Daniel Harris has emerged victorious at the 2018 Auctioneering Championships, held last week by the Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory at the REINT head office.

He told WILLIAMS MEDIA he was "humbled" to win.

"It's always a great experience, there's some very good auctioneers in the Territory like Karl Secondis, so to win was certainly a humbling experience," he said.

When asked what he loves about competing, Mr. Harris told WILLIAMS MEDIA he loves being forced outside of his comfort zone.

"It forces you out of your comfort zone which creates growth. You learn more every time and it certainly helps sharpen your skills," he said.

"The real estate industry in general can be quite competitive so it’s refreshing to see a healthy camaraderie amongst competitors and a mutual respect for one another for having the courage to compete," he said.

Pictured: Daniel Harris (left) and Karl Secondis (right). Image by REINT.

"Daniel is a seasoned auctioneer and has called many, many auctions for his team and other agencies.  We are sure that Daniel will do the Northern Territory proud at the 2018 Australasian Auctioneering Competition (AAC)," Quentin Kilian, CEO of REINT, told WILLIAMS MEDIA.

This year's competitors were:

• Ross Tsounias - Elders Darwin
• Paul McCormick - Elders Katherine
• Adam Gulliford - Raine & Horne Darwin
• Daniel Harris - Real Estate Central
• Dominic Miller - Framptons First National Alice Springs
• Karl Secondis - Ray White Bayside.

Karl Secondis, an agent from Ray White Bayside who has been competing for over twenty years, brought home second place.

"You always learn something and you always come away from these events as a more confident auctioneer. It's a great opportunity to really get outside your comfort zone and in a small auction market like Darwin, it's nice to be exposed to auctioneers in other auction markets from around Australia," he told WILLIAMS MEDIA.

Related reading: Darwin agent Karl Secondis returns to Ray White

When asked what he loves most about competing, Karl saw it as a great way of pushing yourself to be better.

“Darwin is a small market but it’s important for me to be at the very front of my game in that landscape.  And if I’m going to do it, I want to do it well,” Mr. Secondis said.

“The goal is to qualify in the finals of the Australasian competition… no one has ever made the finals from NT before. It’s just a great experience to be up against such tough competition.

"For me, the thing that always keeps occurring is that there is a fifteen minute time cap and that's probably the one thing that gets you into trouble if you talk too much, you can be marked down substantially for every seconds you go overtime," he told WILLIAMS MEDIA.

Related reading: Carlton Heres wins 2018 REIT Senior Auctioneer Competition

"Karl is our veteran performer and auctioneer and never fails to amaze with his talented calls. Karl, who is now with Ray White Bayside, has previously won the title four times and has represented the Northern Territory at the AAC over a dozen times. Karl was the runner up for 2018 and we look forward to him setting Auckland alight," Mr. Kilian told WILLIAMS MEDIA.

Both men will go on to represent the Northern Territory in the Australasian Auctioneering Championships in Auckland in October. 

"It will be my 11th time competing at the Championships," Mr. Secondis told WILLIAMS MEDIA.

"Darwin is a smaller market, so it's easier to qualify than Sydney and Melbourne where there are more agents chasing it," he said.

Related reading:

2017 Australasian Auctioneering Championships Finalists

Winner of the 2017 Australasian Auctioneering Championships is Justin Nickerson

Two finalists announced in Senior Auctioneering Competition