Michael Clark has sold a three-bedroom unit at 85/72 The Esplanade, Burleigh Heads, setting a record result for the Boardwalk building following a competitive auction campaign.

The level 13 unit in the Boardwalk building drew 35 enquiries and three pre-auction offers before three registered bidders competed at auction.

What attracted buyers

Inspection feedback consistently highlighted the resort-style amenities and elevated position. The building offers a full gym, pool, barbecue facilities, and landscaped lawn areas, all positioned moments from James Street, Burleigh Headland, and the beachfront.

The property’s uninterrupted ocean views from the 13th floor, combined with an enclosed balcony featuring sliders for all-weather entertaining, created seamless indoor-outdoor flow that expanded the living space. High-end finishes and a master suite with walk-in robe and private ensuite completed the premium package.

The auction strategy

Michael committed to auction from the outset, maintaining that strategy despite receiving three offers before auction day. The approach delivered competitive tension, with three registered bidders active on the day.

The 21-day campaign timeframe kept momentum concentrated, moving from enquiry to offers to auction without losing buyer interest.

Interstate marketing leveraging the Highland Property network database formed a core part of the campaign strategy, helping broaden buyer reach and contributing to the level of competition generated throughout the campaign.

The location advantage

The Esplanade runs along Burleigh Heads’ foreshore, offering immediate beach access and proximity to James Street’s dining and retail precinct. The tightly held Boardwalk building provides resort-style amenities comparable to premium beachfront addresses in Mermaid Beach and Main Beach.

The level 13 position delivers uninterrupted ocean views while maintaining the low-maintenance lifestyle that attracts both investors and owner-occupiers to apartment living in this pocket.

About the Agent

Michael Clark brings over 20 years of property experience to Highland Gold Coast, with deep regional knowledge built since calling the area home from 1988. His background in building international businesses and managing high-end transactions across property and commercial ventures has refined his approach to negotiation and securing premium outcomes. Working alongside his wife Alma, Michael offers a partnership approach that merges business acumen with genuine property passion. Visit Michael’s website for more information or call Michael on 0488103636.

The post Coastal investor secures record result in Burleigh Heads beachfront building appeared first on Elite Agent.

Dominique Vasers has achieved a suburb record in Smiths Lake, selling a five-bedroom Hampton-style residence for $2.15 million off-market to a Newcastle family seeking their ideal lakeside holiday home.

When the right buyer was already in the database

Dominique Vasers didn’t need to market 78 Patsys Flat Road. She’d already spent months with the buyers who would eventually purchase it.

The Newcastle family had been searching for a holiday home with the right combination of lake access, architectural quality and privacy. Dominique had shown them several properties, learning their priorities with each inspection.

When the vendors — a couple relocating to Brisbane to be closer to family — approached her about selling, the match was immediate.

“I knew very quickly who the buyer of this property was,” Dominique says.

“They were looking for probably one of the area’s nicest properties, and this property would sit in that category.”

The five-bedroom Hampton-style residence delivered everything the buyers had described: easy lake access, exceptional views across Smiths Lake to the sandbar and ocean beyond, high ceilings, quality fixtures and considered landscaping.

The sale settled at $2.15 million — a record for Smiths Lake — with zero days on market and zero open homes.

Why the off-market approach worked for everyone

The vendors had lived in the area for years. Leaving wasn’t an easy decision, but their life stage made the move to Brisbane necessary.

“The fact that we were able to execute the sale off-market made the transition for them a lot easier,” Dominique says.

“They didn’t have to hold open homes or have hordes of people through the home. And as far as a price result goes, obviously a record in Smiths Lake spoke volumes for them.”

For the buyers, the off-market opportunity meant no competition and no public campaign pressure. They knew the property met their brief. The decision was straightforward.

The local view: Quality waterfront properties holding firm

Smiths Lake sits on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, a small lakeside town prized for quiet, lifestyle-focused living with direct lake access, ocean views across the sandbar, and proximity to Pacific Palms’ cafés, beaches and national parks. The area attracts buyers seeking premium coastal amenity without the density of larger centres like Port Macquarie or Forster.

Dominique’s read of the current market is clear: quality waterfront properties with good lake access are still commanding strong prices.

“There’s still a lot of active buyers in the market for quality properties, particularly those with ocean views,” she says.

“That’s been demonstrated over the last couple of weeks with additional sales — all waterfront properties with good access to the lake, and prices are still holding firm.”

For sellers considering the market in the coming months, the message is consistent: premium presentation and the right positioning still deliver results, particularly when an agent has the buyer relationships already in place.

About the Agent

Dominique Vasers from DiJones Pacific Palms brings a thoughtful, client-first approach built on genuine connection and deep local knowledge. Detail-oriented and collaborative, she takes time to understand each client’s goals and tailors strategies that consistently deliver strong results. A skilled negotiator, she combines professionalism with care, ensuring every client feels confident and supported throughout their journey. Visit Dominique’s website for more information or call Dominique on 0437140479.

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 Somewhere in your community, a future seller might be scrolling Facebook. They hover over a cute cat video, a school fundraiser, and then your latest post: a sold sticker, a selfie, an address, and a price. They keep scrolling.

That’s the problem Samantha McLean set out to fix in Week 4 of the AI Sprint.

The address and the price are already on the portal. The thing only you can add – how you actually handled it – is the part that’s missing.

What “circle sales” actually is

First, a definition. Inside sales is your database and how you work it. Circle sales – sometimes called outside sales, depending on which coach you follow – is everything you broadcast: your farm area, your BDA, your socials, your content.

Circle sales has always been the labour-intensive one. A case study for every sale in your listing kit. Letterbox drops for the neighbours. Letters before an auction. Captions for social. A newsletter to keep updated. Done properly, it’s a lot.

“AI-first circle sales is less labour-intensive,” Samantha said. The mechanic she taught is simple: create one case study from a sale, repurpose it across every social platform, then boost it to your farm area. One piece of work, many places.

This is the methodology Elite Agent uses to create social reach, repurposed for agents. “Regularly on social media we reach about 100,000 people a week,” Samantha said, “and it’s because we’ve put in the research to get it right.”

The one piece of ground you actually own

Before the tactics, a strategic point worth sitting with.

Social content is prospecting. It matters. But you don’t own Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or X. You rent attention there on someone else’s terms.

“Your newsletter is actually the golden strategy,” Samantha said. The job of all that social content is to be useful enough that people click back to something you control – your website, your subscribe button – so you can then talk to your farm area one to one.

It’s the brand defence idea from last week’s session, Be the Answer, applied to marketing. If you’re sending people to a profile on a platform you don’t control, sitting next to five competitors (or a cat video!), that’s weaker brand defence than delivering them home to your own ecosystem.

Three places agents come unstuck

Most of the friction in circle sales, Samantha said, comes down to three habits.

One: only ever posting the result. The sold-sticker selfie tells people the price and the address – exactly what they can already get from the portal. Keep doing them if you like them. But make the rest of your content additive.

Two: outsourcing your judgement to a calendar. A well-known coach’s advice is to ask ChatGPT for a 90-day social calendar. It’ll happily give you one. The trouble is the moment the market shifts, “Thursday’s five styling tips land like they were written from a bunker” – especially now, with capital gains changes in the conversation and clients openly asking when prices might fall.

There’s a deeper version of this mistake. Samantha described an agent in Queensland who could recite her own market’s numbers off the top of her head. Impressive – but the numbers lived only in her head.

“That’s great,” Samantha told her. “But where are they online? Where are they where people can find them?” Because what the public hears is mainstream media generalising, when Australia is really a market of many micro-markets.

“If Google doesn’t know you know it, then you don’t have your EEAT.”

Three: posting AI slop. Samantha put up a LinkedIn post of the kind Ethan Mollick has flagged: a siren emoji, manufactured urgency, a redescription where a comma would do, “what keeps me up at night” – written by an AI that doesn’t sleep – and the obligatory Three. Words. Staccato. Ending.

“You will not be able to unsee this,” she said. Posts from people who can barely string a sentence to you in person, suddenly three pages long and in need of their own table of contents.

“Even though you might think you sound like Justin Welsh,” Samantha says, “you don’t. You sound like an AI.”

Invite best practice “to the party”

The fix runs through Samantha’s AI First Formula – her method for turning any task into an AI-first one. The step she keeps coming back to is “invite best practice to the party”: before you let AI loose on something, ask what the best people in the field already do, and build that into the prompt.

For circle sales, she invited four.

Sharran Srivatsaa – formerly president of one of the US’s fastest-growing brokerages, now CEO of Alex and Leila Hormozi’s business. His rule: show how you handled it, not that you sold it. Let the reader follow a story, not read an ad. Demonstrate competence through specifics, not claims. The question to ask before you post: “Am I showing how I handled it, or just announcing that I sold it?” If you can’t point to a specific decision, conversation, or moment that made the sale different, find one. That’s your post.

Jimmy Mackin – co-author of Exactly What to Say: For Real Estate Agents with Phil M. Jones and Chris Smith. His version: tell the true story. Not “sold for X,” but what actually happened – the situation, the approach, how it unfolded. “Go back and do the marketing you wish you’d done.” How many buyers missed out? That’s the kind of detail the portals never show. After your next settlement, answer three questions in plain language: What was the situation when the vendors first called? What did I do that made the difference? Why was this sale different? No hashtags, no siren emojis – just how it happened.

Together, Samantha calls Srivatsaa and Mackin the hook masters, because every algorithm rewards whatever lands in sentence one. A few of their openers:

• 40-plus buyer groups through one home.
• Two weeks from listing to sold.
• We didn’t sell to the first buyer who came through.
• Off-market, single inspection, matched.

A neat trick: drop a handful of hooks you like into ChatGPT and ask for more in the same style, then apply them to your own sale.

Tom Ferry – in Samantha’s words, arguably “the GOAT”. He teaches the testimonial and the process are the proof, not the price. Social proof doesn’t come from celebrating a number; it comes from demonstrating professionalism. A neighbour reading your post should think that the agent handled that well. Go back and read your last five posts. How many lead with the price or the result? Rewrite one to lead with a decision, a conversation, or a problem you solved. That’s the version that earns trust.

The fourth “coach” is Google

The last guest at the party isn’t a coach. It’s the search engine.

Google is getting better at spotting whether a piece of content adds something new or just repeats what’s already out there. The phrase to remember – carried over from last week – is “information gain”. Google has patented a process for it, and is actively using it to judge whether you’re saying something new. Assume the other AIs are or will do something similar.

Here’s information gain in one line. Same suburb, two posts.

Low gain: “Close to shops, schools and transport, popular with families.”

High gain: “Homes on the south side of the creek are attracting five to seven offers, mostly from upsizers leaving CBD units. On the north side, it’s more investors chasing townhouses under $800K.”

You can feel the difference. The second one is something no portal listing and no slop post will ever tell you.

What the AI can’t see

This is also the line AI can’t cross, and the reason your on-the-ground knowledge is worth more, not less.

Samantha pointed to a widely shared story about US agent Ryan Serhant, in which ChatGPT nearly derailed a large deal. The buyer asked the AI, “Am I overpaying?” and it said yes. The seller asked, “Am I getting enough?” and it said no.

“The AIs can see the data, but they can’t see the deals,” Samantha said. They can read everything up to right now, but they can’t see how many buyers are standing in the open home, what the emotions are, whether someone needs to move quickly – or what happens next. “They can see history, but they can’t see the future, and they can’t see what’s going on in your world now. And that’s what people want to know.”

The words worth retiring

If you’re writing your own posts, Samantha had a short list to drop – part algorithm, part reading the room in a housing crisis.

• Exceeded expectations. Above the guide. Increasingly a red flag to bodies like Fair Trading – and the buyer who just paid reads your post too.
• Smashed it. Crushed it. Record price. Unless that’s genuinely your brand, you risk buyers feeling they overpaid and neighbours feeling a bit icky.
• Humbled. Honoured. Excited to announce. Nobody believes it. Straight to the slop bucket.
• Another one done, another one sold. That’s the biggest asset a person owns. Read as a vendor, it sounds like you were only ever a number to them.

Better: Strong buyer interest drove a competitive result. The campaign attracted the right buyers at the right time – a result that worked for both parties. Smooth process, clear communication, good outcome.

“Process over price every time,” Samantha said, “because a process is repeatable and a price is not.”

And before you write a word, know who you’re actually talking to. Samantha reads a lot of agents’ posts, and often can’t tell whether they’re addressing their farm area or other agents. If it’s the neighbourhood you want, write to the neighbourhood: Curious what’s happening on your street? Noticed more activity lately? Wondering what your options might look like?

The DIY version – with one big caveat

For agents who want to build this themselves rather than have it done for them, Samantha walked through the setup.

Start with who you’re talking to. Run a deep demographic analysis of your location to produce an accurate audience statement. Then feed the model a few samples of your own writing and ask it to analyse your voice and tone. Together, those two documents are your audience and your voice DNA.

Then – and this is the step she paused on – build a dedicated project. ChatGPT calls them Projects, Gemini calls them Gems, Claude calls them Projects too. Crucially, change the settings so the project draws on its own sources only. Left on default, it can pull in your personal memories and custom instructions and muddy the voice. Locked to project-only, it stays fixed on exactly this audience and this voice. Talking to investors as well as upsizers? Build a project for each.

Platform tactics matter too, because every algorithm wants something different:

• LinkedIn doesn’t mind a link in the caption, but wants an engagement question in the last line. Carousels do well – upload them as a PDF and LinkedIn will handle the slides.
• Facebook wants the link in the first comment, never in the post, and rewards a question that invites replies.
• Instagram is link-in-bio only; lead a carousel and aim for “send this to a neighbour” energy.
• X is a good place to follow the AI thinkers, less so to prospect your street.

The caveat is the same one from last week, and it’s real. “The DIY route will only work if you put the sweat equity in to build your voice DNA and brand,” Samantha said. “Otherwise you still end up in the slop bucket.”

How Ailsa does it in one click

All of that best practice – Srivatsaa, Mackin, Ferry, and Google’s information gain – is exactly what Samantha and the team baked into Ailsa. “You focus on the sale,” she said. “We’ll focus on the social proof.”

As shown last week, Ailsa interviews you about a sale and writes it up. What wasn’t obvious then is that she also builds the socials automatically. From one published story – Samantha used a real example, a Point Cook home where 45 buyers registered interest – Ailsa generates the LinkedIn post, the Facebook version, Instagram, X, newsletter copy, and even a letterbox drop, each formatted the way that platform wants it, each carrying the information gain a portal can’t: the irregular block, the 21-step process, the renovation call that created the result.

It’s the same social media formula Elite Agent uses to reach 100,000 people a week, handed over so you don’t have to remember any of it.

The real question

Samantha closed on the honest part. All of this works – but when, realistically, do you have time to write a case study for every sale?

“I’m the worst at creating my own content,” she admitted. “But, I’ll sit there and create other people’s content for days.” So the question worth sitting with isn’t whether you could do it yourself. It’s whether getting it done matters more than doing it yourself.

One more reminder before you automate anything: get your house in order. Do you have the vendor’s consent to use AI on their information? Is your privacy policy current? Do you have an internal AI policy?

“Don’t just throw someone’s information in and hope for the best.”

From there, two doors. Door one: take everything from the last four weeks and run with it on your own. “Some of you will, and no hard feelings – I’ll still be cheering you on from the sidelines.”

Door two: stay in the rhythm and come inside, where the methodology, the prompt library, the Canva templates, and Ailsa are already built.

Elite Agent Insiders is $297 a year and includes four Ailsa story credits, the AI tools, a WhatsApp line to Samantha, onboarding, and the monthly member sessions. That price is going up to $397 next week, so this is the last week to join at $297. As Samantha put it, win one listing off the back of it and it’s more than paid for itself.

Your circle sales checklist

• Turn each sale into a case study, not a sold-sticker selfie – show the process, the hurdles, and how many buyers missed out.
• Lead with a hook in sentence one. Borrow from the hook masters, or feed a few you like into AI and ask for more.
• Add information gain to every post – the street-level detail no portal and no AI already knows.
• Retire the slop words. Choose process over price, every time.
• Write to your farm area, not to other agents – and end with a question that invites a reply.
• Make your newsletter and your website the destination. Own the ground people land on.
• Repurpose one piece of content across every platform, formatted the way each one wants it.
• Sort out AI consent, your privacy policy, and an internal AI policy before you automate anything.

The bigger point is the one that ran through the whole Sprint: the people on the other side of the table have AI too. Your vendors and buyers are already running these prompts. The advantage left is the part the machine can’t reach – the local insight, the lived experience, the last layer of care.

Different is what gets you noticed. So, in Samantha’s favourite line from the whole course: go and be so good they can’t ignore you.

The AI Sprint wraps up this week.

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When people remain at the core of a business brand, that is when you know there is strength in opportunity. For Pinakin Patel, REMAX Australia’s newest broker owner, retaining a people-centric approach underpins the core value of his business, REMAX Sapphire.

Launching this week, REMAX Sapphire offers clients throughout Pakenham and Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs an experienced and dedicated real estate service, with expertise across residential and commercial sales and leasing, and a dedicated property management division.

The journey to launching a business has been well considered for Pinakin, who sought to align with a brand that shares the same values and drive for growth, along with the right support needed to achieve the clear goals he has set for the business.

“REMAX Sapphire is a people-focussed business and retaining the importance of that approach is crucial to shaping our business within the Melbourne market,” explained Pinakin.

“We have the skills and experience to ensure our office is available to clients across multiple areas of real estate. In that sense, we’re quite niche within the Melbourne market, as there are not many offices that cater to all departments under the one roof.”

Pinakin is clear in his vision to build REMAX Sapphire as a business that provides expertise and service across all real estate specialisations, with growth a key focus for the business owner.

“We want to grow our presence and support our clients,” he said, adding, “With that comes the opportunity to build and grow our team.”

What appealed to Pinakin about aligning with REMAX was the agent-centric approach and business model, which not only supports brokers through all areas of business function, but provides opportunity for agent growth from within. It is a brand that speaks for itself, while still allowing businesses to maintain their individuality.

“With REMAX, the core of the brand goes beyond just a franchise arrangement. It is the agent-centric approach and model that feels like a strong match for the direction of my business.”

Welcoming Pinakin to the network, REMAX Australia Operations Director Josh Davoren said the continued expansion of the network throughout Victoria, with the opening of REMAX Sapphire, showcases the strong direction of the brand across Australia.

“As a brand, REMAX is serious about its growth aspirations and we’re excited to support Pinakin in the future of his business, REMAX Sapphire, and future business opportunities throughout Victoria,” said Josh.

“We’re most excited about how ambitious Pinakin is in pursuing his growth goals, and we intend to support him and his growing team in achieving them.

“Congratulations to Pinakin on the launch of REMAX Sapphire. This is an exciting step in your business journey, and the network is proud to support you in building a strong footprint in Melbourne.”

REMAX Sapphire services clients throughout Pakenham and Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs. Visit www.remaxsapphire.com.au or contact 0450 838 389. 389.

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Leading Gold Coast real estate business Ray White Malan + Co has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Jordan Curd as Chief Auctioneer and Head of Performance.

The high-profile appointment comes as the business continues its strong growth trajectory across the Gold Coast, with Jordan bringing a unique mix of auctioneering expertise, agent development experience, and high-performance coaching to the role.

“With a background in cybersecurity sales and triathlon coaching, I started in real estate working under Peter Burgin (now at Ray White Collective) as his associate, supporting him in preparing for and delivering auction campaigns,” Jordan said.

“Very quickly, I realised auction day was my favourite part of the business and I pursued auctioneering full time.

“Naturally, that evolved into a hybrid role where I was also supporting agents within the brand through training and performance development opportunities.”

Jordan joins the business following a standout 12 months in the industry, having been crowned REIQ Auctioneer of the Year for 2025 and recently representing Queensland at the Australasian Auctioneer of the Year Competition after the REIQ rejoined the REIA competition pathway. Earlier this year he was also appointed to the REIQ Auctioneer Chapter Committee.

He said the Ray White Group’s long-standing commitment to auctions made the move a natural fit.

