Every agent has a story about their first listing. Most of them start with a sign, a phone call, or a lucky break. This one starts with a backyard nobody asked him to look at.

Iresh Tennakoon is now Managing Director of Harcourts Ignite Realty, leading offices in Manukau and Wiri. He’s an award-winning agent and the Business owner. Ten years ago, he was just starting out. This is the story he still tells first.

Alex didn’t want an agent.

She’d made that clear before Iresh ever called her. She was selling the house herself. Private sale. No listings, no signs, no one walking through her home telling her what it was worth.

Iresh called anyway.

He didn’t talk about the market.

He didn’t ask for the listing.

As Iresh remembers it, he simply asked about the creek running along the back of her property, whether she’d like some help figuring out what to do with it.

 “I’m not looking for an agent,” Alex told him. “But if you know gardens, come have a look.”

Before real estate, Iresh owns a landscaping and gardening business. Working with gardens and outdoor spaces wasn’t just a job, it was something he genuinely understood.

Alex said yes to that part. Not the house. The creek.

He drove out to Wedgwood Avenue and spent time looking over the backyard with Alex. Most of the conversation was about the creek and the garden what could be done, what was already working, and what wasn’t. Real estate barely came up. It wasn’t until they were wrapping up that Iresh mentioned the house.

“If you ever want to talk about it, just let me know,” he said.

Not long after, Alex got back in touch. This time, it was about the house.

It sold to Tash and Tomasi, a young couple buying their first home. They had family in Mangere and wanted to be close by. The sale went through, everyone signed, and Alex packed up for Wellington not long after.

Most stories like that end right there, at settlement. This one didn’t.

Ten years on, Alex still calls. Not often, not for anything urgent, just to catch up. She still sends family and friends his way when they need help, because after all these years, he’s still the first person she thinks to call.

Tash and Tomasi made that house their home for several years. When they were ready for something bigger, they didn’t look for another agent. They called Iresh. He helped them sell the home where their journey had begun and guided them into the next chapter.

For Iresh, that’s one of the most rewarding parts of the job, not simply helping someone buy a house, but being there again years later when they’re ready for whatever comes next

Ask Iresh about his first listing and this is the story he tells. Not because it was his biggest sale, but because it was the one that shaped everything that came after.

But Alex was the first, and she’s still the one he mentions first when someone asks how it all began.

“I didn’t go there for the listing,” he says. “I went there for the garden.” That’s the part people usually remember.

Alex never had to keep calling. She just does.