TV personalities, Sally Ridge and Jayne Kiely, former league player Logan Swann and Headless Chickens singer Fiona McDonald.
Bloomfield spent the weeks of lockdown working on developing her new career path and is set to become a qualified real estate agent by the end of August. She's been busy training and working for Ray White for much of this year and is looking forward to being able to finally get out in the market to practise her new trade.
"I've bought and sold a lot of houses personally, but more than that, I'm the one, when friends mention they are looking to buy, that's like, 'Awesome – I'll look for you. How many bedrooms? What's the budget?'" Bloomfield tells Spy.
The actor and director says houses and architecture have always interested her and she gets to put those passions into her new career.
Cortese, who is in real estate as an auctioneer, has been supportive of Bloomfield's move into the field, offering advice as she's worked through the training process to become registered.
Shane Cortese
"I reached out to Shane as I knew he was in the industry, to get his opinion," Bloomfield says.
"He was super-generous and shared his journey and how he had found going back to study etc. It was motivating."
Fans of the actress shouldn't despair that this will be the last time they see her on our screens as she moves on to a new frontier, because Bloomfield hopes to continue acting and directing when she can and hopes to be able to juggle both careers, alongside raising her teenage children, Max and Maya.
"You can't take the actor out of the girl," she says. "I've been teaching recently, while finishing my papers, and being around performers always reminds me how much I love it. We'll just take that one project at a time. Right now my sights are on learning as much as I can and becoming a strong salesperson. I am loving being part of a hugely supportive team, where being older and female are celebrated."
Bloomfield's family is supportive of the new career move and her children are pleased they may see more of her now that she'll be working closer to home with flexible hours.
"Working in TV, you work all sorts of crazy hours and real estate is the same. But it's different - you're out there meeting people, determining their needs and hopefully taking the stress away. I'm just really excited about this new work adventure."