“Auctions are deeply embedded in the Ray White Group’s identity, making it an exciting place to call home as an auctioneer,” Jordan said.

“From my first meeting with Ray White Malan + Co it was clear that they are an incredible organisation, with family values as their foundation, coupled with exciting leadership and direction for their future.

“The opportunity to work under Michael Andrews in particular is something I am very excited about.

“Malan + Co’s decision to build this role while on a strong growth trajectory, particularly in the current market uncertainty, is testament to their long-term vision, and I believe our efforts will be well rewarded within the Gold Coast market.”

In his newly created role, Jordan will oversee auction delivery while also helping drive agent performance, accountability, training and business growth across the organisation.

“My mission is to bring energy, accountability and process to every meeting, auction and transaction that I am part of,” he said.

Jordan said strong leadership and process would become increasingly important as agents navigate changing market conditions.

“More than ever, auctioneers and leaders need to be safe hands for their agents, empowering them to embrace process and focus on the dollar productive activities that will move the needle,” he said.

“Many agents may experience changing market conditions for the first time in their careers this year, and our role is to help keep them on the right path without detracting from their own unique strengths and individuality.”

“While we anticipate some challenges throughout the year, I am excited to support our agents in leaning into processes to help drive auction volume, transaction volume, and continued growth across the business,” he said.

Michael Andrews, CEO of Ray White Malan + Co said Jordan’s appointment would further strengthen the business’s position in the market.

“Jordan brings an incredible level of professionalism, energy and leadership to our organisation,” Michael said.

“He is not only one of the country’s most exciting auctioneering talents, but someone who is deeply committed to helping people grow and perform at their best.

“As we continue expanding across the Gold Coast, having someone of Jordan’s calibre leading our auction and performance division puts us in an exceptionally strong position for the future.”

Jason Andrew, CEO of Ray White Queensland said Jordan’s appointment reflected the group’s ongoing commitment to attracting elite talent.

“Our philosophy of being best-in-market must involve attracting generational talent,” Jason said.

“Jordan is just that. His partnership with one of our most dynamic businesses in our company really does ensure the best years for all involved are ahead.”

The post Award-winning auctioneer joins Ray White Malan + Co in major leadership appointment appeared first on Elite Agent.

Ray White Commercial CSR (RWC CSR) has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Grant Turner as Head of Commercial Sales & Leasing, signalling the group’s intent as it enters its next phase of growth.

Mr Turner joins Principal Mukhtaar Hashim, CEO of Retail Julie Ryan and Head of Asset Management Annabelle Weir in a collaborative leadership structure focused on building a high-performance, people-first business.

With a career spanning nearly two decades, Mr Turner brings broad experience across commercial sales and leasing, digital marketing and proptech, including national leadership roles with realestate.com.au. He is widely regarded for his energy, industry relationships and ability to bring people together.

Importantly, the appointment reflects a natural progression within the business. Mr Turner has spent the past several years working alongside industry leader Julie Ryan, helping drive the retail division and building strong momentum in the market.

Ms Ryan, recognised as one of the most respected figures in commercial real estate, has more than 30 years’ global experience and is widely regarded as a mentor to top-performing agents across the Ray White network. Her focus on strategy, service excellence and investment sales has significantly shaped RWC CSR’s growth to date.

Mr Turner said the opportunity to step into a broader leadership role was built on the strength of the existing team.

“Working alongside Julie has been a gift. We share a passion for retail property and greatly enjoy collaborating with one another. Julie’s extensive industry knowledge and unwavering commitment to her clients are exceptional, and together we form a strong team dedicated to delivering outstanding outcomes,” he said.

“This next step is really about building on that incredible foundation and contributing to the team’s continued growth.”

Mr Hashim said the appointment reflects the business’s long-term vision.

“We are focused on creating an environment where great people can do their best work,” he said.

“Grant brings strong leadership qualities and a genuine passion for the industry, and we’re excited about what that means for our team and our clients.”

In his new role, Mr Turner will continue to actively transact while supporting team development, structure and growth, working closely with Ms Weir, whose asset management division continues to deliver consistent outcomes for clients.

Together, the leadership team is focused on building a business that is progressive, supportive and well positioned for the future.

“Our focus is simple,” Mr Turner said.

“It’s about great people, the right support and a strong team culture.  That’s what allows individuals to become their best and deliver exceptional results. Everyone wins!”

The post RWC CSR signals next growth phase with Grant Turner leadership appointment appeared first on Elite Agent.

The milestone move is planned for Q4 2026 coinciding with five years of partnership between the Malouf’s and the Highland Group, a collaboration that has driven significant growth and cemented the business’s position as one of the most respected and high-performing real estate agencies in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.

The group’s new Double Bay headquarters at 2 Bay Street sets a new benchmark for agent infrastructure and workplace experience in one of Sydney’s most prestigious postcodes.

Developed by Fortis, one of Australia’s foremost development managers, Ruby House represents Double Bay’s first luxury strata office development in more than a decade.

The building will offer state-of-the art amenities and provide an exceptional workplace environment, featuring a private gym and wellness club including a sauna, all available to the Highland Double Bay team and its broader network.

Designed to support both performance and wellbeing, the new headquarters reflects Highland’s long-term vision for growth and its ongoing investment in its people.

Highland Double Bay Malouf will occupy a custom designed floor, combining their sales, property management and marketing divisions, as well as Highland’s legal, finance and operations teams in a premium, purpose-built environment designed to attract and retain the industry’s highest-calibre talent.

Highland’s CEO, David Highland says “I consider Ruby House to be the best new commercial building on a national level. It underpins our Eastern Suburbs team and broader network while reflecting the calibre of clients we serve and the standards we set as a group.”

“We will spare no expense in elevating both the client and agent experience in creating a refined destination with elegantly designed interiors that feel more like an exclusive private residence than a traditional office space; a place where clients and agents genuinely enjoy spending time, and one that reflects both the standard of service we provide and the quality of properties we represent.”

“Having a market‑leading real estate agency like Highland Double Bay Malouf choose Ruby House as its new home speaks volumes about the strength of the building and the future of the precinct. As a business deeply connected to the local property market, Highland’s move signals confidence in Double Bay’s evolution and reinforces Ruby House as the new commercial heart of the suburb.” comments Matthew Barakat from Fortis

Highland has engaged Surry Hills-based interior design studio, StudioJos, alongside specialist Eastern Suburbs construction firm JCorp to deliver a bespoke experience that seamlessly blends sophisticated design with exceptional functionality.

The space will feature a dedicated in-house auction room, multiple client meeting suites, an executive boardroom and a series of thoughtfully curated breakout spaces. Complementing these amenities is a state-of-the-art kitchen and a mix of private offices and flexible workspaces tailored to support agents and their teams.

Every element is being carefully considered to create a highly functional, sophisticated environment that enhances both productivity and the client experience.

Director of Highland Double Bay Malouf, Bill Malouf says “At a time when attracting and retaining top talent has become a defining factor in agency performance, Highland’s investment in world-class facilities underscores our commitment to being the employer of choice in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.”

David Malouf Co-Director and prestige agent said, “We are extremely excited about this new space and to be part of this vibrant new precinct, which will provide a unique experience not only for our team but also for our valued clients.”

The move also coincides with Highland’s 19th anniversary and its first-ever brand evolution, marking a defining moment in the company’s history and signaling the beginning of an exciting new chapter.

“2026 will be a landmark year for Highland,” says Mr Highland. “As we look to the next six months, we’re unveiling a refined, fresh brand identity that reflects our ambition and the standard of excellence that underpins every aspect of our business.”

“At the same time, we’re embracing our future as a digital-first agency, integrating leading technology and AI into our everyday operations to enhance efficiency, empower our agents and deliver an even better experience for our clients.”

The post Highland Double Bay Malouf Secures Landmark New Headquarters at Ruby House, Double Bay appeared first on Elite Agent.

Easy gains in childcare property are becoming harder to find, as investors focus more closely on local supply, demand and operator strength.

According to market figures outlined by CBRE the sector is riding a historic wave of capital, with total transaction volumes reaching a record $1.44 billion in 2025 – nearly doubling the activity from three years prior – while the opening quarter of 2026 logged $188 million in deals.

Yet, beneath these robust headline figures, a sharp geographical divide and severe operational pressures are fundamentally changing the game for landlords.

A major challenge for investors is the localised oversupply triggered by the suburban development boom of 2021 and 2022.

In saturated pockets, multiple centres are fighting for the same catchment of children aged zero to five, putting effective rents and lease structures under immediate pressure.

While the national market average sits at 0.47 approved places per child, hyper-local variances are stark, with Victoria’s Glen Eira/Caulfield sitting at an oversupplied 0.69 ratio and Queensland’s Nundah climbing to 0.58, contrasted heavily against high-demand, undersupplied corridors like Victoria’s Dandenong at 0.31 and Queensland’s Acacia Ridge at 0.34.

As Vanessa Rader, Head of Research at Ray White, explains, investors who can identify authentic demand gaps are finding willing operators and supportive fundamentals, while those holding assets in saturated markets face a very different conversation.

“The easy growth phase is over, and the conditions now shaping the sector demand considerably more sophistication than was required even three years ago.”

With new supply pacing at roughly 30,000 places annually across 2024 and 2025, older and less efficient facilities are being squeezed out, resulting in roughly 5,000 places lost to centre closures each year as modern, purpose-built offerings take over.

At the same time, a chronic staffing shortage and tighter regulatory qualification requirements under the National Quality Framework are placing immense operational pressure on the remaining market.

“Staffing remains the most immediate operational constraint,” said Ms Ryder. “Qualified early childhood educators are in short supply, and regulatory changes under the National Quality Framework have tightened minimum qualification requirements at a point when the labour market is already stretched.

“Operators with strong workplace cultures and genuine investment in staff retention are pulling ahead of those relying on agency labour or rapid rollouts. For property investors, this makes lease covenant quality more important than ever. A centre at 60 per cent occupancy with an undercapitalised operator is a fundamentally different proposition to one with a proven provider running at 85 per cent, even if the passing rent looks identical.”

For property investors, this operational pressure makes lease covenant quality paramount, forcing institutional landlords to routinely request detailed occupancy data and conduct site visits before committing capital.

Landlords increasingly recognise that a centre sitting at 60% occupancy with an undercapitalised operator represents a significant long-term failure risk, whereas a proven provider running at 85% occupancy offers a fundamentally different risk profile, even if the passing rent looks identical.

Highlighting this shift, Charles Assaf, CEO of Montessori Academy told CBRE, that families are seeking safe, consistent, high-quality education and care, while investors are looking for operators with scale, capability, and long-term vision.

Those who can deliver this balance are shaping the future of early learning in Australia.”

This operational environment is accelerating sector consolidation, as smaller boutique operators facing rising compliance costs explore exit options, allowing scaled, institutional tenants to selectively acquire prime locations.

While the underlying financial architecture of childcare property remains sector insulated from economic downturns due to rising female workforce participation and the federal government’s expanded “3 Day Guarantee” subsidy introduced in January 2026, the capitalisation rates reflect a widening spread between prime and secondary assets.

The median transaction yield stabilised at 5% in early 2026, but premium metropolitan facilities with tier-1 operators command sharp yields between 4.00% and 4.50%, as seen in the recent $11.5 million trade of the Only About Children centre in Turramurra, NSW, on a 4.54% yield.

Meanwhile, secondary locations and oversupplied commuter belts are softening toward 6% and above.

Ultimately, the macroeconomic fundamentals supporting childcare real estate remain solid, but passive investing is no longer viable; securing a tenant with genuine scale, sound financials, and a child-friendly design layout is now the definitive line between an asset that performs across its full lease term and one that defaults.

The post Saturated suburbs: Why Australia’s $1.4b childcare property boom just reached a tipping point appeared first on Elite Agent.

Fashion designer Michael Kors has put his Fire Island compound on the market for US$6.25 million (A$8.75 million).

Michael and his husband, Lance Le Pere, purchased the 0.23-acre property for US$950,000 (A$1.33 million) in 2001 and the asking price represents more than a sixfold increase over 25 years.

The property sits on Water Island, a community of just 48 homes nestled between Fire Island Pines and Davis Park in New York State. The lot includes 200 feet of unobstructed Atlantic Ocean frontage.

In 2014, the couple enlisted architect Scott Bromley – best known for designing Studio 54 – to overhaul the property, according to Galerie Magazine.

The well-known designer drew inspiration from iconic escape destinations including California’s Big Sur, Utah’s Amangiri, and Parrot Cay, a private island resort in Turks & Caicos.

The compound comprises two structures totalling five bedrooms, five full bathrooms, and one partial bathroom.

The one-bedroom main house features cedar and teak woods, diffused light, white walls, spa-like bathing spaces, floor-to-ceiling windows, and sliding glass doors.

A four-bedroom, three-bathroom guest house on a neighbouring lot includes its own bar, sun decks, outdoor kitchen, and pool.

The property is listed with Meg Smith and Nate Larson of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.

The post Michael Kors puts his ultra-private Fire Island compound up for sale appeared first on Elite Agent.

Highland has announced the merger of its financial services with Balaton Financial, an industry-leading mortgage broker and debt advisory firm, marking a significant advancement in Highland’s end-to-end financial offering for clients.

The partnership brings together two well-established and highly recognised brands with strong alignment across values, capability and client focus.

Balaton Financial has ranked among the Top 100 broker firms in Australia for five consecutive years, underscoring its consistent performance, reputation, and leadership within the financial services sector.

Through the co‑branded lending solutions, Highland clients will gain access to a seamless, well-structured financial services framework, enabling a smooth and efficient lending experience from initial enquiry through to settlement.

The partnership will also deliver a distinctive advisory service focused on identifying financial optimisation opportunities and supporting sustainable, long‑term wealth creation.

“For investors in particular, loan structure isn’t just about repayments; it’s about portfolio strategy, tax efficiency, and what they’re able to buy next,” said David Highland, CEO of Highland.

“Having Highland’s market knowledge and Balaton Financials’ expertise working in tandem at that level is a genuinely differentiated offering where we are able to help build our clients wealth.”

The partnership is underpinned by strong cultural and brand alignment, with both organisations sharing a commitment to excellence, results, and long-term client value.

Managing Partner and Broker, Matt Pongrass is an experienced financial services specialist, having previously served as a Business Banker at Macquarie Bank, where he advised corporations and individuals on debt structuring, debt management, and property acquisition strategies.

The Balaton Financial team draws on deep expertise across mortgage broking, credit, banking and accounting, supported by a broad national network of lender and industry relationships to help clients achieve their wealth building goals.

The brokerage services clients across residential, commercial, business and SMSF lending.

“It was clear from my first conversation with David Highland that there was strong brand alignment,” Mr Pongrass said.

“Our mission has always been to drive exceptional results with an unwavering focus on excellence, making the creation of Highland Balaton Financial a natural extension of our core business.”

Highland has an annual turnover of $2.5-$3Billion with offices covering Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs through Highland Double Bay Malouf, Cronulla and the Sutherland Shire, the Inner West, the Southern Highlands, and the Gold Coast.

The group’s diversified portfolio also includes Highland Marine, a specialist boat brokerage, and Calico Marina, both located in Sydney’s southern suburb of Cronulla.

“Real estate and home finance have always been two sides of the same decision. Highland Balaton Financial, means our clients get expert property guidance and expert finance support from people who are already working together on their behalf.

“That’s not just convenient, it’s a fundamentally better experience for every vendor, purchaser, investor and landlord looking to refinance,” said Mr Highland.

“We are proud to partner with Highland, a nationwide leader in real estate, to create a co‑branded mortgage offering,” said Mr Pongrass.

“There is a compelling pipeline of opportunity that will facilitate growth in capability and innovation across our respective businesses. We are committed to complementing each other’s expertise and enhancing the client experience through a frictionless, integrated lending process.”

Together, Highland and Balaton Financial look forward to unlocking new opportunities, enhancing client outcomes, and setting a new benchmark for integrated real estate and financial services.

The post Highland announces the launch of Highland Balaton Financial appeared first on Elite Agent.

Australia’s housing market is showing clearer signs of transition, with rising stock levels meeting more cautious buyer demand and evidence emerging that conditions are gradually tilting back in favour of purchasers.

New market data from Domain shows listings across capital cities have risen for five consecutive months, reaching their highest level since 2019, as more vendors bring properties to market during the usual seasonal selling period.

While new listings eased slightly month-on-month, overall supply remains elevated, suggesting vendors are increasingly seeking to sell earlier as expectations for price growth soften.

The result is a market offering greater choice for buyers, alongside rising pressure on sellers to meet more realistic pricing expectations.

Auction conditions have weakened in line with higher supply, with combined capital city clearance rates falling to 54.7 per cent in May, the lowest result for the month since 2019.

Withdrawal rates have also lifted to 16.5 per cent, indicating more vendors are pulling properties as competition among buyers eases.

Sydney and Melbourne are driving much of the national shift

Sydney recorded its highest level of total listings since 2009 and the strongest May new supply on record, while clearance rates fell to their weakest May result since 2008. Melbourne is also carrying elevated stock levels, with auction volumes recovering but clearance rates easing as the gap between buyers and sellers widens.

Brisbane is following a similar pattern, with record May listings and softer auction conditions, alongside rising withdrawals and weaker clearance results compared with recent years.

Adelaide remains the exception, continuing to lean in favour of sellers, with relatively stronger clearance rates and low time on market pointing to more balanced demand and supply conditions.

Regional markets are adjusting more quickly, with conditions softening as pandemic-era demand unwinds. Clearance rates fell to 43 per cent, the weakest May result since 2020, while withdrawn listings rose to 20.9 per cent, signalling growing caution among vendors.

Domain’s Chief Residential Economist Dr Nicola Powell said the data points to a market moving through a clear adjustment phase as buyers and sellers recalibrate expectations.

“Listing activity is seasonally strong for this time of year, which suggests some sellers are bringing their homes to market earlier, likely to get ahead of a further slowdown in price. At the same time, buyers aren’t moving with the same urgency because they’re more cautious, have more choice, and are taking longer to commit.”

She said weakening auction results and higher withdrawals reflect this shift in momentum.

“We’re already seeing this shift in buyer behavior reflected in the data, with softer clearance rates, and more properties being withdrawn as sellers adjust expectations.”

Dr Powell said regional areas are normalising more quickly following stronger pandemic-era growth.

“In regional markets, that shift is happening even faster. Many of those areas saw very strong growth during the pandemic, and now we’re seeing demand normalise, particularly as affordability pressures continue to build.”

She said the market is now moving through a broader turning point.

“Overall, we’re moving through a clear inflection point. Supply is rebuilding, buyers are regaining some power, and that sense of urgency that defined the market over the past few years is starting to ease.”

FAST FACTS:
Sydney: Biggest supply surge in 15+ years meets cautious buyers

Melbourne: More homes, less competition as market loses momentum

Brisbane: Record listings ease pressure, giving buyers more choice

Adelaide: The only capital city still favouring sellers

Regional Australia: Pandemic boom fades as buyers retreat

The post Listings build collides with cautious buyers as housing market shifts into new phase appeared first on Elite Agent.

The Reserve Bank has pointed to emerging signs that higher interest rates are beginning to slow Australia’s housing market, as inflation remains elevated and global energy shocks continue to filter through the economy.

Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock told a Senate Economics Legislation Committee hearing in Canberra that monetary policy is now starting to have visible effects, particularly in housing conditions, although the full impact of recent rate rises is still to come.

“One of the channels through which monetary policy can often start to have an impact quite quickly is the housing market. Conditions in the housing market have eased in recent months and that partly reflects tighter monetary policy,” she said.

Ms Bullock said the easing in housing activity comes as higher interest rates are deliberately working to slow demand and bring inflation back toward target, though she cautioned the process takes time to fully flow through the economy.

“These increases have been necessary to tighten financial conditions and slow growth in demand in the economy to ensure we get on top of inflation. We’ve already seen some signs that this tightening is starting to work, though it will take around 1 to 2 years for the effects to fully flow through the economy.”

She said inflation remains too high and continues to be influenced by both domestic demand pressures and global shocks, including higher energy prices linked to conflict in the Middle East.

