AUTHOR: LEONIE FREEMAN
I have often been asked a simple question: Who had the greatest impact on your career?
For me, the answer has always been Peter Cook.
Peter – a Christchurch-based realtor, valuer and auctioneer, and the owner and leader of the well-known property firm Simes – sadly passed away last week on 11 March 2026, aged 84.
Over many decades he built a reputation for integrity, deep market knowledge and a steadfast commitment to the highest professional standards. Many described him as the consummate gentleman. But beyond his own achievements, Peter was a forward-thinking leader whose influence extended far beyond his business.
Part of his legacy lives on through the many people in our industry whose careers he helped shape, and I was fortunate to be one of them. There are many others. Mark Thomson, Chair of Property Council and Chief Commercial Officer at Auckland Airport, and Dan Kneebone, Head of Property at Port of Tauranga, are just two of the many professionals whose paths Peter helped guide.
I first met Peter when I was 19 years old, a student at Lincoln University studying for my property degree. He offered me the opportunity to work with him while I was still studying, and I spent my holidays assisting with valuations and research.
Even then, Peter stood out. He was both visionary and curious, particularly about technology.
Long before most people in the industry recognised its potential, Peter understood the impact technology would have on real estate. He invested $21,000 in the company’s first computer – a significant sum at the time.
I remember developing spreadsheets for Peter and the valuation team using Multiplan, the spreadsheet programme that pre-dated Excel. The computer itself was what we called a “luggable” machine – no hard drive, just two floppy disk drives: one for the programme and one to save the files.
But Peter was always willing to explore how technology could add value, even when others in the industry showed little interest.
After completing my studies, I joined Peter full-time as a valuer, focusing largely on research and commercial valuation work and exploring how technology could be integrated into valuation practice.
Peter was not only ahead of his time in technology, he was also ahead of his time when it came to embracing diversity.
I became the first woman to work as a valuer in private practice in Christchurch. At the time, some of his industry peers were perplexed about why he would hire a female valuer. Peter never wavered. He supported and encouraged me when I was often the only woman in the room.
Perhaps that perspective was shaped in part by his life at home. Peter and his wife Marg raised four daughters and later welcomed four sons-in-law and eleven grandchildren into their family. Family remained central to his life, and he and Marg celebrated 60 years of marriage together.
Professionally, Peter was something of a giant in the Christchurch property sector.
As Managing Director of Simes, alongside his business partner Dave Sutton, he led a large and diverse team of residential agents, commercial specialists, property managers, valuers and consultants. Peter himself was widely recognised as one of Christchurch’s leading valuers, regularly involved in complex valuation assignments, arbitration work and consultancy.
His own journey in property began in 1960 when, straight out of school, he joined Pyne Gould Guinness as a stock and station agent. Ten years later he joined Simes Ltd, a real estate agency founded by his wife’s grandfather Walter Edwin Simes in 1908.
But Peter taught me far more than valuation and business.
He taught me about governance, contribution and the responsibility that comes with leadership. He had immense integrity, strong values and deep professionalism. He also had a sharp strategic mind and the courage to use it.
And yet, despite all his accomplishments, he never took himself too seriously. He had a wonderful sense of humour and there are many legendary stories that still make me smile today.
When I think about Peter, two words always come to mind: contribution and service.
Those values defined much of what he did – both within the property industry and across the wider community.
Peter’s industry contribution was significant. He joined the Canterbury/Westland district committee in 1973, served as a national delegate from 1979 to 1987 and was National President of the Real Estate Institute from 1986 to 1988.
During that time he championed professionalism in the sector, supported improved training and helped modernise the organisation’s structure and governance.
He also served internationally, becoming President of the Asian-Pacific arm of FIABCI, the International Real Estate Federation, between 1986 and 1990.
One of Peter’s most significant initiatives was the introduction of national sales data and market research for REINZ members in 1988. While I was still a student, he encouraged me to become involved, and I went on to establish the sales research programme and the monthly housing market publications.
His commitment to service extended beyond the industry. Peter served for eight years on the board of Housing Corporation, was a director of the Prudential Investment and Building Society of Canterbury and also served on the board of the Real Estate Network, formerly the Christchurch Multiple Listing Bureau.
He also contributed to several community organisations, including serving as Vice-President of the Canterbury–West Coast branch of the New Zealand Crippled Children Society.
Peter remained deeply interested in innovation throughout his career.
In 1995, I developed what was then considered a radical idea: a nationwide website where all properties for sale or rent in New Zealand could be advertised online with photos and detailed information, searchable and accessible to anyone, anywhere.
Today that seems obvious. But at the time the reaction was very different. For months I was ignored, laughed at, and told the idea was unrealistic. Some well-meaning advisors even told me, “Leonie, no one will ever buy property this way.”
After five months of hearing the same response, I made a deal with myself: if my next meeting produced the same reaction, I would abandon the idea.
That meeting was with Peter.
He immediately understood the potential. In fact, he became one of the idea’s strongest advocates. I still remember what he said to me. He calculated that the real estate industry could buy a computer for every household in Christchurch and it would still cost less than what the industry spent on print advertising in a single year.
Then he said something that stayed with me: “Keep going. I’ll stand alongside you.”
That conversation set a chain of events in motion. Peter chaired the committee that evaluated the proposal, and the project ultimately succeeded in large part because of the immense respect people had for him.
Within a year we launched one of the first major commercial websites in New Zealand – RealENZ.co.nz – in August 1996. Today it is known as realestate.co.nz.
Peter served as the first Chair of the board for nine years, and we continued working together for many years after that. We even attended the site’s 20-year anniversary celebration together. Later this year, on 13 August, the platform will mark its 30th anniversary.
A few years ago, I asked Peter whether he remembered our original conversation. He told me he couldn’t recall the exact words, but he did remember going home afterwards and hearing a speech by Bill Clinton about getting internet access into every school in America.
Peter said he “nearly fell off his chair” and realised that perhaps the idea really was onto something.
Peter retired in 2006 after selling his business, although he continued selling sections as late as 2014.
Even in recent years, as I have worked on housing and some of our country’s most complex challenges, Peter remained encouraging and supportive of my leadership in this space.
His contributions were widely recognised. He became a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Valuers, was made a Life Member of the Real Estate Institute in 1995, and in 1999 was named Realtor of the Century by the Institute for his services to the profession.
How do you summarise someone who made such a profound contribution?
For me, it comes back to the qualities that defined him: integrity, generosity, vision and a genuine commitment to helping others succeed.
Peter had a rare ability to make people feel valued and heard. He mentored many and was always generous with his time and advice.
I will always be grateful to him.
When I first started in valuation, there were very few women in the profession. Today I hold senior leadership and governance roles within the property sector, and many of the ways I lead have been shaped by the lessons I learned from people like Peter.
We honour his legacy by carrying forward the values he lived by – mentorship, belief in the potential of others, and the idea that everyone has a place in our industry.
One of my favourite quotes is from Margaret Mead, who once said:
“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For indeed, that’s all who ever have.”
Peter Cook was one of those people – a true gentleman whose quiet leadership changed our industry for the better.
