Jamie Doble and Philippa Ivory take reins at Bartley Group's Ray White real estate agency in Whanganui

The new team heading up Ray White Wanganui is (from left) Jamie Doble, Philippa Ivory and Brendon Bartley.

A well-known Whanganui real estate agent and a passionate marketer of Whanganui have joined forces at the helm of Ray White Wanganui.

Brendon Bartley, director of Bartley Group which has owned Ray White Wanganui since 2012, has brought in Jamie Doble as the licensed agent and Philippa Ivory as general manager.

"My role is adding to the family-friendly culture that we are very big on within our group," Bartley said.

"Culture and people are the biggest things and we want to make sure we look after them.

"We now have Philippa who will run the business well and Jamie who is coming back into real estate after five years out, as well as continuing to run his own business. He has more than 20 years' experience in real estate and is a high-level skilled agent."

Ivory, formerly general manager of economic development agency Whanganui & Partners, joined Ray White Wanganui in early November after a long break from the real estate industry.

"I did my papers many years ago but I'll be redoing them," Ivory said.

"Jamie and I have made sure we have processes, policies and procedures in place. Those systems are in place and they will be adhered to."

Ivory has years of experience in marketing and communications and is looking forward to using those skills in her new role.

"I'm passionate about selling Whanganui externally and I want to see the Whanganui business community thrive," she said.

"There's a lot of interest from people wanting to move to Whanganui and within Whanganui. Property is selling extremely fast, especially in the low to mid range end of the market. Whanganui is a place where KiwiSaver works because people can get their deposit so it's great for young people who want to buy."

The business has employed a specialist compliance manager for its rental portfolio as regulations tighten.

"We want to make sure all landlords and tenants are well-informed and everything is properly taken care of," Ivory said.

"We can use our group buying power to help all our landlords with things like insulation."

RFS Fire & Building Compliance, managed by Ivory's husband Mark Wilburn, is also part of the Bartley Group and will assist with work on rental property compliance.

Bartley said as part of a move to strengthen Ray White's presence in Rangitīkei, local resident Michael Hart, who has "a passionate interest in property", has joined the Marton team.

There are other changes in the Whanganui office with former licensed agent Tim Hocquard moving on by mutual agreement and a couple of new agents and others in training coming on board.

Ray White Wanganui will continue to support local sports and charities. It has an ongoing association with Riding for the Disabled and supported this year's Carols by Candlelight which raised money for Women's Network Whanganui.