“The conflict has led to a sharp increase in oil and other key commodity prices. This has already pushed inflation higher through higher consumer fuel prices. We have also seen some tentative signs that higher fuel-related costs may have been passed through to the cost of other goods and services, including new dwelling costs.”

For the property sector, the reference to new dwelling costs suggests ongoing pressure on construction and development feasibility, even as demand conditions begin to soften and Ms Bullock warned that inflation risks remain elevated.

“If high inflation persists, it risks becoming embedded in price and wage-setting behaviour, particularly given the prolonged period over which underlying inflation has been above 3 per cent since the pandemic.

“That would result in more persistent inflation and would require even higher interest rates, and for longer, to return inflation to target.”

The Reserve Bank is forecasting inflation to rise further in the near term, with underlying inflation expected to remain above target until mid-2027. Growth is expected to slow over the coming year, and unemployment is projected to edge higher, although still remain below pre-pandemic levels.

Ms Bullock said investment activity remains a key support for the broader economy, particularly in sectors aligned with long-term structural demand.

“Investment has been a bright spot recently and growth is expected to continue in sectors of the economy with strong structural tailwinds, such as software, data centres and renewable energy.”

The post RBA flags early housing slowdown as interest rate rises begin to bite appeared first on Elite Agent.

When an insurance policy does not respond as expected, it is ultimately considered a landlord problem. But in reality, the consequences stretch far wider. Even to the agent…

Insurance gaps do not just affect owners financially, they can create added pressure and reputational risk for the real estate agency as well.

As a landlord insurance provider, we work closely with many property managers, and they often tell us that when insurance is not straightforward, it quickly becomes a time‑consuming and stressful part of an already demanding role.

So, we are looking at the wider ripple effects… how gaps in cover can influence workloads, relationships and confidence.

Strained relationships

When insurance does not respond as a landlord expects, frustration can quickly turn into blame. Faced with uncovered damage or loss, some landlords may question whether the situation could have been avoided or managed differently, and that frustration is often directed at the property manager.

Property managers are then left managing difficult conversations and explaining policy limits and exclusions and revisiting past guidance. Even where communication has been clear and thorough, these situations can strain relationships and slowly erode trust over time.

Claims create workload blowouts

A straightforward claim can be relatively easy to manage. A claim that is not covered often is not.

For example, when a landlord holds a home and contents policy rather than landlord insurance and then looks to claim for tenant damage or loss of rent, the situation can quickly become more complex. Once it becomes clear the policy will not respond, property managers often find themselves fielding follow‑up questions and helping landlords understand why the expected cover is not available.

There can also be pressure to progress a claim even where cover is unlikely. From sourcing quotes and clarifying responsibility, to liaising with insurers, responding to ongoing landlord queries and carefully documenting each step, the administrative load can escalate quickly.

The emotional work no one sees

Beyond the administrative load is the emotional work. Managing disappointed or angry landlords takes skill and patience, particularly when a landlord believes insurance “should have covered it”. Having the same difficult conversations again and again can be draining, and while it is not something easily measured, the impact on morale and job satisfaction is very real.

Reputational risk by association

While insurance policies sit between the landlord and the insurer, the managing agency is often seen to be part of the outcome. If expectations are not met, frustration can be directed at the agency, even where guidance and responsibilities were clear. Over time, repeated negative experiences can influence how owners perceive their agency relationship and, in some cases, whether they choose to stay.

Why expectation‑setting matters

Clear, early expectation‑setting around insurance does not eliminate every issue, but it can significantly reduce friction when things go wrong.

When landlords have the right cover and understand what is and is not typically covered, how excesses, limits and exclusions work and where responsibility sits when a claim does not respond, there is greater alignment when a claim outcome is handed down.

A shared interest in better outcomes

Landlord insurance ultimately provides peace of mind for landlords and property managers. When the right cover is in place, outcomes are more predictable when something goes wrong.

Challenges tend to arise when there is a gap in cover or understanding. We often see claims declined not because of an issue with the property or its management, but simply because the policy was never designed to cover common rental risks. Standard home and contents policies, for example, typically do not respond to tenant damage, loss of rent, liability, pet damage or events such as drug lab clean‑ups, which are all risks that can arise in a rental property.

That is why specialist landlord insurance, such as EBM RentCover, plays an important role. It is designed specifically for rental properties, helping reduce the impacts of declined claims.

Partner with EBM RentCover

At EBM RentCover, we partner with more than 1,600 agencies across Australia, supporting them through the realities of managing rental property risk.

Our role goes beyond providing insurance. We work alongside agencies to help educate landlords on rental‑specific risks, reduce the likelihood of coverage gaps, and set clearer expectations from the outset. And when a claim does arise, our focus is on working with agents and landlords through the process.

In an industry where relationships matter, having a specialist landlord insurance partner who understands the agency environment can make a difference.

Partner with EBM RentCover today.

The post When insurance doesn’t deliver appeared first on Elite Agent.

Queensland’s housing market is undergoing a gradual but increasingly visible shift, driven by migration flows from South Asia that are changing not only where people buy property, but how they make decisions and who they rely on in the process.

While Australia does not publish detailed ethnicity-based housing purchase data, migration figures make the broader trend clear. India is now the largest source of permanent migrants to Australia, accounting for around one in six arrivals according to Department of Home Affairs data, a shift that has flowed directly into population growth across cities such as Brisbane and into its expanding suburban corridors.

What is emerging alongside that demographic change is a transformation in how trust is built in the property market itself, particularly in high-pressure, high-value environments such as auctions, where buyers are often navigating not just financial decisions but unfamiliar systems, language barriers, and complex family expectations.

For Sukhraj Singh Nijjar, a 23-year-old agent working across Brisbane’s north-west, that shift is already playing out in real time.

“We’re seeing such an influx of people coming into Brisbane every week, and a significant proportion of that is from India and South Asia,” he said, adding that the change is not just statistical but something he experiences directly through day-to-day interactions with buyers and families.

For many of those buyers, he said, the decision to purchase a home is rarely limited to individual circumstances, but instead shaped by broader family structures and expectations that are often carried across generations and borders.

“It’s not just a commercial decision at all, because when people are buying a home in our community they are often thinking about their parents, about whether their parents are going to come and stay with them, or whether extended family is going to visit or live with them at some point,” he says.

“So you have to understand that you are not just dealing with one person making a decision for themselves, you are dealing with a whole family system and all the expectations that come with that,” he said.

That multi-generational decision-making lens is increasingly reflected in settlement patterns across Australia’s major cities, particularly in suburbs where established diaspora communities already exist and where new arrivals often gravitate towards familiarity in both social and practical terms.

Academic research into migration and housing behaviour supports this broader pattern, suggesting that cultural proximity, social networks, and familiarity with institutions all play a role in shaping where migrants choose to live and how they engage with property markets once they arrive.

Other studies have similarly identified the role of what is sometimes described as “cultural distance”, where unfamiliarity with local systems can influence confidence levels in financial decision-making and increase reliance on trusted intermediaries such as agents, community networks, or bilingual professionals.

Within that context, language and cultural familiarity become less about translation and more about reducing uncertainty in decisions that carry significant emotional and financial weight.

“It’s not just language,” Sukhraj said. “It’s understanding where people are coming from, culturally and emotionally, because being able to speak Hindi or Punjabi means I can explain things clearly.

“But more importantly it means I can make people feel like they are not isolated in the process or like they are missing something in translation, and that changes the entire experience for them.”

Sukhraj’s own background sits within that broader migration story, having moved from India to Australia as part of a family decision driven by education and long-term opportunity, an experience he says now informs how he understands the motivations of the clients he works with.

“I did grow up in India and then moved to Australia in 2015 with my family, and for us it was very much about stability and opportunity and trying to build something long term here,” he said.

“When I look at clients now, especially migrants or families who have recently moved, I think I understand a bit of what they are going through because I have lived that transition myself, and I know how many decisions sit underneath something as simple as buying a home.”

Before securing a formal role in real estate, Sukhraj spent months shadowing senior agent Haesley Cush, observing auctions and negotiations from the passenger seat and gradually learning how deals were structured in real time.

“I just tried to be in front of them as much as I could,” he said, reflecting on the early period of persistence that defined his entry into the industry.

“I knew it would take time and there was no point pushing every day in a way that would annoy people, so I just focused on staying present, staying around, and hoping that eventually the opportunity would come.”

That opportunity eventually arrived after months of unpaid exposure and repeated contact.

“Six months later they gave me a job,” he said. “I was lucky in the sense that it worked out, but I also had to keep showing up consistently until it did.”

Now working across Brisbane’s auction floors, Sukhraj is part of a property market that is adjusting in real time to demographic change.

Despite that, he is cautious about overstating his role in a broader structural shift.

“I don’t think I am doing anything extraordinary,” he said. “I just try to stay grounded and focus on helping people through what is often one of the biggest decisions of their lives, because real estate can become very noisy and complicated very quickly, but at its core it is really just about someone trying to decide where they are going to live and build their life.”

Looking ahead, he says the focus remains on long-term consistency rather than rapid growth, even as he considers eventually building something of his own.

“My biggest fear is complacency,” he said. “Even though I have been doing this for a few years, it still feels like I am at the beginning, and I want to make sure I keep improving rather than becoming comfortable too early, because I want to do this for decades, not just a few years.”

For now, though, he remains focused on the present – and on a market where migration is reshaping both demand and trust in equal measure.

The post New wave of South Asian buyers reshapes Brisbane property market dynamics appeared first on Elite Agent.

Experienced sales agent Beryl Fan has stepped into business ownership, joining Mario and Jessica Carbone as a co-owner of Ray White City South in a move that marks the next chapter for one of Sydney’s most enduring inner-city agencies.

Mario and Jessica Carbone, who own Ray White Drummoyne, will operate the two offices as separate businesses while sharing resources and building a group culture across some of Sydney’s most tightly held inner-city markets.

Together, the offices will service a footprint that stretches from the city south fringe into Sydney’s inner west.

For Beryl, the move is the realisation of a long-held ambition; she brings four years of sales experience at Ray White Drummoyne to her new role, where she built a loyal client base and earned a reputation for refreshingly honest, personalised service.

Her results speak for themselves but so does the way she works, with clients consistently returning and referring others as a result of the trust she builds throughout the sales process.

Before entering real estate, Beryl spent many years as a financial controller, a career that gave her a level of commercial discipline rarely found on the agency floor.

Combined with her CPA qualification, that background underpins an attention to detail and a strategic understanding of property transactions that has consistently set her apart from her competitors and delivered outstanding outcomes for her clients.

Business ownership has long been Beryl’s destination.

“Beryl has always had a clear idea of where she was headed,” said Mario.

“When the opportunity arose it was simple: we work well together, we share the same values, and we know what we want to build. She has the drive, the discipline and the client relationships to take this business forward.”

Beryl said the timing and the partnership made the decision straightforward.

“I have always wanted to run my own business. That has been the goal from the beginning and this is the right opportunity, with the right people, in the right market. To do it within Ray White, alongside Mario and Jess, in a market as strong and as dynamic as inner Sydney — it’s exactly where I want to be.”

Ray White NSW CEO Tim Snell said the partnership was exactly the kind of bold, ambitious thinking the network looks to back.

“Mario, Jess and Beryl are a dynamic group and I have enormous confidence in what they are going to build together. This is a partnership built on shared values, real expertise and genuine ambition and that combination is a powerful thing.

“Ray White’s strength has always come from backing people who want to lead, grow and set the standard in their markets. These three do all of that, and we are very proud to support them.”

Anthony Cavallaro, whose leadership has guided the Ray White office for the past 12 years, will continue in the business, ensuring a successful and smooth leadership transition.

With Beryl at the helm, the business enters its next era, backed by experience, commercial rigour and an ownership team with a shared vision for what comes next.

The post Ray White City South enters a new era of ownership appeared first on Elite Agent.

Karen Peele of Karen Peele Real Estate @ Realty secured $750,000 for a four-bedroom house at 72 Elmslie Drive, Cranbourne East, after a targeted pre-sale transformation attracted seven competing offers in just four days.

Decade of tenancy left its mark

After ten years of continuous tenancy, the four-bedroom Livingston estate home presented as dark and tired. Patching was visible, paint had faded, and lighting was inconsistent throughout the property.

The external concrete and gardens needed attention to bring the property up to contemporary standards.

Karen identified the opportunity immediately: strategic cosmetic work could transform buyer perception without extensive renovation.

“The property was very dark with a lot of wear and tear from previous tenants,” Karen said.

“We needed to make sure the whole property was tight and freshened up from the outside in.”

A display-home finish from a rental

Working closely with the owners — who backed the vision from day one — Karen implemented a focused pre-sale programme. The home received fresh contemporary paint throughout, and new LED lighting replaced dated fittings.

The garage floor was finished with premium epoxy. External concrete surfaces were refreshed and gardens prepared for inspection before professional staging completed the transformation.

The improvement was significant enough that during inspections, one prospective buyer asked whether the property had originally been built as a display home.

Seven offers in four days

Within four days of launching to market via private treaty, the property generated seven offers from motivated buyers. The strong competition allowed the owners to negotiate from a position of strength and secure a 45-day settlement.

“The foot traffic was amazing,” Karen said.

“There’s lots of buyers out there looking for Cranbourne property — they know value and they appreciate renovated properties.”

The $750,000 result sat marginally above the suburb’s $735,000 median, with the outcome driven more by competition than by price alone.

For the owners, the result validated a decision to invest in presentation before going to market — a strategy that turned a dated rental into a four-day sale.

About the agent

Karen Peele of Karen Peele Real Estate @ Realty focuses on honest advice, strong communication, and treating every property with a personalised approach. She combines modern marketing with skilled negotiation to help clients achieve exceptional results. Building long-term relationships based on trust and transparency is central to her practice. Visit Karen’s website for more information or call Karen on 0419430950.

The post Strategic refresh transforms tenanted property into four-day sale magnet appeared first on Elite Agent.

Shane Bleasdale has sold a five-bedroom elevated entertainer at 28 Annesley Close in Salisbury Heights, South Australia, for $1.495 million after a 22-day auction campaign that generated four registered bidders and two active buyers fighting it out at the end.

Shane knew the property at 28 Annesley Close had two things you couldn’t fake: a 2,040 m² elevated block and sunset views that stopped buyers in their tracks. The five-bedroom home needed some cosmetic love, but Shane’s strategy was to lead with the irreplaceable assets and frame the work as an opportunity for the right buyer to make it their own.

“We positioned it as one for the view and the place it sat,” Shane said.

“But then also that with a bit of love, it could be restored to the real family entertainer that it was.”

The sellers understood that positioning — the views and potential had drawn them in when they first bought — but busy lives had kept them from completing the restoration. Facing challenging circumstances and needing to move on, they had a real attachment to the home and wanted to see it go to the right people.

The 22-day timeline and nine open homes

Shane runs his campaigns on a 15 to 22-day auction timeline as standard, designed to create urgency and keep buyers engaged without letting momentum drop. For this property, that meant nine open homes in 22 days — commitment that paid off with 34 inspections despite some cold, wet weather slowing weekend traffic.

“We focus on generating strong buyer interest from the outset through a strategic campaign of open inspections and targeted marketing. Building that momentum early and keeping buyers engaged naturally creates competition, which is how we get the absolute best result for our clients.” Shane said.

Buyers kept coming back to the sunset views. The elevation created privacy and a sense of space that’s rare in the area, and Shane could see people looking past the cosmetic work to imagine what the home could become.

Four registered bidders and two fighting it out

Auction day brought four registered bidders, three of them active. The pace was steady without stalling, and then it came down to two buyers pushing each other through the final six bids.

The winners were a young local family — a tradie with his own business and his wife, a teacher in the area — with young kids and a clear vision for the property. They’d been searching in and around Salisbury Heights, looking to upsize into something with more space and character.

“There was a fair bit of joy for the young buyers,” Shane said.

For the sellers, watching the home go to a family who’d appreciate it brought real emotion. They were delighted with who bought it and stayed supportive through the settlement process.

What Salisbury Heights upsizers want right now

Shane’s read on the local market is clear: despite broader housing challenges, demand for family homes in Salisbury Heights remains strong. The area attracts buyers moving up from their first homes into something larger or more upscale — exactly the profile that won this auction.

“It’s really sought after,” Shane said.

“Many moving from what was initially their first homes now into something a bit larger or a bit more upscale is really popular and something that’s quite sought after at the moment in Salisbury Heights.”

The $1.495 million result sits well above the suburb’s $1.0009 million median for four-bedroom houses, reflecting both the property’s size and position and the strength of that upsizer demand Shane identified.

The neighbourhood

Salisbury Heights sits in Adelaide’s northern corridor as a low-density, family-oriented suburb with spacious blocks and established homes. The property’s elevated cul-de-sac position and catchment for Salisbury Heights Primary School and Salisbury East High School appeal to the upsizer demographic Shane identified as driving current demand in the area.

The hands-on approach

Shane’s success on this campaign also came down to his personal approach to every inquiry. Using Ray White’s tracking system, he personally nurtures every lead with clear communication that builds buyer confidence — and keeps vendors informed throughout.

“I personally nurture every inquiry directly and obviously I use very clear communication that increases buyer confidence and the vendors are really informed going into the auction which makes an easy process in the end,” Shane said.

That hands-on style created the trust that brought four registered bidders to auction day and kept the sellers confident through an emotional sale.

About the Agent

Shane Bleasdale from Ray White Salisbury works closely throughout Salisbury Heights, Golden Grove, Greenwith and surrounding areas, staying focused on local buyer behaviour and market activity. His approach centres on clear communication, strategic marketing and strong negotiation, helping property owners achieve the best possible results. Visit Shane’s website for more information or call Shane on 0493286447.

The post Shane Bleasdale’s focused auction strategy delivers $1.495 million result in Salisbury Heights appeared first on Elite Agent.

As the exclusive Sotheby’s International Realty affiliate for Canberra and surrounding regions, Canberra Sotheby’s International Realty combines local expertise with global reach across residential sales, prestige property marketing and high-quality property management services.

Led by Director and Licensed Agent Alexander Smout, the agency has been established with a vision to elevate the real estate experience in Canberra and surrounding regions through exceptional service, strategic marketing and meaningful client relationships.

“Canberra has evolved into one of Australia’s most sophisticated property markets,” said Alexander Smout.

“The city continues to attract professionals, diplomats, business leaders, investors and families seeking an exceptional lifestyle, creating strong demand for a premium real estate offering backed by both local knowledge and international connectivity.”

Backed by the globally recognised Sotheby’s International Realty network, Canberra Sotheby’s International Realty provides clients with the advantage of international reach, sophisticated marketing and a referral network spanning more than 80 countries and territories.

Built on the heritage of the Sotheby’s name, established in 1744, the brand is recognised worldwide for representing exceptional properties and delivering a premium client experience.

Alexander Smout believes the arrival of Canberra Sotheby’s International Realty presents an exciting opportunity to showcase the nation’s capital on a broader stage.

“For many years, Canberra has quietly built a reputation as one of Australia’s most desirable places to live and invest,” he said.

“Our goal is to represent Canberra property with the professionalism, attention to detail and strategic approach it deserves, while providing our clients with access to the strength of a truly global network.”

The post Canberra welcomes Sotheby’s International Realty to the nation’s capital appeared first on Elite Agent.

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. have listed their Los Angeles family home for US$10.5 million (A$14.7 million), marking the end of a 13-year chapter for the couple.

The actors – who met on the set of I Know What You Did Last Summer in 1997 and married in 2002 – purchased the Brentwood estate for US$6.1 million (A$8.5 million) in August 2013.

The five-bedroom, three-storey residence sits on a third of an acre behind gates in Mandeville Canyon. Built in 2006, the 7,300-square-foot home draws from Hamptons design with a neoclassical entry portico, front-facing gables, and interiors anchored by creamy neutrals and warm timber.

The property first appeared on the market as a rental in March 2025, with an asking price of US$60,000 (A$84,000) per month, according to Elle Decor.

The main floor features a double-height foyer leading to an open-plan great room that combines kitchen, dining, and living spaces. French doors open to the rear garden.

A formal living room with a fireplace, a dining room with floral wallpaper, an office, and a wet bar round out the level.

The second-floor primary suite includes two walk-in closets – one with an island – a sitting area, and a balcony overlooking the garden.

The en suite bathroom features a soaking tub, walk-in shower, and dual vanities. The home has six full bathrooms in total. The top floor is currently configured as a den and game room.

Outside, the backyard includes a tiled pool and spa, stone paving, an outdoor kitchen with barbecue, and tall trees and privacy hedges.

Sarah Michelle is best known for her role as Buffy Summers in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Freddie starred in the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise and She’s All That.

The property is listed with Cindy Ambuehl of Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California.

The post Buffy star and husband list Brentwood estate for US$10.5 million appeared first on Elite Agent.

Perth’s housing market is showing clear signs of easing momentum, with homes now taking nearly twice as long to sell compared to earlier in the year, even as prices continue to rise and listings lift back above 5,000.

New data from the REIWA shows the median time to sell a house rose to 14 days in May, up from nine days in February. Units increased from eight days to 13 days over the same period.

REIWA President Suzanne Brown said the shift reflects a transition away from the ultra-tight conditions seen earlier in the year.

“The March quarter was characterised by lower-than-average new listings and very strong demand, which saw properties being snapped up in just over a week,” she said.

“Over April and May we have seen over 1,000 new listings per week, which has contributed to the easing of the market.”

Ms Brown said higher interest rates and improved choice for buyers were also changing behaviour.

“There has also been a shift in buyer sentiment. While the increase in new listings has given buyers more choice and more time to make a decision, they are also dealing with the effects of three consecutive interest rate rises. This impacts borrowing power and also affordability once you have a mortgage. In response to this, buyers are being more discerning.”

Despite the slowdown in speed, prices continued to rise in May. The median house price increased 2.2 per cent to $920,000, while the median unit price rose 2.3 per cent to $660,000.

On an annual basis, growth remains strong, with houses up 16.5 per cent and units up 22 per cent and Ms Brown said the easing in pace should not be misinterpreted as a market slump.

“A slowdown in growth and a change from just over one week to sell a property to two weeks do not represent a downturn.”

She added that conditions remain highly responsive to supply changes, with past cycles showing momentum can quickly return if listings tighten again.

“However, the market was in a similar place at this time last year, and a drop in new listings in the second half of the year, combined with ongoing strong demand, saw frenzied conditions return.”

Ms Brown said the current environment represents a shift towards more balanced conditions.

“Conditions vary from suburb to suburb… I think a more balanced market would be welcomed by industry and the community.”

Listings climb back above 5,000

Supply has lifted materially, with active listings reaching 5,137 at the end of May — up 16 per cent on April and 20.7 per cent higher than a year earlier.

It is the first time listings have exceeded 5,000 at month-end since November 2024, signalling a recovery in available stock after a prolonged tight period.

Suburb-level conditions remain uneven

While overall momentum has eased, performance continues to vary sharply by suburb.

House selling speeds were fastest in Nollamara and Coolbellup (six days), followed by Subiaco, Hillarys, Forrestfield, Dianella and Iluka (seven days), and Yokine, Woodvale and Lesmurdie (eight days).

For units, Tuart Hill led at five days, with Cockburn Central at six, and Wembley, Yokine and Maylands all recording sub-10-day medians.

Price growth also remained broad-based across the city. Among houses, Harrisdale and Landsdale led gains, both up 4.9 per cent, followed by Bassendean (up 4.5 per cent), Southern River (up 2.8 per cent) and Subiaco (up 2.7 per cent).

Unit markets saw the strongest growth in Rockingham (up 2.6 per cent), Innaloo (1.9 per cent), Maylands (1.7 per cent), Rivervale (1.6 per cent) and Perth (1.6 per cent).

Rental market stabilises after strong growth

Perth’s rental market showed signs of stabilisation in May after a period of strong gains.

The median weekly rent for houses remained unchanged at $750, while units held steady at $700. The median dwelling rent edged up 1.4 per cent to $730 per week.

Ms Brown said investors are reassessing their positions following policy changes, including adjustments to capital gains tax and negative gearing.

“Investors are evaluating their positions now they have some clarity about the changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing,” she said.

“As negative gearing is grandfathered, those investors whose property is negatively geared are likely to hold onto their investment, which will not free up a home for someone to buy, However, it will ensure a rental property remains in the market.”

She warned that policy changes could influence investor behaviour in ways that affect both rental supply and affordability.

“Of great concern for the rental market is modelling released last week by the REIA. This showed rent prices will rise by $9 per week over the next four years, as opposed to the government’s claim of a modest $2 per week lift, while new housing starts will fall by over 8,700 dwellings.”

Ms Brown said increasing supply remains the key challenge: “If we want to improve outcomes for renters we need to increase rental supply. To do that we need an environment that encourages more investment, not deters it.”

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China’s prolonged property downturn is now extending into the property services industry, with management firms struggling to collect fees from homeowners and increasingly withdrawing from residential developments.

Industry data from China Real Estate Corporation (CRIC) shows a significant deterioration in payment compliance across the sector.

The average collection rate among China’s top 500 property management firms fell to 71 per cent last year, down from 89 per cent in 2021. While full annual breakdowns were not released, industry participants say 2025 saw the sharpest deterioration, with the trend continuing to worsen.

The decline is being driven by a combination of weaker household finances, changing attitudes toward housing costs, and the ongoing impact of falling property values.

Reuters reported that some homeowners are withholding payments in an attempt to pressure management companies to reduce fees, while others are simply unable or unwilling to maintain payments on assets that have declined in value.

Developers are also adding pressure to the system, with unsold units in partially occupied developments still generating fee obligations that weigh on service providers. At the same time, rising vacancy rates across many cities are reducing the financial viability of ongoing estate management contracts.

As financial stress builds, some property service firms are withdrawing from projects, leaving residential communities facing reduced services such as security coverage, waste collection, and general maintenance. These exits further complicate already strained local housing environments.

Industry executives say the sector is increasingly feeling the spillover effects of the broader property slump.

“Risks from the broader real estate slowdown are spilling over into the property management industry,” said He Shuhua, chief operating officer of Onewo, the property services arm of state-backed developer China Vanke.

He added that “falling home prices have changed homeowners’ expectations,” noting that “difficulties in collecting fees is a common problem across the industry.”

The combination of weaker collections and rising withdrawals is creating a feedback loop: lower service levels can place further pressure on property values, which in turn reduces homeowners’ willingness to pay management fees, deepening financial stress for operators.

Analysts say the sector is now grappling with a structural shift as China’s housing market cools after years of rapid expansion.

Property management firms that grew quickly during the boom are now adjusting to lower revenue certainty, higher vacancy, and more fragmented payment behaviour across developments.

Local authorities are also becoming more involved as disputes emerge between residents and service providers, particularly in cases where firms attempt to exit contracts without replacement operators in place.

In some jurisdictions, officials have stepped in to encourage timely payment of management fees in order to maintain basic services and community stability.

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Australia’s housing market is continuing to defy expectations of a sharper slowdown, with new data from Ray White showing only a modest decline in sales values despite a year marked by economic and political uncertainty.

The group’s May 2026 national sales figures show residential sales values were down just 6 per cent compared with May 2025.

That result came against what many in the industry had expected would be a far weaker period, given the combination of federal budget measures, ongoing interest rate uncertainty and broader geopolitical instability.

While overall activity eased year-on-year, the underlying value of transactions suggests buyers remain active and willing to commit when suitable opportunities emerge.

Month-on-month, the market also showed renewed momentum, with residential sales value rising 6 per cent between April and May. Transaction volumes were steady over the same period.

The figures point to a market that is softening, but not breaking, with activity proving more stable than many forecasts earlier in the year suggested.

Thomas McGlynn, CEO – Performance and Value at Ray White, said the results highlight how quickly conditions have shifted compared to expectations at the start of 2026.

“One of the biggest surprises in the market right now is how resilient it has become,” Mr McGlynn said.

“If you had told most people at the beginning of 2026 that buyers and sellers would be navigating significant tax reform, interest rate uncertainty and an overall cautious consumer environment, many would have expected the market to slow much more dramatically than our numbers suggest.”

He said the data reflects a market that is continuing to function under pressure rather than retreating from it.

“What we’re actually seeing is a market that continues to adapt,” he said.

“Ray White residential sales value in Australia increased from April to May and despite all the uncertainty, sales volumes remain only 6 per cent below this time last year at $6.25 billion. That speaks to a level of resilience that many people underestimate about the Australian property market.”

The results suggest that while sentiment remains fragile, both buyers and sellers are still engaging at scale, keeping the market more active than many anticipated heading into the year.

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The agents who’ve been through it before aren’t panicking; they’ve seen markets turn, watched colleagues leave the industry, and emerged stronger on the other side. 

What they understand, and what newer agents are only now discovering, is that uncomfortable markets are where real careers get built.

Danny Grant has spent nearly three decades in real estate across every facet of the business. 

From property management in Wagga Wagga to selling in Sydney, from business ownership to founding a tech company, he’s watched market cycles come and go. Now working as a real estate coach, he’s seeing two distinct responses to current conditions.

“You’ve got ones that have seen it all before, and they just tend to go get on with it,” Danny says. 

“And then you’ve got the agents that haven’t really experienced anything like this that probably got a bit of a false read on what real estate’s about, and finding it really tough to handle.”

Danny believes the story agents tell themselves about what this market means will determine whether they use it as a launchpad or let it push them toward the exit.

The false read problem

Many agents entered the industry during years of rising prices, strong clearance rates, and seemingly endless buyer demand. 

That environment rewarded responsiveness over skill, activity over strategy.

“A normal market is not 80 to 90 per cent clearance rates,” Danny points out. 

“It’s really sort of around 60 per cent. And in some markets, we’re not actually that far off that.”

The implication is significant because what felt like exceptional performance may have been the tide lifting all boats. 

Now that the water’s receding, the gaps in process and skill are becoming visible.

“A hard market really does reveal weak agents and their processes,” Danny says. 

“So a lot of it is process-driven. What can we improve in that regard?”

Building a business, not chasing a number

When Danny works with agents, his starting point surprises many of them.

“The first thing I get them to do is build a business plan because most of them don’t do it. They don’t have the mindset of ‘I’m running a business.’ They sort of have a mindset of ‘I’ve got a GCI target.'”

The distinction matters, he says. 

GCI targets are binary – you hit them or you don’t. Skills compound. A business plan forces agents to reverse-engineer what success actually requires, including lead generation activities, call volumes, an ideal week structure, and clear KPIs.

“It doesn’t have to be anything magnificent,” Danny explains.

“It just needs to be – what are my lead generations that I’m actually going to do? How many calls do I need to make? What’s my ideal week?”

The communication gap

In busy markets, communication often slides because there’s always activity to report. An inspection, an offer, a campaign update. But what happens when nothing’s happened?

“What about a week where nothing’s happened?” Danny asks. “What do you say to your vendor?”

This is where emotional intelligence becomes a differentiator. 

Many agents, particularly those who came up in strong markets, default to avoiding difficult conversations – or worse, handling them through text.

“A lot of young agents don’t necessarily have that face-to-face skill. They’ll do a price reduction in a text message. Don’t do that. Get in front of them.”

The principle applies equally to buyers. 

With fewer people actively purchasing, each relationship carries more weight. 

Danny suggests approaching buyer conversations through two lenses – logic and emotion.

The logical conversation addresses hesitation directly.

“Why don’t you want to buy now? ‘I want to wait for the market to get better.’ Okay. So what is that going to look like? High clearance rates, a bit more competitive. You’re actually going to be paying more.”

The emotional conversation focuses on motivation.

“What happens when you do find the right property? ‘We need more space.’ Okay. So if the right property comes up, you’re still going to buy it. Don’t worry about what the market’s doing. You can’t control that.”

Standards under pressure

When listings are scarce and buyers cautious, every touchpoint matters more. 

Danny encourages agents to audit their entire operation with fresh eyes.

“If I sat on your shoulder and I was there for every aspect of your business – open houses, talking with vendors, with buyers, doing a listing presentation, prospecting – could I find gaps? The answer is yes, I could.”

Open homes should be experiences, not obligations. 

Presentation should be impeccable. 

Agents should arrive ten minutes early, not two minutes late.

“Even top agents have got that,” Danny observes.

“They get used to things just happening, don’t realise that some of the standards have slipped.”

The irony of difficult markets is they create the space for this kind of work. 

When reactive busyness subsides, agents can finally see their business clearly.

“When the market’s really busy and you’re reactive, you tend to not be able to see the label from inside the jar.”

Managing the inner marketplace

Beyond tactics and processes, Danny focuses on something less tangible but equally important –  what’s happening between your ears.

“Agents are going need to manage the inner and outer marketplace. You can control what’s in your own head. The outer marketplace –  I can’t control what Anthony Albanese does in the budget.”

The solution isn’t positive thinking for its own sake. 

It’s recognising that vendors and buyers are already absorbing negativity from every other source. 

They don’t need their agent adding to it.

“Vendors don’t need somebody else going in being negative. They need somebody that’s positive and gonna move quickly, and they’ll pick up your energy.”

The data supports this. 

Research suggests people attribute only about seven per cent of communication to the actual words spoken. 

The rest comes from tonality and body language.

“You have to think about your own psychology and how you’re handling yourself in a hard market. Are you positive? What are you feeding your mind every day?”

The trust premium

Perhaps the most counterintuitive insight Danny offers is that difficult markets are actually a good time to increase fees.

“It’s a great market to increase your fees as an agent because people really need trusted advisers now. It’s a market that is going to be based on trust.”

When prices were rising and properties were selling themselves, the agent’s role felt transactional. 

Now, with uncertainty on all sides, the value of genuine expertise and conviction becomes visible.

“Selling is a transference of feeling,” Danny says. 

“Everyone’s always testing what your energy is like. And if you’re going in positively – not overpricing properties, just being excited about the opportunity – that’s what people are looking for.”

The agents who lean in now, who treat this period as a training ground rather than a threat, won’t just survive the current conditions. 

They’ll emerge with skills, relationships, and market position that carry them through whatever comes next.

The post Why difficult markets build careers that easy markets never could appeared first on Elite Agent.

When one of two expected bidders withdrew the night before auction, John Moustacas of McGrath convinced his vendors to proceed — and negotiated a single buyer from $870,000 to $940,000 for a two-bedroom unit at 9/31 Bruce Street, Brighton-Le-Sands.

When one of two expected bidders withdrew at 5pm Friday, the vendors of 9/31 Bruce Street questioned whether Saturday’s auction should go ahead at all.

John Moustacas of McGrath told them pulling the property could send the wrong signal.

“I told the vendors if we did pull the property, it may give a negative perception and the buyer that was coming on Saturday might question if they were going to pay too much or why the property didn’t have as much interest,” John said.

“We should still run the auction process with the one buyer just to avoid giving their property any negative perspective to the rest of the market.”

How the private negotiation unfolded

On Saturday morning, John cleared neighbours from the property five minutes before the scheduled start and spoke directly with the remaining buyer.

He told them they were the only party in a position to purchase under auction conditions that day — but mentioned there was interest from another group who couldn’t attend Saturday and wanted to inspect Monday.

That gentle urgency worked. The buyer, who had made a strong offer during the four-week campaign that was knocked back, opened the private negotiation at $870,000.

“I felt they had a little bit more in the tank,” John said.

“The owners were wanting that $940,000 to $950,000 range. I’m happy the buyers came up to that $940,000 and we were able to get an increased offer out of them on the auction day.”

The vendors accepted immediately — hitting their target price despite the Friday complication.

What the buyer already knew

The buyer knew they’d previously put forward a strong offer that wasn’t accepted. They knew another party was circling. And they knew Saturday was their cleanest path to securing the property.

John’s decision to proceed with the auction framework — even without a crowd — maintained the psychological pressure that drives auction-day decisions.

The two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit with one car space had been on the market for 28 days under a planned four-week auction campaign.

Brighton-Le-Sands units have a current median of $907,500, according to local market data — placing the $940,000 result comfortably above the benchmark.

Trusting the process in a tougher market

John’s advice to future vendors in the area is straightforward: trust the process, even when the market feels challenging.

“If you run a great strategy and you have a good agent that’s going to negotiate the best results and give your property the most exposure to the market, I feel even though it’s a bit of a tougher market, you can still achieve a premium result,” he said.

The property went under contract on 30 May 2025.

About the agent

John Moustacas is a sales agent with McGrath Sans Souci and a long-term St George resident. Working as part of Liam Tsaprazis’s team, he is known for his professional approach and strong client relationships. John combines clear communication with local market knowledge and access to an established buyer network, supporting well-managed campaigns and considered outcomes across the St George area. Visit John’s website for more information or call John on 0416 335 256.

The post Single bidder, $940,000 result: how a Brighton-Le-Sands unit hit the vendor’s target appeared first on Elite Agent.

Narelle Cordaro has sold a four-bedroom house at 25 Tullawong Drive, Caboolture, for $980,000 after seven days on market, with strategic pre-listing renovations generating seven offers and a new street record.

The sellers had lived in the home for 20 years without updating it. Narelle knew that wouldn’t work in the current market.

The renovation strategy

Narelle recommended three key changes: replace the old pink laminate kitchen, unify the mismatched flooring throughout, and repaint to remove dated feature walls.

“I advised the vendors that painted feature walls had gone out of date a number of years ago,” Narelle said.

“The full repaint gave the home a uniform look and allowed buyers’ eyes to follow through from room to room in a smooth process.”

The impact was immediate. Buyer interest increased by 70% once the property was updated and ready to list.

Seven offers in seven days

Narelle prepared the sellers for a potential multi-offer scenario before listing. When seven offers arrived within a week, she was ready.

She spoke to each buyer individually, highlighting recent area sales and what made this property stand out. One buyer saw the value close to $1 million — and the others weren’t far behind.

The winning buyers were time-poor owner occupiers who had been comparing properties on the market at the same time. What sealed their decision was simple: everything had been done professionally, and they could move straight in without spending extra time or money on renovations.

“They felt they didn’t have to spend any additional time once they’d moved in working on the property,” Narelle said.

What the market looks like now

Narelle is seeing sales slow in response to current budget conditions. That makes presentation even more critical.

“It’s highly important that vendors work on presentation to ensure their property stands out online and in person,” she said.

The key is consistency — what buyers see online must match what they experience at the open home. Any mismatch costs trust and interest.

The Caboolture context

Caboolture’s residential pockets offer larger house blocks and family-home appeal, with this property sitting on about 645 square metres. The location provides access to the town’s schools, shops, and transport services — a practical base for growing families seeking space without the density of Brisbane’s inner suburbs.

The sellers’ response

The street record result exceeded what the sellers thought was possible. They were so pleased they recorded a five-minute video testimonial for Narelle’s website — a message she can now share with future clients about the support they received and the outcome she delivered.

About the Agent

Narelle Cordaro leads a boutique agency focused on achieving the highest possible price for clients in any market. With over 30 years’ experience in the Moreton Bay Region and a background in sales, property management, and small business, she has won national and international awards for excellence. Narelle’s mission is to make the selling or buying experience memorable and stress-free while exceeding client expectations. Visit Narelle’s website for more information or call Narelle on 0466683684.

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After a near-identical Kalkallo townhouse sold a few doors away for $35,000 less, Jatin Mehta turned auction bidders who missed out into the winning buyer — securing $570,000 for his vendor in 29 days.

The result came from a targeted private treaty campaign that leveraged under-bidders from previous auctions rather than relying on portal enquiry — a strategy Jatin says reflects a fundamental shift in how buyers are operating in Melbourne’s outer north.

When the street’s last sale became the floor, not the ceiling

When number 49 on the same street — an identical townhouse — sold for $535,000 just 10 days before Jatin’s listing went live, the vendors were understandably concerned.

“They were very worried their property could sell for that same figure,” Jatin said.

Rather than letting the comparable weigh down expectations, Jatin used it as a benchmark to demonstrate value — and the strategy paid off. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom, two-car townhouse at 65 Antares Parade went under contract after 29 days on market, settling $35,000 above the neighbouring result.

Why portal enquiry was never part of the plan

Jatin’s approach bypassed traditional portal-driven enquiry in favour of direct outreach to buyers already active in the area.

“We arranged some private inspections and brought in under-bidders from other property auctions we’d conducted,” he said.

“Internal database marketing is the king now. Not all buyers are looking only online — some are working with agents exclusively.”

The shift reflects broader changes Jatin is seeing across Kalkallo, where properties are moving faster than the suburb’s historical norm despite a cooling Melbourne market.

Jatin says the pace of sales in Kalkallo is unusually brisk by the suburb’s historical standards — and that staying close to buyer databases is now essential.

“The market is definitely changing and challenging, so we need to make sure we’re constantly in touch with our buyers,” he said.

The message for Antares Parade vendors: move sooner

For property owners in Antares Parade considering a sale, Jatin’s advice is clear.

“Get in touch quickly — do it sooner rather than later,” he said.

The campaign underscores how vendor outcomes can benefit when agent-held buyer relationships create competition — even when broader market sentiment is cautious — and how a well-positioned comparable sale can serve as a floor rather than a ceiling.

About the agent

Jatin Mehta is an Associate Director and sales agent with Bombay Real Estate, bringing eight years of industry experience and a background in business studies. He offers a detailed understanding of market conditions and transaction management, supporting buyers and sellers through complex property decisions. Known for clear communication and structured negotiation, Jatin focuses on delivering well-managed campaigns with professionalism, integrity and consistent attention to detail. Visit Jatin’s website for more information or call Jatin on 0426973800

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Actor Josh Brolin is selling his gated Sandy Springs estate for just under US$5 million (AUD$7 million), citing a shift in work that’s pulling him back to the West Coast.

Josh, best known for playing Thanos in several Avengers films, bought the three-storey property with his wife Kathryn in 2020 for US$3.25 million (A$4.6 million).

The couple moved to Georgia to be near family and for film work in Atlanta – but as the city’s once-booming production scene has cooled, they’re moving on.

The 1.48-acre property in the Chastain Park neighbourhood near Buckhead includes a main residence and a detached two-storey guest house, with seven bedrooms and 12 bathrooms combined.

In a personal statement provided through listing agent Jacob Bean of Studio Housing Atlanta, and reported by Homes.com, Josh described their attachment to the home.

“We had family nearby, and we spent the time it took to not only update the house, but turn its insides into pieces of all the places we’ve travelled to: a little Atlanta there, a little Paris there, a little Ireland and New York and maybe even the countryside of Pennsylvania,” they said.

“We love art and we love books and the influences suggest it at 5000 Long Island Drive.”

The couple wouldn’t be selling if work wasn’t taking them elsewhere, they added.

The main home features vaulted ceilings, a private lounge, and a two-storey living room with a fireplace. A kitchen wing includes a walk-in pantry, laundry and secondary entrance, while a screened-in rotunda offers another fireplace and grilling space.

The basement houses a gym, custom sauna and cold plunge, with additional storage space that could be converted to living areas. The guest house offers independent living on each floor, each with its own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.

Outside, a heated pool with waterfalls and a stone dive board sits on the deep lot. At the rear of the property, a hidden park is set back beneath a canopy of trees and bamboo.

“Even the rock pool with its cascading waterfall and stone protruding dive board – everything about it had to feel personal (or something we could attach a fictional romantic story to, at least in our minds),” Josh said. “It’s been easy to do there.”

When the couple weren’t in residence, the property rented for around US$40,000 per month (A$56,000) – primarily to celebrities and film industry professionals. With local production softening, the home went on the market in April 2026.

The furnishings and contents are available either with the house or in a separate transaction.

Josh, who also played former President George W. Bush in the 2008 film W and earned an Oscar nomination for Milk the same year, is the son of actor James Brolin and stepson of Barbra Streisand.

The property is listed with Jacob Bean of Studio Housing Atlanta. The full listing can be viewed at compass.com.

The post Josh Brolin lists Atlanta estate as film work shifts west appeared first on Elite Agent.

Raine & Horne and REA Group have today announced a landmark enterprise partnership bringing together Australia’s most established real estate brand, operating for 143 years, and the country’s leading digital property business.

The partnership is a defining moment for Raine & Horne in delivering on its strategy to accelerate the success of every franchise and its customers. Raine & Horne has worked closely with REA to develop a market-leading technology solution for core real estate operations, leveraging REA’s leading audience, agent workflow tools, and unparalleled data and insights.

From August, over 200 residential Raine & Horne offices across Australia will have access to a best-in-market rate for REA’s Pro subscription for agencies. As REA’s most premium subscription, Pro unlocks a suite of tools to drive exposure and accelerate growth for each agency and the network as a whole. It also provides access to PropTrack’s proprietary data to enhance prospecting, and delivers more seller leads, ultimately supporting winning listings.

This is coupled with a technology upgrade for Raine & Horne agencies powered by Realtair, REA’s premier agent workflow tool. Realtair, alongside Pro, will significantly enhance how agencies nurture and convert leads, and help drive customer satisfaction.

The partnership also packs a punch for the commercial real estate sector.

In 2026, the Raine & Horne Commercial network will have access to an industry-first proposal platform custom-built for commercial real estate. The platform will be deployed after an iterative development process led by Arealytics, Australia’s leading provider of nationwide commercial real estate data, and supported by Raine & Horne and REA.

The platform will ingest Arealytics’ deep property, ownership, sale, and leasing data, supporting tactical decision-making on typical commercial activity, including acquisitions, asset disposals, and leasing renewals.

Chris Nicholl, CEO of Raine & Horne Group, said this partnership marks a significant step forward in the Group’s strategy to accelerate the success of every Raine & Horne office and its customers.

“REA’s platform visibility, agent workflow tools, and market data insights could combine as key leverage for our office network to look after their customers and continually win business,” Chris said.

“I’m also delighted to get behind building a new technology edge for the commercial sector. The value of bringing together market transparency through commercial real estate data with a digital workflow that caters to the norms of the sector shouldn’t be underestimated.”

REA Group Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer, Kul Singh, said that Raine & Horne’s technology-led approach makes them an ideal partner for this new agreement.

“REA’s insight into the property market is unmatched. An average of 12.9 million Australians visited realestate.com.au each month in the third quarter¹, and our rich and immersive experiences continue to deeply engage our audience. Couple this with our volume of listings, and we are uniquely positioned to deliver meaningful, data-driven insights with the most comprehensive view of the market,” Kul said.

“Raine & Horne has a long-standing heritage and clear focus on innovation. This partnership brings together two organisations aligned in their ambition to deliver stronger outcomes for agents and their customers. The seamless integration of our products and services will support driving the best results for the Raine & Horne network and their clients.”

1 Ipsos iris Online Audience Measurement Service, Jan 2026 – Mar 2026 (average), P14+, PC/laptop/smartphone/tablets, text only, Homes and Property Category, Brand Group, Realestate.com.au, Audience (000’s).

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For years, Australia’s property policy debates have largely been the domain of economists, politicians, lobby groups and industry leaders. Discussions about negative gearing, capital gains tax and housing affordability have typically unfolded through Treasury modelling, policy papers and expert commentary. But in the aftermath of the Federal Government’s controversial Budget proposals, the loudest voice capturing public attention has come from an unlikely source: comedian Dave Hughes.

The Melbourne-based entertainer has emerged as perhaps the most visible public face of opposition to the proposed reforms, using his enormous social media reach to articulate concerns being shared by investors, homeowners and business owners across the country.

While industry organisations have issued formal responses and economists have dissected the likely consequences, Mr Hughes has connected with Australians in a way few policy experts can, turning a complex taxation debate into a deeply personal conversation about trust, financial security and the fear of losing everything after playing by the rules.

One of his most widely shared videos imagines the experience of an ordinary Australian family purchasing a home under one set of policy settings, only to find those settings dramatically altered after the election. Speaking directly to camera, he constructs a scenario that has resonated strongly with his audience.

“March 2026. You’ve just gone all in on a $2 million house property in Australia. You voted for Albanese. He said he wasn’t going to do anything to negative gearing. Didn’t mention anything about capital gains tax. You voted for him. So you’ve got your $2 million, just spent on a house.”

He then describes a scenario in which property values fall significantly following the introduction of the reforms, leaving homeowners exposed.

“So you’ve spent $2.1 million and the property market crashes, goes down 20 per cent. So you’ve spent $2.1 million, but now all you can get for the house is $1.6 million. You’re not going to sell it, but then you lose your job and you have to sell it. So you’ve just lost $500,000. You’ve just lost your life savings.”

The conclusion is delivered with the kind of bluntness that has made Mr Hughes, aka Hughesy, both popular and controversial throughout his career.

“You know why you lost your life savings? Because Albanese f—ing lied.”

While critics may dismiss the comments as simplistic, the scale of engagement suggests Mr Hughes has tapped into a genuine anxiety among Australians who fear policy changes could alter the value of assets accumulated over decades.

His posts have generated thousands of reactions across Facebook and Instagram, alongside hundreds of comments from Australians sharing their own concerns about housing, retirement savings and investment confidence.

Importantly, his intervention is not occurring in isolation. A number of prominent business figures have also stepped into the debate, creating a rare alignment between entrepreneurs, finance commentators and property industry personalities.

Among the most outspoken has been Boost Juice founder Janine Ellis, who began her comments by acknowledging that political commentary is something she usually avoids altogether.

“You would never have heard me talk politics before. I avoid it like the plague, but I just needed to comment on the Budget. From my understanding of the changes with capital gains tax and negative gearing, the changes potentially could, in my opinion, destroy the core of what Australians are. Australians are the people that want to have a go. They want to have control over their own destiny and they want to have their own business or get ahead with an investment property or other.”

She argued that the reforms risk undermining the incentives that drive entrepreneurship and wealth creation, speaking from the perspective of someone who built a business from scratch.

“I believe from the stats that Australia per head has more small businesses than anywhere in the world and the new Budget, in my opinion, is destroying that. If I started Boost Juice Bars in July 2027, and people have got to remember that when you start a business, you put everything on the line and most fail — four out of five fail. I would put my house on the line. I’d put everything on the line and then I’d work my absolute butt off, risk everything, be away from my family and eventually make a profit and give nearly half to the government … It doesn’t inspire you to actually take the risk that you need to take.”

The entrepreneur also mounted a strong defence of negative gearing, arguing it provides ordinary Australians with an opportunity to improve their long-term financial position.

“Negative gearing seriously is one of the only opportunities for people who have a job to actually have a future and really look after their family in the future. It was a great concept. To take it away is just wrong.”

Mr Ellis warned that the reforms could trigger a series of unintended economic consequences extending far beyond the property market.

“This is the consequence of this. Big businesses will not come here because it’s too tax heavy, which means we will not have opportunities for employment. We won’t want to open businesses or start businesses because the risk of failure and the reward doesn’t add up. The unintended consequences of this [Budget] are horrific.”

Entrepreneur and finance commentator Mark Bouris has been equally forceful in his criticism, framing the issue as an attack on one of the primary wealth-building mechanisms available to middle Australia. Speaking after Budget night, Mr Bouris said the proposed changes had left him deeply troubled.

“A lot of the stuff that’s really concerning me is the changes to capital gains tax and the changes to negative gearing. What this Budget is proposing to spend is the money it’s now going to be taking from Australians who have been accumulating assets over 40 or 50 years. Australians who worked really hard. Australians who got tax deductions for negative gearing because they were actually losing money.”

He argued many investors had accepted years of financial sacrifice in the expectation that property ownership would eventually provide security for themselves and their families.

“The rent minus the interest was negative and they were allowed to offset that against their other income. Why wouldn’t you get a tax deduction when you’re losing money, with the hope that one day the property will go up in value and one day the property will be positively geared?

“So many Australians have done that over the last 30 or 40 years. They’ve grinded away year after year after year. They’ve paid their stamp duty, paid their taxes, paid their fees and now those individuals are looking after their families. There is wealth that’s going to be passed down to their families.”

Mr Bouris reserved particular criticism for the Government’s argument that the reforms would improve intergenerational equity.

“This intergenerational inequity is a whole heap of crap. In actual fact, the intergenerational inequity is now being created by this government by taking that very same mechanism that people like me, my father and many others used to build wealth and stripping it away from Australian kids. People in their twenties and thirties are now being told the path that previous generations took is no longer available to them.”

Real estate coach and commentator Tom Panos has delivered some of the most colourful criticism of all, accusing the Government of disguising a major tax shift behind more politically appealing messaging.

“The Federal Budget felt less like an economic plan … It felt like a garage sale by people who accidentally burnt the house down. Aussies didn’t get a Budget. They got a magician’s performance. Look over here — cost of living, this and that. Meanwhile behind the curtain there’s more taxes, more complexity and more pressure on the people carrying the country.”

He also warned the uncertainty generated by major tax changes could have far-reaching consequences throughout the economy.

“When governments change the rules overnight, people stop moving. Investors freeze. Builders hesitate. Developers delay. Consumers sit there clutching their wallets. We can talk about property investors all day long, but this hits everyone. It hits renters. It hits small businesses. It hits tradies. It hits young couples. Most importantly, it hits confidence.”

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Australian stamp duty receipts have almost doubled in six years, rising to $34.4 billion in 2024/25 as rising property prices did more of the heavy lifting than housing turnover.

Stamp duty revenue rose 12 per cent over the past financial year, while property sales volumes increased 5 per cent over the same period according to research from Money.com.au conducted by Primara Research using Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

The gap between transaction activity and government revenue has widened across several states, with price growth increasingly driving collections.

Western Australia recorded a 29 per cent rise in stamp duty revenue over three years despite a 3 per cent fall in property sales. South Australia saw revenue increase 19 per cent over the same period, while transactions remained 11 per cent below peak levels.

Based on ABS transfer data, the average stamp duty paid per transaction in 2024/25 was $61,714 nationally.

By state:

• New South Wales: $73,855
• Western Australia: $63,860
• Victoria: $62,355
• Northern Territory: $53,902
• Queensland: $53,268
• South Australia: $45,911
• ACT: $38,399
• Tasmania: $31,852

In New South Wales, a median-priced home at $1.52 million attracts about $65,963 in stamp duty. At $3.04 million, that rises to $149,563 – a 126 per cent increase on a 100 per cent rise in price.

Peter Drennan, Head of Research and Data at Primara Research, said the structure of stamp duty means revenue growth is closely tied to price movements rather than transaction volumes.

“Stamp duty revenue has nearly doubled in six years, and the progressive nature of the tax means governments benefit disproportionately every time prices rise,” he said.

“The issue is buyers aren’t just paying more because prices are higher. They’re being pushed into higher brackets where the effective rate increases, so the tax bill grows faster than the price tag.”

He said the divergence between prices, sales volumes and revenue is now clearly visible across multiple states.

“In Western Australia, revenue is up 29 per cent over three years despite fewer transactions,” he said.

“South Australia is up 19 per cent over the same period, while sales remain well below peak levels.”

Mr Drennan said the structure of the tax is also shaping affordability outcomes in higher-value markets.

“Property is already expensive and difficult to access in Australia, and stamp duty adds a substantial upfront cost on top of that,” he said.

“It also creates a barrier to selling, because anyone looking to downsize or right-size still has to buy somewhere else and pay stamp duty again.”

“That dynamic may be contributing to older Australians staying in homes larger than they need, with implications for the supply of family-sized housing.”

He said the cost burden is also influencing mobility.

“We’re seeing more people choose to renovate rather than move, which works for those who can afford it,” he said.

“But for families trying to move from an apartment to a house, that option isn’t available. The stamp duty bill becomes another barrier on top of the price gap they’re already trying to bridge.”

He also said the progressive structure of the tax amplifies costs in higher-value markets.

“At higher property values, buyers are pushed into higher brackets, which increases the effective rate applied to marginal dollars,” he said.

“In the most expensive markets, many buyers are already at the limit of what’s accessible to them. Stamp duty adds to that pressure, and the progressive structure means it compounds faster than prices do.”

“That is why stamp duty revenue continues to grow faster than property prices, even when transaction volumes are relatively flat.”

The post Stamp duty nears $35bn as rising prices do the heavy lifting appeared first on Elite Agent.

First National Real Estate has expanded its presence in Sydney’s south-west with the opening of First National Real Estate Aziz Hoque Property in Glenfield, led by Director and Selling Principal Aziz Hoque.

Mr Hoque brings 16 years of industry experience spanning residential sales, investment strategy and portfolio management. His career includes multiple ‘Top Selling Agent’ awards, alongside recognition for leadership and client service excellence.

The move to establish his own office under the First National banner reflects a deliberate shift towards a more collaborative and client-focused model.

‘The decision to align with First National was driven by its culture,’ Mr Hoque said.

‘The level of support, cooperation and genuine investment from the corporate team made it clear this is a partnership. It mirrors the same high standard of service I expect to deliver to my clients.’

First National Real Estate Aziz Hoque Property will offer residential sales, property management, auctions and commercial services, underpinned by a ‘quality over volume’ operating model.

‘We intentionally limit the number of properties we manage at any one time. That allows us to provide a more considered strategy, stronger negotiation and consistent communication throughout the process,’ Mr Hoque said.

‘Every property deserves a premium approach. Clients should not feel like they are part of a production line.’

The office will maintain a strong local focus, positioning itself as a community-based agency with broad capability.

‘Our aim is to deliver a higher standard of service while keeping fees fair and reasonable. We want to ensure that both homeowners and investors can access professional advice without unnecessary cost,’ Mr Hoque said.

‘We are here to support our community. That means understanding local conditions, engaging with residents and delivering outcomes that align with their long-term goals.’

To mark the launch, the office will host a formal opening and introduce a ‘Stress-Free Move’ initiative, offering selected clients transitional accommodation support and tailored strategy sessions.

First National Real Estate welcomed the appointment, highlighting the alignment between Mr Hoque’s service philosophy and the network’s emphasis on professionalism, collaboration and sustained performance.

The post Aziz Hoque launches a First National office in Sydney’s South-West appeared first on Elite Agent.

A husband-and-wife team has launched a Brisbane buyer’s agency built around a simple observation: most buyers don’t need more information – they need someone to help them think clearly.

Denise and Murray Golding opened BAWT (Buyer’s Agents With Tenacity, pronounced “bought”) in March and have already represented six owner-occupier buyers across Brisbane, all sourced through referrals.

Denise’s path to buyer’s advocacy was personal. After relocating from Sydney to Brisbane in 2005, she and Murray spent years navigating new schools, building businesses – they ran multi-award-winning IGA and Subway stores – and establishing a home in a new city.

That firsthand experience of the emotional weight behind major property decisions became the foundation for BAWT’s model.

After selling the retail businesses, Denise returned to real estate – this time representing buyers rather than sellers.

A role with a Sydney-based buyer’s agency confirmed what both Goldings had come to believe: the market had a gap for a boutique practice built around genuine advocacy rather than transaction volume.

“There’s a growing number of buyer’s agencies being built around scale, speed, and systems,” Denise said. “We wanted to create something calmer, more considered, and genuinely coaching-led.”

Murray said the approach was shaped by repeatedly watching capable buyers become emotionally overwhelmed by the purchasing process itself.

“People are terrified of making the wrong decision, overpaying, or missing out,” he said.

“We realised the real value wasn’t adding more noise or theatrics. It was helping people stay clear-headed when it mattered most.”

Denise said one of the most rewarding parts of the early work has been seeing clients shift once they feel supported.

“You can literally see people settle. They go from overwhelmed to composed. Once people understand the process and feel supported properly, they make much better decisions.”

The agency services Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The BAWT website was developed with Flornt, the consultancy founded by former Hutton & Hutton principal Peter Hutton.

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Belle Property is proud to announce the opening of its newest office, Belle Property Nepean, servicing Penrith and the wider Nepean region. The agency is led by well-known Principals Chris Rayner and Kate Spence alongside Licensed Real Estate Agent Sarah Watson, bringing more than 40 years of combined industry experience and deep local knowledge to the business.

Building on the success of their established Lower Blue Mountains office, the launch of Belle Property Nepean marks a natural expansion for the team, strengthening their ability to connect buyers and sellers across the region while delivering a more elevated, boutique real estate experience.

Positioned at the heart of one of Western Sydney’s fastest-growing corridors, Penrith and the broader Nepean region offer a dynamic mix of lifestyle and convenience. The area appeals to a diverse demographic, including established homeowners, upsizers seeking more space, young families entering the market, investors, and downsizers transitioning from the Lower Blue Mountains into more accessible, better-connected areas. The opening of the new office is also perfectly timed to coincide with the opening of Western Sydney International Airport, set to rapidly transform the region.

The region continues to experience strong growth, underpinned by its family-oriented appeal, improving infrastructure, and proximity to both the Sydney CBD and the Blue Mountains. Recent data highlights the resilience of the local market, with Penrith house prices reaching a median of $1,075,000, reflecting significant annual growth, while units have also shown steady gains. This sustained performance, combined with increasing demand for quality housing, reinforces the area’s position as a key growth market in New South Wales.

Chris Rayner and Kate Spence describe their approach to real estate in three words: premium, honest and personal. “Our goal is to deliver an elevated real estate experience to the wider Nepean region,” Kate Spence said. “With our new office, we are excited to better support our clients. Backed by Belle Property’s national network and reputation for premium marketing and personalised service, our clients can feel confident they are in expert hands.”

Chris Rayner added, “Expanding into Penrith allows us to bring our passion for real estate to even more clients. By combining innovative marketing, boutique service, and the strength of Belle Property’s network, we are committed to delivering a premium experience for every buyer, seller, investor and renter we work with.”

Known for their down-to-earth approach, attention to detail and strong client relationships, the team has earned consistent industry recognition, including multiple RateMyAgent awards and acknowledgement as realestate.com.au Top Agents across key Blue Mountains suburbs.

Belle Property Nepean reflects a clear vision to provide a more tailored, client-focused offering in the local market. With a strong emphasis on quality, strategy and personalised service, the team is committed to setting a new benchmark for real estate across Penrith and the surrounding suburbs.

Andrew Robinson, Belle Property Head of NSW/ACT, commented on the opening: “We are delighted to see Chris, Kate and Sarah expand into the Nepean region. Their strong track record and commitment to delivering a premium client experience make them an ideal fit for this next endeavour. We are confident Belle Property Nepean will quickly establish itself as a leading agency in Western Sydney as it’s reshaping into a high-potential market.”

Belle Property Nepean is now open and proudly serving the community. The office is located at 2/459 High Street, Penrith. For enquiries, contact the team on 4721 2355 or Chris Rayner on 0432 721 335 or chris.rayner@belleproperty.com.

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The 2026–27 Federal Budget has already been handed down, but for the property market the real story is still working its way through Parliament rather than sitting neatly inside it.

While the main Appropriation Bills are expected to pass through the House of Representatives by the end of June in line with normal budget timelines, the more contested elements of the government’s reform agenda are still being examined through a Senate committee process.

Those changes are now expected to move into a key voting window between 22 June and 2 July 2026, before Parliament rises for the winter break.

Until that point, nothing is fully locked in. And that gap between announcement and law, according to Lisa Pennell, CEO of Barry Plant, is exactly where the current market is sitting.

Lisa says the uncertainty itself has become a force in the market, shaping behaviour well before any final legislative outcome is known.

“There’s certainly a slowdown in buyer activity,” she said. “Not a market collapse by any stretch.”

What she is seeing instead is a more uneven response, with conditions shifting sharply depending on location, price point and buyer type. Some parts of the market are still transacting strongly, while others have slowed noticeably, particularly where investors previously made up a larger share of demand.

“It’s very segmented. Different areas acting very differently,” she said. “In some areas we’re still transacting very, very well.”

That fragmentation, Lisa says, is one of the clearest features of the current cycle. Rather than a uniform cooling or correction, the market is behaving in pockets, with some suburbs holding steady and others adjusting more quickly to thinner buyer depth.

A key driver, she believes, is not just the policy itself but the way it is being interpreted before it is finalised. Until the legislation is fully passed and its final form is known, sentiment is doing more of the heavy lifting than certainty.

“The reason why I didn’t make commentary initially is that I believe sentiment influences the market as much, if not more than policy,” she said.

That sentiment shift is most visible in the investor space. Lisa says investor activity has clearly stepped back while people wait to understand the final settings.

“No investors are going to be seeking a negatively geared property today,” she said, describing what she sees as a broad pause rather than a permanent exit.

That hesitation, she says, is already flowing through parts of the broader investment ecosystem. In particular, she pointed to a rapid withdrawal of some buyer’s agents whose businesses were heavily exposed to investor demand.

“They deal with investors, there’s so much uncertainty,” she said. “Those businesses overnight don’t exist. They have no customer base.”

While she acknowledged that this removes what she considers problematic behaviour in parts of the market, she also noted that it reflects how quickly sentiment can shift when a key buyer group steps back.

At the same time, Lisa says pricing is already adjusting in certain segments, particularly where properties have been sitting on the market longer or where buyer competition has thinned out.

“There’s certainly been price declines in some segments in some areas. I think that’s happened already,” she said.

In those cases, vendors who might have expected stronger outcomes earlier in the year are now having to recalibrate. Some properties are simply taking longer to move, while others are negotiating down from initial expectations as buyer numbers tighten.

Lisa says this is where the fundamentals of demand and supply begin to reassert themselves more clearly. When there are fewer buyers attending inspections or competing for the same asset, the end result inevitably changes.

“If there’s fewer buyers coming through opens, if there’s only one or two buyers instead of three or four, you’re going to get a different outcome,” she said.

Looking ahead, she expects vendor behaviour to become more conditional rather than uniform. Some owners will hold and rent where they can afford to, particularly if they are not under pressure to sell. Others will continue to transact, even if prices are softer than they might have been a few months earlier.

But she also warns that investor exits may outweigh any decisions to hold.

“If a vendor can afford to hold onto a property and rent it out, then potentially they may,” she said. “But we also have to account for the significant number of investors who will continue to exit the market.”

That exit trend, she says, has already been building over recent years in Victoria due to holding costs, land tax and compliance pressures, and the Budget debate is likely to reinforce that direction rather than reverse it.

Lisa also points out that any temporary reduction in listings caused by vendors holding stock is unlikely to offset broader supply pressures.

Even where some properties are withheld, she expects overall investor sell-down activity to continue to influence stock levels.

“We’re not getting new buyers in that investor space,” she said.

One likely consequence that has been widely discussed by the industry is continued pressure on rents over time, even if short-term expectations about sharp increases are overplayed.

From an agency perspective, Lisa believes the current environment is beginning to separate operators more clearly. While softer markets can be uncomfortable, she says they tend to expose differences in capability and structure.

“This is where quality agencies will actually be okay,” she said. “This is the time for quality businesses to really shine.”

With fewer transactions flowing through the system, she says performance becomes more visible. Listing management, negotiation and vendor guidance all become more important, while reliance on momentum alone becomes less effective.

“It’s no longer about fast talk and getting the listing and the property selling itself,” she said. “Now you actually need to know what you’re doing.”

She also sees the current cycle as part of a broader pattern rather than an exception. In her view, Australian property markets regularly swing between extremes of sentiment before returning to more balanced conditions.

“It always goes too far in one direction,” she said. “Then it comes back.”

For now, though, Lisa says the key variable is not just policy direction, but the period before policy becomes law, when uncertainty has its strongest influence.

Until the legislation is finalised and fully understood, she expects many participants to remain cautious, with lower transaction volumes and more measured decision making across both buyers and vendors.

In her view, the market is not standing still. It is simply waiting for clarity.

And until that arrives, sentiment will continue to do much of the work.

The post Between Budget and Law: a market holding its breath appeared first on Elite Agent.

Melbourne real estate group Noel Jones has appointed one of the industry’s most recognised leaders, Ray Ellis, as Chairman of the Board.

Ray brings decades of senior leadership experience spanning Melbourne, national and international real estate markets, having held executive roles across some of Australasia’s most successful real estate organisations.

His credentials extend across franchise growth, team development, strategic planning, industry advocacy and media engagement. Ray has also served on the board of the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).

The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for the industry, with agencies navigating accelerating change across technology adoption, shifting consumer expectations and a highly competitive landscape.

“The real industry is currently facing a period of profound change and a turbulent market. I firmly believe that agents and real estate groups can flourish during these periods with the right vision, culture and a steely focus on delivering strong results for clients,” said Ray.

“Noel Jones already has an outstanding reputation and a strong cultural foundation.

“I’m excited to work alongside the directors and leadership team to help continue that growth journey while ensuring the business remains progressive, innovative and deeply connected to its people and clients,” he said.

The post Noel Jones appoints real estate industry leader Ray Ellis as Chairman appeared first on Elite Agent.

Mark Anderson has sold a six-bedroom family home in the highly sought-after Browne Avenue, Dalkeith in the low $4m’s via private treaty after eight days on market, with decisive buyers moving ahead of five others who were still weighing up their options.

Mark knew exactly what would make the property stand out — and it wasn’t just the six bedrooms, three bathrooms and four-car spaces. It was a story that only someone with 35 years in the area could tell.

The preparation advantage

The vendors moved out before the campaign began, giving Mark full access to prepare the home. The house was already in excellent condition, so the focus became decluttering and removing the everyday traces of family life — toys included — while maintaining its warmth.

“The vendors are really nice people and great to work for. In fact, this was the third occasion we have worked together,” Mark said.

“We’d been speaking over the last 12 months and their brief was: we are very genuine about selling. We’re not necessarily looking for a quick sale, but we do want to sell, so we’ll leave it up to you Mark because you are our agent and this is what you do best.”

That trust gave Mark the freedom to structure the campaign his way.

The scarcity story

The marketing centred on what makes Browne Avenue distinctive — a story the major portals alone can’t fully convey.

The property sits just 100 metres from Nedlands Golf Course, with walking-distance access to nature paths leading to the Swan River foreshore. Shopping is five minutes away, and there is only one set of traffic lights between the home and Perth CBD.

But the real draw was scarcity. Only 10 houses sit in this section of Browne Avenue, close to the golf course, helping to keep traffic flow to a minimum.

“That’s why I sincerely believe it is a forever location,” Mark said. “That’s what attracted all the interest.”

Six buyers, one moved fast

The campaign drew six genuinely interested buyers, but only one couple was ready to act. The others were still searching for their ideal configuration — a slightly different layout or accommodation mix.

For the successful buyers, location was the priority.

“The buyers were looking for that long-term hold,” Mark said. “While they won’t fill all the bedrooms immediately, there is certainly scope for a family in the future.”

The couple viewed the property and knew straightaway it was what they had been looking for.

“When buyers come through a home open, they know whether they love the house by the time they reach the back door or step into the garden,” Mark said. “It then becomes a matter of working through the reasons not to buy. These people were confident.”

Mark ran three home opens in quick succession across the eight-day campaign, generating strong attendance before presenting the offer. The vendors were delighted with the result.

The Perth market read

For sellers considering Dalkeith or nearby Nedlands, Mark’s advice is measured: the market remains strong, but buyers are considered in their approach.

“Twelve months ago you may have had six buyers moving at the same time,” he said. “Now, out of six buyers, you might have one who moves sooner than the others. There’s less urgency — but if the property is the right one, people will act.”

Presentation, location and clear campaign strategy continue to make the difference when buyers are selective.

About the Agent

Mark Anderson is a long-standing presence in Western Suburbs real estate, bringing more than 30 years of local experience to Shellabears. Known for his measured approach and strong client relationships, he combines market knowledge with calm judgement and clear communication. A long-time local resident, Mark works across a range of residential transactions, drawing on negotiation expertise and considered campaign strategy to deliver consistent outcomes aligned with Shellabears’ established community focus. Visit Mark’s website for more information or call Mark on 0411645174.

The post Mark Anderson secures Dalkeith sale after an intense eight-day campaign appeared first on Elite Agent.

Australia’s housing market is showing early signs of a shift in momentum, with a sharp rise in listings, weakening price growth across major capitals and a gradual lift in distressed activity pointing to changing conditions, according to SQM Research.

SQM Research Managing Director Louis Christopher said the jump in listings was notable not just for its size, but for what it signals about the housing cycle.

“I kept noticing that the variation was narrowing and narrowing, and now we are recording this increase year on year,” he said.

New data for May shows total national property listings surged 10.4% to 258,803 dwellings, marking one of the strongest monthly increases in recent periods and pushing national stock into positive year-on-year territory for the first time in more than a year.

Mr Christopher said the latest monthly rise was expected, but still significant in context.

“The monthly spike of 10.4% was probably more than a little bit expected,” he said.

New listings rose 5.0% nationally and are now 12.0% higher than May 2025, suggesting vendor activity remains strong despite softer conditions emerging across key housing markets.

Older stock also climbed 10.5% over the month, reflecting properties taking longer to sell and growing divergence between buyer and seller expectations and Mr Christopher said this was consistent with a market adjusting in real time.

“When you look at the old listings that we have got there, and that is significantly on the rise, there is a whole bunch of vendors out there that are still overpricing their property compared to market,” he said.

“And hence the reason why we are seeing a big rise in old listings.”

Price momentum stalls across major capitals

While national asking prices were broadly flat, the underlying capital city trends reveal increasing weakness in the country’s largest markets.

Five of the eight capitals, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, recorded monthly declines in combined asking prices.

Sydney fell 0.3%, Melbourne declined 1.1%, Brisbane dropped 1.0%, Perth eased 0.8% and Adelaide was down 1.7%.

Mr Christopher said the national figure masked what was happening beneath the surface.

“The flat national price reading masks what is actually happening across the major capitals,” he said.

“Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide all recorded monthly falls in combined asking prices. The only markets still rising are the three smallest.”

He said market conditions had changed significantly since the start of the year.

“When we started the year off, most capital cities, barring Sydney and Melbourne, were experiencing a strong seller’s market,” Mr Christopher said.

“But the market from about late February onwards started suffering from a series of shocks.”

According to Mr Christopher, those shocks included multiple interest rate rises, rising global energy costs linked to the Middle East conflict and recent property taxation changes that have weighed heavily on confidence.

“That has changed sentiment in the market big time,” he said.

Distressed listings rise as market pressure builds

Distressed listings rose 5.1% in May to 3,847 properties, although they remain 16.2% below the same time last year.

Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia all recorded increases of around 9%, while the ACT remains significantly elevated compared with a year ago.

Mr Christopher said the figures do not yet point to widespread mortgage stress but the trend is becoming harder to ignore.

“With 3,847 distress listings, that is below the long-term averages that we have been recording,” he said.

“The more long-term average is generally around 6,000 listings.”

However, he said the monthly movement was more important than the annual comparison.

“It has been falling and falling and falling, and then from about March it started to rise again,” Mr Christopher said.

“The annual figure is still negative, but year-on-year comparisons lag. The monthly trend is what matters here, and it is rising.”

‘A market losing momentum’

Mr Christopher said the combination of rising supply, weakening asking prices and increasing distressed activity points to a market that is losing steam.

“May’s data points to a market that is losing momentum,” he said.

“National listings recorded their strongest monthly rise in some time and have moved back into positive annual territory for the first time in over a year.”

“When supply returns this quickly while prices stall, it is usually an early sign that the market is at a turning point.”

He said the moderation that first appeared in Sydney and Melbourne is now spreading to markets that had previously led the nation in price growth.

“From where we were at the start of the year where states such as Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia were still recording very strong rises, that has all changed now,” Mr Christopher said.

“We still think Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide are going to record a positive year in terms of dwelling price increases, but nowhere near what it was going to be.”

“The truth is that for the calendar year, they may well record a positive increase. But for the second half of the year, we are likely to start seeing some housing price falls in those three cities.”

Mr Christopher said many sellers are responding to changing conditions, but others are still holding onto outdated price expectations.

“It is fair to say they are in the process of adjusting,” he said.

“A number of vendors have been listening to their agents and have already been adjusting as we have seen through the asking prices.”

“But there is still a percentage of vendors who are not willing to meet the market.”

He said this is a common feature of softer housing markets.

“In down markets, we see this all the time, just old listings stacking up upon each other because those vendors are not willing to meet market.”

What agents should watch next

Looking ahead, Mr Christopher said auction clearance rates and asking prices will be the clearest indicators of where the market heads next.

“Keep watching auction clearance rates. Keep watching what asking prices are doing,” he said.

He also pointed to the Reserve Bank’s next moves as a critical factor for market sentiment.

“The wording will be critical in terms of whether they still see the possibility of another interest rate rise going forward,” Mr Christopher said.

“If they were to pivot and put out more indicators that they are concerned about a slowing economy, then potentially our interest rate pause might turn into something more significant.”

“That would be a positive for the market, but we wait and see.”

For now, Mr Christopher believes the balance of risk has shifted.

“This is consistent with the more cautious view we have held since March,” he said.

“The balance of risk has clearly shifted to the downside, and the next few months will confirm whether May was the inflection point.”

The post Housing market hits turning point as supply floods and prices fall appeared first on Elite Agent.

Phill Nosworthy opened with a quote from Jung: “The answers we most seek will be found in the places we are least prepared to look.”

The leadership consultant – who works with teams at Microsoft, Xbox and Formula One – told the AREC audience that there’s a threshold in every career where learning more about your own craft stops producing breakthroughs. The real growth comes from outside your domain.

He brought three insights to make the point.

Slow down to speed up

Nosworthy shared a conversation with McLaren’s Zak Brown at a private gathering hosted by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation. The topic was winning, and Brown’s answer surprised the room.

“The fastest car on race day Sunday is not the car with the biggest engine,” Brown told them.

“It’s the car with the best brakes.”

The logic: a driver who puts their foot on the accelerator and never lifts will be off the track within a lap. The car that wins is the one that can accelerate and decelerate the fastest – finding the right line through every corner.

Nosworthy carried the metaphor into leadership. Agents who only know how to accelerate burn the engine, burn the car, or crash. Slowing down isn’t weakness – it’s how you reposition to speed up again.

He extended this into what he called “speed to certainty” – the instinct to have an answer for every question. A former CEO he worked with pulled him aside early in his career and said something that stuck.

“I’ve never heard you say ‘I don’t know,'” she told him.

“If you’ve got an answer for every single question, it makes me doubt everything you say.”

See boundaries as shared spaces, not barriers

Nosworthy used Microsoft’s transformation as a case study. Fifteen years ago, the company was a roughly $200 billion organisation with a culture famous for internal hostility – teams aggressively opposed to each other, protecting territory rather than sharing expertise.

Under Satya Nadella, Microsoft grew into one of the world’s most valuable businesses.

The biggest shift wasn’t product or distribution. It was culture – treating the boundaries between teams’ work as the start of shared spaces rather than barriers to defend.

Nosworthy introduced two concepts.

The first is “expertise variety” – the strongest teams have people with different skills, backgrounds and perspectives. The second is “mutual value recognition” – the ability and willingness to recognise, seek out and act on the expertise of others.

“You could have all the expertise variety in the world,” he said, “and unless you have mutual value recognition, you will never get the value from it.”

He tied it back to the story of Great Ormond Street Hospital, where the world’s best paediatric surgeons were losing children during handovers between surgery and intensive care.

They found the answer not in medicine but in Formula One pit stops – and reduced technical errors by fifty percent.

The surgeons were skilled, but their results were fragile because expertise and information didn’t flow smoothly among team members.

Run two clocks

Nosworthy’s final insight came from Microsoft’s development of the Majorana One quantum chip – twenty years of investment through three CEOs, the GFC and COVID.

“Great leaders run two clocks,” he said.

The short-term clock manages the quarter, the week, the deal in front of you. The long-term clock holds your biggest ambitions in view.

“Have you ever seen a leader chase the quarter and lose the year?” he asked.

“Have you ever seen a leader land the sale in front of them, but do it in such a way that cost them the next brief?”

The discipline is holding both at once – short-term execution matched with long-term vision. Neither can exist without the other.

Today’s to-do list

1. Identify one problem in your business you keep trying to solve with real estate knowledge. This week, look for the answer somewhere else entirely – a podcast about hospitality, a conversation with someone in tech, a book from a completely different industry.
2. Audit your speed to certainty. In your next team meeting, when someone asks a question you’re not sure about, say “I don’t know” instead of reaching for an answer. Notice how it changes the conversation.
3. Look at your team. If everyone has the same background, skills and perspective, you have low expertise variety. Identify one gap and think about who could fill it – even informally.
4. Map the handover moments in your client process – the transitions between listing and marketing, between negotiation and settlement, between you and your support team. Where does information get lost? That’s where your fifty percent improvement is hiding.
5. Write down your two clocks. What’s the deal or goal you’re chasing this quarter? And what’s the thing you want to have built in five years? Check whether the first clock is helping or hurting the second.

The post The fastest car has the best brakes appeared first on Elite Agent.

On Saturday 30 May 2026, many from Brisbane’s real estate sector, the Queensland business community, government officials, and community leaders joined forces at The Star Brisbane for the annual Pink Tie Gala Fundraiser.

Hosted by the Leading Ladies of Real Estate and Ray White Queensland, the glamorous evening saw 640 glamour-clad attendees come together to raise vital funds for The Lady Musgrave Trust, Queensland’s oldest charity dedicated to supporting homeless women and children.

The evening shone a critical spotlight on the ongoing housing crisis and domestic violence emergency, while celebrating the generosity of the Queensland community and property sector.

Emceed by NewsCorp Australia’s senior real estate reporter, Liz Tilley, the gala featured a powerful lineup of speakers, including: Jason Andrew, CEO of Ray White Queensland, Sally Patch, Chair of Leading Ladies of Real Estate and Victoria Parker, CEO of The Lady Musgrave Trust.

“Homelessness is often far closer to people than they realise, particularly for young women escaping domestic and family violence,” Liz Tilley said.

“What makes this event so powerful is that it brings together people from across business, property and the broader community who genuinely want to help create change.”

Sally Patch agreed, noting the pride Leading Ladies of Real Estate felt by supporting the Pink Tie Gala.

“Tonight is about community. It’s about compassion and a commitment to lasting change. Domestic and family violence, homelessness, and housing insecurity are not issues for one organisation to solve alone,” Sally Patch said.

“They are community issues. Real change happens when communities come together to support each other.”

Jason Andrew echoed Sally’s sentiment, saying that the importance of a home became even more evident in the wake of COVID.

“A home isn’t just bricks and mortar,” he said. “It is a place of safety. Sadly, there is a critical shortage of safe accommodation for young women and their children escaping violence. When times are tough, the real estate industry is often the first to rally. Ray White is enormously proud to stand alongside the Lady Musgrave Trust and to support their wonderful work for some of the most vulnerable in our community.”

A moving address by Michaela, who shared her lived experience, was the emotional pinnacle of the night, as she represented the thousands of vulnerable women the Trust has successfully assisted in breaking the cycle of homelessness.

“Prior to engaging with The Lady Musgrave Trust I had no confidence, self-esteem or faith in myself. I believed what the perpetrators in my life manipulated me to believe about my worth,” she said.

“Now, I am empowered to be the best version of myself I can be. I have the strength and resilience to fight adversity. Words cannot express the gratitude I have for my support network, for my small family circle, for The Lady Musgrave Trust for providing our accommodation and Jacquie [Michaela’s housing support worker] for always believing in me.”

The driving force of the evening was the highly anticipated charity auction and raffle, led by experienced auctioneers Haesley Cush (CEO, Ray White Collective) and Tiera Butkus (Head of Growth and Performance, Ray White Mooloolaba | Kawana Waters).

Bidding wars ignited over luxury packages, including the Gold Coast Luxe Weekend, the Ultimate Skin Transformation package (sponsored by Silver Partner Ascension), and the Tropical North Escape (sponsored by Silver Partner HopgoodGanim).

The final tally across the charity auction, premium raffles, and the “Mothers Nest” house activation resulted in a record number being raised directly for The Lady Musgrave Trust.

Guests were treated to world-class entertainment throughout the evening. The pre-event drinks featured a custom DJ booth sponsored by Gold Partner Domain, a 360-degree camera booth courtesy of Platinum Partner SearchX, and live illustrations by artist Emma Bond, sponsored by Silver Partner Do Financial Services.

The main stage erupted with a spectacular Dance The Night Away performance, choreographed by Kate Wormald (known for her work on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis), featuring four of Australia’s premier dancers and the signature vocals of Stef Long. Long, accompanied by a live saxophonist, later opened the dance floor to close out the spectacular night, courtesy of The Little Red Company.

“The Pink Tie Gala has set a new benchmark for what corporate partnership can achieve in the social impact space,” said Victoria Parker, CEO of The Lady Musgrave Trust.

“When Ray White Queensland and Leading Ladies of Real Estate approached us with this vision, they didn’t just want to write a cheque, they wanted to use their networks, their influence, and their passion to create something transformational,” she continued.

“The result speaks for itself: record-breaking funds raised, incredible community engagement, and a blueprint for how businesses can drive meaningful change.

“I’ve worked in the community sector for years, but Saturday night took my breath away. More than 640 people came together at The Pink Tie Gala; not out of obligation, but because they genuinely care about creating safer futures for young women and their children.

“Thanks to our incredible partnerships, we raised record funds that will change lives. But beyond the money, we’ve built something even more valuable: a community of people committed to ending homelessness for young women. That’s the real success story.”

The post Brisbane real estate leaders raise record funds for homeless women and children at the Pink Tie Gala appeared first on Elite Agent.

Australia’s leading boutique real estate network, Belle Property, is proud to announce the opening of Belle Property Lowood, further expanding the brand’s footprint across South East Queensland and strengthening its presence throughout the Somerset and Lockyer Valley regions.

Led by highly regarded local agent Brett Barry, the new office delivers a fresh and highly personalised approach to real estate, combining deep local knowledge with Belle Property’s sophisticated marketing strategies and national reach.

With more than two decades in the industry, Brett is known for his genuine, hands-on style, strong work ethic and consistent ability to deliver outstanding results. Since 2004, he has built a reputation for honest communication, a no-nonsense attitude and a make-it-happen mentality.

Joining Brett is respected local sales agent and auctioneer Sean O’Connor, who brings more than 25 years of experience and a strong track record of delivering exceptional outcomes for buyers and sellers, underpinned by trusted client relationships and a long-standing commitment to service.

Together, the team at Belle Property Lowood is focused on delivering a client experience built on trust, transparency and tailored service, while introducing a new level of bespoke marketing to the region.

Located just 55 minutes from Brisbane, Lowood and the surrounding Somerset and Lockyer Valley regions are experiencing strong growth, driven by shifting buyer demographics and rising demand from lifestyle-focused purchasers seeking more space, affordability and a rural way of life.

With a mix of rural holdings, acreage properties and emerging residential estates, the region continues to attract buyers relocating from metropolitan markets.

David Holmes said the opening reflects the brand’s continued expansion across key lifestyle regions in Queensland.

“Lowood and the broader Somerset and Lockyer Valley regions are experiencing strong demand from buyers seeking lifestyle-driven locations within reach of Brisbane, and we see significant long-term opportunity in the market,” David said.

“Brett and Sean are highly respected professionals with deep local knowledge and strong community connections. Their values align strongly with the Belle Property brand, and we are excited to support them as they bring a premium level of marketing and service to the region.”

Brett said the new office represents an opportunity to bring a more client-focused and high-performing approach to a fast-growing region.

“Opening Belle Property Lowood is an exciting opportunity to bring a genuinely client-focused approach to real estate in a region experiencing strong growth,” Brett said.

“I’ve built my reputation on being hands-on, hardworking and honest with my clients. People want genuine advice, clear communication and an agent who will go above and beyond to make things happen. That’s exactly what we aim to deliver at Belle Property Lowood.

“By combining our local knowledge and relationships with Belle Property’s bespoke marketing and national reach, we can offer sellers a real point of difference while also attracting a broader pool of buyers from across the country.”

The post Belle Property strengthens South East Queensland presence with new Lowood office appeared first on Elite Agent.

A contemporary home in Malibu Colony, once owned by actor and producer Jonah Hill, has returned to the market at US$13.25 million (A$18.6 million).

The three-storey property was handed to a private lender based in Boca Raton, Florida, in late 2025 by cannabis investor Hartley Wasko following a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure transaction.

Hartley had purchased the landside property from Jonah in 2022 for US$11.1 million (A$15.5 million). That sale netted the Oscar-nominated actor — best known for Superbad, Moneyball, and The Wolf of Wall Street – a US$2.1 million (A$2.9 million) profit after just one year of ownership.

Jonah originally paid US$9 million (A$12.6 million) in 2021, according to the Santa Monica Mirror.

The property sits inside one of Southern California’s most exclusive guard-gated coastal enclaves, positioned between Pacific Coast Highway and the ocean near the Malibu Pier.

Jonah famously repainted the 1980 structure’s exterior a deep charcoal grey during his brief tenure. The home has since been restored to a white facade with modern black-framed windows.

Spanning approximately 3,700 square feet, the residence features four bedrooms and four bathrooms with decor from design firm Vesta Home.

The ground level centres on a soaring living room anchored by a two-tone, floor-to-ceiling fireplace. French doors open to a hedge-lined decked backyard featuring a lagoon-style swimming pool, spa, and outdoor kitchen with a professional grilling station.

The primary suite occupies its own upper wing, complete with private deck, fireplace, and bathroom configured with custom oversized shower, soaking tub, and private sauna.

A floating mezzanine connects the primary suite to two guest bedrooms, while the third level features an expansive rooftop deck with panoramic Pacific Ocean views.

The listing includes a private beach key granting direct walking access to the gated neighbourhood’s secure beach strip.

The post Jonah Hill’s former Malibu retreat returns to market after foreclosure appeared first on Elite Agent.

Real estate has long measured success in moments. The listing. The auction. The settlement. But according to Mosaik founder Sheila Reddy, those moments are no longer where the outcome is truly decided.

“The assumption is that once a property settles, the relationship is finished,” she says. “In reality, that’s where most of the opportunity is lost.”

Mosaik is a client experience platform designed to change that pattern. Rather than operating as a traditional CRM, which focuses on tracking leads and managing pipelines, it is built to extend the relationship between agent and homeowner well beyond the transaction itself.

Each property becomes a living profile inside the system, with the agent remaining connected through automated, property-specific communication and ongoing support tools.

In practical terms, that means the relationship does not fade after settlement. It continues quietly in the background through relevant updates, reminders and insights tied directly to the home.

Ms Reddy says this is where most agencies unknowingly leak future business.

“We’ve seen situations where a significant portion of past clients have already sold again without the original agent being involved,” she says. 

“Not because the relationship was bad, but because it simply wasn’t maintained.”

Traditionally, agents rely on periodic contact to stay present in a client’s life. Market updates, newsletters or the occasional check-in are still the norm.

But Ms Reddy argues those approaches are increasingly ineffective in a saturated communication environment.

Instead, Mosaik structures what she calls “value delivery points” – ongoing interactions that are triggered by the property itself rather than generic marketing cycles.

These can include council reminders, maintenance prompts, insurance renewal alerts or seasonal property guidance.  The intent is not frequency alone, but relevance.

“If you’re sending something that is tied to the actual property someone lives in, they pay attention,” she says. “It’s no longer just another message in their inbox.”

The effect, she suggests, is subtle but powerful. Over time, the agent is no longer remembered as someone who sold a house, but as someone who continues to help manage it.

That shift becomes particularly important when homeowners eventually re-enter the market.

In many cases, she says, they do not actively search for an agent they once worked with. They default to whoever is most visible at the time.

“If you are not already embedded in their decision-making process, you are relying on chance,” she says.

That presence also matters earlier in the cycle, when homeowners begin reassessing their property and inviting agents in for appraisals. In those moments, selection is still active; clients are interviewing, comparing, and forming shortlists.

Ms Reddy says agents who have remained embedded in ongoing property support are not starting from scratch at that point. 

“They’re not being rediscovered as agents,” she says. “They’re already positioned as part of how that homeowner manages their property.”

But she says that the same positioning advantage does not only apply to long-term clients. It can also be created at the appraisal stage itself, even where there is no existing relationship.

The opportunity, she argues, is for agents to leave an appraisal not just as a moment of valuation or pitch, but as the start of an ongoing support framework around the property.

In that context, the agent is not relying on immediate listing decisions; instead, they remain present in the homeowner’s thinking through structured, property-specific follow-up and guidance that continues after the appointment.

Ultimately, Mosaik is designed to address that gap by keeping agents present during the long period between transactions – a phase that, in many cases, can stretch across years.

It is also where referrals tend to originate. Rather than waiting for clients to introduce friends or family at the point of sale, agents using the platform are able to remain connected to a wider network of property owners through those existing relationships.

In effect, the agent’s sphere of influence expands without additional outbound outreach, creating what has been described as “leapfrog referrals.”

The idea is that instead of relying only on direct, transactional connections, agents are introduced beyond their immediate network through second-layer relationships.

For example, a past client may only know a small number of people actively selling property, but they may know many more who are not currently in the market; while those individuals may not traditionally be referred because they are not transacting, each of them still has their own wider network of contacts. 

By positioning themselves as a broader property ownership support resource, agents create a reason for clients to introduce them to those non-transacting contacts – effectively “leaping” across to the next layer of referrals and unlocking further introductions through each network level.

“You are no longer just hoping for referrals,” Ms Reddy says. “You are maintaining visibility across the network that generates them.”

The broader implication is that client care is no longer a support function; it is a competitive mechanism that determines whether an agent is remembered at all when the next property decision is made.

And in a market where ownership cycles are lengthening and decisions are becoming more complex, she says that visibility is everything.

“The agent who stays present through ownership is the one who gets the next listing,” she says. 

“Everyone else is competing for attention again from scratch.”

The post How client care wins listings appeared first on Elite Agent.

Sydney’s housing stagnation has emerged as the single biggest threat to the federal government’s signature housing agenda, with explosive new data revealing a devastating slump in New South Wales is driving a massive nationwide shortfall.

An independent analysis of the National Housing Accord reveals Australia must immediately supercharge housing construction by a staggering 49 per cent if there is any hope of hitting Labor’s target of 1.2 million homes by mid-2029.

The figures paint a bleak picture of the nation’s building capacity. In the 18 months since the ambitious plan was launched, just 268,445 homes have been completed.

If construction continues at this sluggish pace, the nation will finish 305,183 homes short of its goal, wiping out nearly one in four of the dwellings promised to a desperate market.

Despite Housing Minister Clare O’Neil recently reaffirming Labor’s ironclad commitment to the 1.2 million target, the reality on the ground tells a radically different story.

Since the Accord’s inception, Australia has averaged a mere 44,741 completions per quarter. To bridge the widening gap, the construction sector must somehow pump out 931,555 dwellings over the remaining three and a half years.

That requires an immediate, unprecedented leap to 66,540 completions every single quarter, which is an extra 21,799 homes per quarter, or 7,266 every month, above current output.

“The numbers are clear. To meet the target, completions need to lift by 49% from today’s average,” said Peter Drennan, director of Primara Research, which conducted the study for HomeLoanRates.com.au.

“That’s an additional 7,266 homes per month above what is currently being built. It’s not impossible, but nothing in the current trajectory suggests it’s happening.”

The great state divide

The research also exposes a profound structural crisis across state borders, with NSW firmly established as the nation’s primary bottleneck.

While Victoria and the ACT are largely pulling their weight, NSW has fallen disastrously behind.

Despite housing 31 per cent of the Australian population, NSW accounts for a dismal 26 per cent of national completions.

The state is currently tracking a catastrophic 39 per cent behind its target, single-handedly accounting for an estimated 7,192 of the 14,914 additional homes required nationally each month.

By contrast, Victoria, with 26 per cent of the population, is punching above its weight to deliver 32 per cent of completions, sitting just 8 per cent behind its population-weighted target.

The ACT is effectively on a perfect trajectory, missing its target by a mere nine dwellings.

The crisis is further compounded by severe construction deficits in Queensland, which is tracking 31 per cent behind target, Tasmania at 50 per cent behind, and the Northern Territory, which has collapsed 81 per cent below its required goal.

“Victoria and the ACT show it can be done at a state level,” Mr Drennan said. “But NSW alone accounts for an estimated half of the national monthly shortfall. Until NSW and the growth states close that gap, the national target remains out of reach.”

The post The 300,000-home black hole threatening Labor’s housing dream appeared first on Elite Agent.

Adam Velardi has sold a 3-bedroom house at 15 Farmhouse Boulevard, Epping, for $888,000 at auction — $38,000 over the vendor’s reserve — after a 24-day campaign that strategically sequenced two auctions to convert a disappointed bidder into a successful first-home buyer.

The sale outcome wasn’t just about the price. Adam deliberately scheduled this auction immediately after a larger 4-bedroom property, creating a deliberate pathway for serious buyers who might miss out on the first home.

“We had a very keen buyer interested in the four-bedroom home come across to the three-bedroom home, which we had invited him to from one of the open homes,” Adam said.

“He really did like the three-bedroom home but wanted to go all out on the four-bedroom, which he was unsuccessful at. He then came to the three-bedroom home and purchased it at the auction.”

The auction dynamics

Three registered bidders opened at $780,000. Then the buyer who’d missed out on the larger property made his move — jumping straight to $840,000.

Two bidders battled from $840,000 to $860,000 in $10,000 increments before the final stretch saw bids tighten to $5,000 rises, then — in a telling sign of determination — three consecutive $1,000 bids that pushed the price to $888,000.

“He loved the location of the home and felt that he was buying a home off me,” Adam said.

“As I was a trustful agent, he felt confident buying from. He was currently living in a factory that he had owned — his first time buying a residential property.”

What made the property work

The house itself ticked multiple boxes for a first-home buyer ready to transition from industrial living to suburban comfort: move-in ready presentation, outdoor entertaining space, and rear access on a generous block.

No renovation was required — a key consideration for someone purchasing their first residential property and wanting to move straight in.

The vendor outcome

Adam had set expectations during the campaign, advising the vendors the property was worth between $800,000 and $850,000. They set a $850,000 reserve despite market conditions.

When the hammer fell at $888,000, they were delighted — both at the price premium and the efficiency of the 24-day campaign.

The Epping context

Farmhouse Boulevard sits in a newer family-oriented pocket of Epping, with strong owner-occupancy and proximity to Epping Views Primary School and Edgars Creek Secondary College. The suburb’s 3-bedroom house median sits at $692,000, making this $888,000 result a standout performance in an active local market averaging 38 days on market.

What it demonstrates

The result shows how strategic auction sequencing can create opportunity from disappointment. By giving serious buyers a pathway between two properties, Adam turned a missed opportunity into a life-changing purchase — and delivered a result that exceeded his vendor’s expectations by nearly $40,000.

For a first-home buyer transitioning from factory to family home, the trust factor proved decisive.

About the Agent

Adam Velardi from Ray White Mill Park works closely with clients to ensure exceptional service throughout the real estate process. With a strong focus on discipline and long-term goals — both in his professional approach and his passion for fitness — Adam brings dedication and determination to every campaign, ensuring clients feel supported at every step. Visit Adam’s website for more information or call Adam on 0478242222.

The post Strategic auction timing delivers first home for previous auction underbidder in Epping appeared first on Elite Agent.

Belle Property Lower North Shore has recently announced the appointment of experienced sales agent Djordje Kresovic, reflecting the group’s continued focus on long-term growth, market depth and high-performance talent across the region.

Djordje has built a strong reputation for his exceptional client experiences in a way that feels genuine rather than transactional. With a degree in Marketing and a solid understanding of positioning, buyer psychology and campaign strategy, he has quickly become a recognised and trusted advisor within the local market.

Djordje’s focus is North Sydney, a pocket of the Lower North Shore Djordje describes as genuinely unlike anywhere else in the region.

The area’s cosmopolitan energy, architectural variety and the mix of people it attracts drew him in early, and his knowledge runs deep. From the history and culture of the suburb to its best streets and hidden gems, he knows the area the way a local does.

For Directors Matthew Smythe and Mark Jackson, the decision to bring Djordje into the business was less about recruiting another agent and more about identifying someone whose mindset aligned with the future direction of the group.

“There’s a maturity to Djordje that stood out to us very early,” said Matthew Smythe. “He’s thoughtful in the way he approaches people, he listens, and he understands that trust is built over time, not just during a campaign. That’s increasingly rare in this industry.”

“We’re very intentional about who joins our business. Skill can be taught, but attitude, humility and professionalism are much harder to find. Djordje has all three.”

Mark said the appointment was also a reflection of the culture Belle Property Lower North Shore has spent years building and is equally protective of.

“Culture is everything to us, and we’re very deliberate about protecting it,” said Jackson “We want good people who care deeply about their clients, who are coachable, collaborative and genuinely invested in building a long-term career. Djordje fits that mould perfectly.”

“He’s ambitious, but in a grounded way. He’s willing to do the work, learn from the right people and build credibility properly. That’s what creates longevity in this business.”

For Djordje, the move came down to a simple calculation: at this stage of his career, environment matters.

“At this stage of my career, who you learn from and who you work alongside matters a lot,” he said. “I wanted to be part of a business where there’s strong leadership, high standards and people who genuinely want to see each other succeed. That was very clear to me from the beginning with Matthew, Mark and the broader team.”

That sense of the business came through not just in conversations with leadership, but in the day-to-day dynamic he observed across the group’s Lower North Shore offices.

“There’s a strong energy within the business, but it still feels very relationship-driven,” he said. “It’s competitive in all the right ways, but there’s also a genuine level of support and respect between people. That culture was important to me.”

“I think clients are looking for something different now. They want transparency, communication and someone they feel comfortable trusting through what is often a pretty emotional process. That’s the type of agent I want to be.”

The appointment comes as Belle Property Lower North Shore continues to strengthen its position across the region, with the group focused not only on market share growth but on building a business centred around people, leadership and long-term sustainability.

The post Djordje Kresovic joins Belle Property Lower North Shore appeared first on Elite Agent.

Bryce Gibson of LJ Hooker Cessnock has sold a three-bedroom freestanding house at 46 Fouth Street, Weston for $728,000 after 13 days on market, with a first-home buyer securing the property following competition from two offers.

Bryce Gibson knew the first open home would set the tone for everything that followed.

The LJ Hooker Cessnock principal and sales agent planned a maximum impact week-one strategy for the three-bedroom freestanding house at 46 Fourth Street, Weston — and it delivered exactly what his vendors needed.

Thirteen groups attended that first open home. Two offers followed. A first-home buyer from within 30 minutes of the property secured it after 13 days on market for $728,000.

The week-one approach

Bryce’s strategy centred on creating immediate traction rather than letting the campaign build slowly.

“The pricing strategy was certainly not overpriced,” Bryce said.

“The presentation of the property was on point from the owners and we tried to create a good atmosphere with the open home being not too late in the afternoon, but also not too early in the morning.”

The property’s 1,019-square-metre block became the standout feature during the campaign. Buyers commented consistently on the land size throughout the first open home, with that scale of residential land becoming increasingly difficult to find across the Hunter Valley.

“They also loved its location, but really supporting all the facets of the property that we advertised all sort of came together,” Bryce said.

Navigating the due diligence timeline

With two offers on the table, Bryce’s focus shifted to managing the buyer’s due diligence requirements without losing momentum.

“The major sticking point was satisfying all the buyer’s need for due diligence like valuations, pest and buildings,” Bryce said.

“So that was our major hurdle to find out how we could get that done in a timely manner.”

Bryce structured a five-day cooling-off period that gave the first-home buyer breathing space to complete valuations and building inspections while keeping both parties committed to the transaction.

“There was an element that I thought it would stall, but the best way forward was we entered into a five-day cooling off period, which gave a bit of breathing space for the purchaser to facilitate what they needed to do to get the job done,” Bryce said.

The vendor response

The vendors had followed Bryce’s preparation advice closely, presenting the three-bedroom house with two bathrooms and parking for five vehicles to showcase its full potential.

“The vendors were very excited to see the property sell,” Bryce said.

“Obviously, they put all effort into presenting the home and following my strategy. So, they were quite excited to see the result done and dusted.”

The quick timeline and competitive outcome validated the maximum impact approach — proving that when pricing, presentation, and timing align from day one, the market responds.

About the Agent

Bryce Gibson is the owner of LJ Hooker Cessnock and a high-performing sales agent with deep local market knowledge across Cessnock and the Hunter Valley. A Certified Practising Valuer, Bryce brings strategic campaign planning and data-driven pricing advice to every transaction. His agency has been awarded Small Agency of the Year by the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales twice and Best Real Estate Agency Hunter Region in 2025. Visit Bryce’s website for more information or call Bryce on 0422 227 668.

The post First-home buyer secures 1,019sqm Weston block after a brisk 13-day campaign appeared first on Elite Agent.

When Matt Lancashire and his business partner Haesley Cush launched Ray White Collective Luxury, it marked a formalisation of a strategy that had been developing over many years in Brisbane’s prestige property market. The new agency positioned itself as the city’s first real estate business dedicated exclusively to homes above $4 million, reflecting a deliberate shift away from generalist selling toward a tightly defined luxury focus.

That shift was built on three core decisions. Matt stopped accepting listings below a certain price point, moved into strict specialisation within the upper end of the market, and built systems designed entirely around servicing a luxury-only clientele.

For Matt, it was not a reinvention but the consolidation of a long-term shift toward specialisation. The business was built around the idea that true performance at the top end of the market comes from depth, not breadth, and that clarity of focus is what ultimately drives results.

Brisbane’s luxury market, he argues, has matured to a point where specialist representation is no longer optional but essential for vendors seeking global reach and premium outcomes.

“Brisbane’s luxury property market deserves specialist representation,” he said. “By focusing exclusively on properties above $4 million, we can provide the bespoke campaigns, global buyer networks, and white-glove service that these exceptional homes require.”

That model is supported by a large and highly targeted buyer network spanning Brisbane, interstate and international markets.

“Right now we are working with more than 4000 active buyers who are looking to buy a Brisbane home in the $5 million-plus range.”

While the launch formalises the brand, the thinking behind it was shaped over many years of refining how luxury real estate should be approached in practice.

Early in his career, Matt was selling around eighty to ninety properties a year. It was a high-volume model, but over time he began moving away from that structure in favour of fewer listings and higher-value transactions, prioritising expertise over scale.

That shift was driven by a simple belief about credibility in the luxury space.

“A lot of people that get into real estate, they go in and say, ‘I’m just going to sell big high-end properties,’ but it just doesn’t work like that,” he says. “You’ve got to have runs on the board.”

As his approach evolved, so did his discipline around what work he would take on.

“What a lot of people do is they say, ‘I’m going to sell a high-end property.’ They get one, but then they also sell low-end properties as well,” Matt explains.

“That is not specialisation. You’ve got to become a specialist. I decided to say no to everything unless it was over a certain price point.”

That decision became the structural foundation of his luxury strategy, forcing a sharper focus on knowledge, relationships and buyer depth rather than volume.

One of the early listings that reflected this approach came through prominent Brisbane developer Don O’Rourke’s Hamilton home; Matt had no prior relationship with him and made a direct approach through industry connections to secure a meeting.

“I said, ‘We don’t know each other. I don’t know you. You don’t know me, but we have a lot of friends in the same circles. I know your architect who designed your house. Shaun Lockyer is a very good friend of mine, and I hope I’m not intruding, but I heard you were selling and I’d love a seat at the table.’”

In preparation, he went far beyond a standard listing pitch, building detailed knowledge of the property’s design and construction by speaking directly with the architect, builder and trades involved.

“I went and interviewed all of the people,” he says. “I got my product knowledge to a level where I would know just as much about the architect or the owner about the home.”

The meeting ran far beyond its scheduled time, and although the vendor had already committed elsewhere, he ultimately changed direction.

“He said, ‘You remind me of myself when I was younger. I like to give young people a go. Don’t let me down.’”

The campaign went on to attract 447 buyers in four weeks, producing six offers and achieving a sale price of $11.8 million, a Brisbane record at the time. It became one of several standout results that followed, including $18.48 million and $20.25 million sales, contributing to a period where Matt’s production increased even as his portfolio became more selective.

That selectivity was intentional. Over time, he began refusing listings below a defined threshold, narrowing his focus to the top end of the market.

“That is not specialisation. You’ve got to become a specialist. I decided to say no to everything unless it was over a certain price point.”

The result was not just fewer listings, but a more concentrated buyer ecosystem, built through structured engagement at inspections.

Since July last year, he has collected 4,881 buyer responses from individuals targeting homes above $5 million, creating a database that has become central to his luxury strategy.

For Matt, however, the competitive advantage does not sit in data alone, but in knowledge of product and construction.

“If you have a buyer that comes to you at an open home and you say, ‘I don’t know the answer to that, I’ll come back to you,’ you are not doing your job,” he tells his team.

That expertise stems from an early background in electrical work, but has been deliberately expanded through ongoing involvement in architectural builds and material sourcing. He is currently building another Shaun Lockyer-designed home to deepen that understanding further.

“How can you sell something that you’ve actually never done yourself?” he asks. “If you’ve never built an architectural home and you don’t know the 10,000 decisions that you’ve made to get the outcome you want, the conversations you’ve had with the architects and the builder, the on-site decisions on the fly – you’ll never actually know what’s truly involved.”

He emphasises that this level of knowledge is not about persuasion, but accuracy and credibility in high-end transactions.

“I don’t use it as a manipulation tactic. It’s actual facts,” he says. “You cannot build a house for the cost that you think you’re going to get it for. It’s time, and people don’t have time these days.”

Now operating at an average sale price just under $7 million, Matt sees Ray White Collective Luxury as the outcome of a long-term evolution rather than a sudden shift. The timing reflects both the maturation of Brisbane’s luxury market and the clarity of his own strategy.

“If I ran this business three years ago, it would not have probably worked because the prices hadn’t hit the levels that they’ve hit in Brisbane,” he explains. “Brisbane isn’t that sleepy town it used to be.”

For him, the core principle remains unchanged: real success in luxury real estate comes from discipline, and discipline comes from the ability to say no.

“When you specialise, you become the go-to person in that space. People call you, and it becomes an attraction business,” he says. “But the key is you need to make the decision to specialise. If you don’t, you’ll never get to that position.”

The post Say ‘no’ to sell more: Matt Lancashire’s blueprint for luxury real estate appeared first on Elite Agent.

The Federal Budget’s move from the 50 per cent property CGT discount to inflation indexation sounds, at first glance, like a tougher tax treatment for investors. In some market conditions, it will be. But in a weak housing market with elevated inflation, the opposite can occur.

If property values grow slowly, or fall, while inflation remains high, indexation can significantly reduce the taxable gain. That means over the next few years, if inflation remains elevated and price growth weakens, the new system could raise less tax from some property investors selling than the old 50 per cent discount would have.

The reason comes down to how the two systems work. Under the current system, investors who hold a property for more than 12 months receive a 50 per cent discount on the capital gain.

Under the new system, investors will instead have their cost base indexed to inflation, meaning they will only be taxed on the gain above inflation. That is a significant change. It moves the system from taxing half the nominal gain to taxing the real gain.

The timing of the change also matters. If gains built up before the start date continue to receive the 50 per cent discount, then the new system will only apply gradually as post-change gains accumulate. That means any revenue uplift is unlikely to be immediate.

In a market where prices are weak, inflation is high and some investors choose to hold rather than sell, the near-term budget benefit could be much smaller than expected.

In a strong housing market, indexation can raise more revenue. If property prices rise well ahead of inflation, indexation still leaves a large real gain to tax. But this is not the environment Australia appears to be heading into.

Price growth has been strong over the past year, with national house prices up 10.5 per cent annually and particularly strong gains in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin. Sydney and Melbourne, however, are already much weaker, with annual house price growth of 2.7 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively. The national figure is still positive, but momentum is clearly uneven.

The outlook is now likely to become weaker. The budget’s housing tax changes are designed to reduce investor demand for established property, which will weigh on prices.

We do not know exactly how large that impact will be, but Morgan Stanley has reportedly predicted house prices could fall by as much as 10 per cent as investors reassess the after-tax return from residential property. Even if the decline is much smaller, price growth is likely to be weaker than it would otherwise have been.

There are other forces weighing on demand. The Reserve Bank has now lifted interest rates three times this year, taking the cash rate to 4.35 per cent. Higher rates reduce borrowing capacity, increase holding costs and make property investment harder to justify.

Consumer confidence is also under pressure, with households dealing with higher petrol prices, higher food prices and broader uncertainty following the Middle East conflict. This is already showing up in our data.

Ray White open home attendance has fallen sharply, with the national four-week rolling average falling to 2.5 attendees per open home by late May. Sydney and Melbourne are now particularly soft, both sitting close to two attendees per open home.

At the same time, inflation remains high. The ABS reported annual inflation of 4.2 per cent in April, down from 4.6 per cent in March, but still well above the Reserve Bank’s target band. Trimmed mean inflation also remains above target, showing that this is not just a one-off fuel story.

For CGT, this matters enormously. If inflation is running at four or five per cent and property prices are growing at only one or two per cent, then the indexed cost base rises faster than the asset value. In that scenario, there may be little or no taxable real gain.

This is why the revenue impact of the CGT change is not straightforward. Removing the 50 per cent discount sounds like a tax increase.

But replacing it with indexation means the government’s revenue depends heavily on the gap between property price growth and inflation. When that gap is large and positive, indexation raises more tax. When that gap is small, or negative, indexation raises less.

Our scenario modelling shows this clearly. For a property bought for $1.75 million and held for six years, indexation raises more tax than the 50 per cent discount when price growth is strong and inflation is low. But when inflation is high and property price growth is weak, the opposite occurs.

At annual inflation of five per cent and annual property price growth of five per cent, indexation raises around $89,000 less tax than the current discount system. At inflation of four per cent and price growth of three per cent, it raises around $51,000 less. If prices fall, there is no capital gain to tax under either system.

The weakest revenue outcome is not simply low growth; it is falling prices. If values decline, there is no capital gain to tax, regardless of whether the system uses a 50 per cent discount or inflation indexation. That is an important point for the budget. A policy that relies on taxing capital gains is only a strong revenue measure when there are capital gains to tax.

There is also a behavioural issue. If prices soften, some investors may simply hold rather than sell, particularly where rental income remains strong.

That would further reduce near-term CGT receipts. The tax base depends not only on the size of the gain, but also on whether investors choose to transact. In a weaker market, with policy uncertainty and higher interest rates, transaction volumes are likely to be lower than they otherwise would have been.

Over the next few years we are unlikely to be in the strong capital growth environment that would make indexation a powerful revenue raiser.

Prices have already risen strongly in many markets, but the combination of budget uncertainty, higher interest rates, weaker consumer confidence and reduced investor demand points to a softer period ahead.

If inflation remains elevated at the same time, more investors selling property could find that the new system produces a lower taxable gain than the old system would have.

The broader budget question is therefore whether the government is relying on revenue that may not arrive. The policy may be defensible if the aim is to tax real gains rather than inflation.

But it should not be assumed to raise more tax from property investors in the near term. In the market conditions Australia now faces, the shift from the 50 per cent discount to indexation could reduce, rather than increase, near-term CGT revenue from property investors.

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A Florida waterfront estate with dual claims to fame – as a backdrop for one of Hollywood’s most iconic crime films and as part of a former presidential compound – has listed for US$237 million (A$332 million).

The 2.38-acre property at 485 W. Matheson Drive, Key Biscayne, served as the fictional home of drug lord Frank Lopez in the 1983 film Scarface, starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana.

Fox News reports that at US$18,230 per square foot, the asking price would place it among the most significant residential listings currently on the market in the United States – exceeding the combined US$173.4 million (A$242.8 million) Google co-founder Larry Page spent on two nearby Coconut Grove properties earlier this year.

The 13,000-square-foot residence includes five bedrooms, more than seven bathrooms, and a gym convertible to a sixth bedroom. It’s 862 feet of direct Biscayne Bay frontage – nearly three football fields of waterfront – that offers unobstructed views of the Miami skyline.

Built in the early 1980s, the home retains the glass elevator featured prominently in Scarface. The estate also includes a private marina with capacity for large yachts.

The property’s second historical connection predates its Hollywood moment. It was once part of the compound President Richard Nixon used as his Winter White House, and a presidential helipad remains on site.

Scarface remains one of the most recognisable crime films in cinema history, with Al Pacino’s portrayal of the Cuban immigrant turned drug kingpin considered among the most iconic performances of his career.

The film’s imagery and dialogue have shaped pop culture for four decades, lending the Key Biscayne estate a cultural significance that extends well beyond its square footage.

The property is listed with Jill Eber and Judy Zeder of The Jills Zeder Group at Coldwell Banker Realty. The full listing can be viewed at coldwellbanker.com.

The post Scarface mansion with presidential past listed for staggering US$237 million appeared first on Elite Agent.

Darwin’s commercial property market is beginning to shift gears, with improving demand, rising rents and a tightening supply pipeline signalling the early stages of a new growth phase, one that could accelerate quickly if major defence, energy and resource projects convert into real jobs on the ground.

While the market is not in boom territory, conditions across the Top End are firming with prices and rents are lifting across most commercial sectors, and in some parts of the market values are already sitting above the previous cycle peak.

The broader tone is one of steady strengthening rather than volatility, underpinned by limited new supply and improving confidence.

“The biggest handbrake to Darwin’s commercial sector is feasibility, with construction costs and end values not yet aligned enough to trigger a broad wave of new development,” LJ Hooker Commercial Darwin director Lee Doyle said.

That gap is narrowing, but not fast enough to unlock major new supply and Mr Doyle said the real pivot point will come if a series of flagged defence, oil, gas and mining projects translate into sustained employment and population growth.

“If proposed projects in defence, oil and gas, mining and major projects show up as real jobs, real demand and more people on the ground, then the current supply will tighten quite quickly,” he said.

Population data suggests momentum is already building and the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show Darwin’s population grew 1.7 per cent in 2024–25, up from 1.5 per cent the year before, making it the only capital city to record faster growth than the previous year.

That steady population lift, combined with a solid labour market and emerging demand from new asset classes such as data centres and hotel repositioning, is helping underpin confidence in the sector.

Rents and values, Mr Doyle said, are “lifting across most of Darwin’s commercial sectors”, but the market is best described as balanced rather than overheated.

Strong demand and tight supply across precincts such as Berrimah, Pinelands and East Arm have pushed prime industrial rents from roughly $130–$150 per square metre two years ago to between $170 and $200 today. Higher-quality assets are attracting the most competition, with further upside expected if project activity in defence, mining and energy flows through.

The office market is increasingly split in two. Modern A-grade stock is holding up strongly, supported by scarcity, with prime rents steady at $700–$750 per square metre and incentives remaining low. Older B-grade and C-grade offices, however, are facing softer demand as tenants continue to trade up into better-quality space, pushing incentives higher in weaker buildings.

Retail is more subdued but stable. Suburban centres and strip locations continue to perform reasonably well, though the tenant mix is shifting. Medical, healthcare, wellness and service-based operators are steadily replacing traditional discretionary retail tenants. Strip rents remain around $300–$400 per square metre, while top-tier shopping centre space can still exceed $1,000 per square metre in stronger locations.

LJ Hooker Commercial head of research Mathew Tiller said Darwin is increasingly on the radar for national investors who are searching beyond the eastern capitals for yield and growth opportunities.

The attraction, he said, is straightforward: relative affordability, tight supply and the potential for future rental growth.

Darwin also stands to benefit from broader national spending theme, particularly defence, energy, logistics and infrastructure, but the key variable remains execution.

If those projects translate into sustained employment and population growth, pressure on an already constrained market is likely to intensify further.

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Carl Payne of Barry Plant Lilydale secured $2.008 million for a four-bedroom, four-bathroom lifestyle property at 18 Bailey Grove, Wandin North after 11 days on market, with the successful buyer lifting their offer by $180,000 through competitive negotiation.

The result came from casting a wider net than standard lifestyle property campaigns — Carl positioned the four-acre site with substantial shed as appealing to families, business owners, and tradespeople simultaneously, which brought 35 visitors through three opens and generated seven formal offers.

Three buyer segments, one campaign

Carl identified early that 18 Bailey Grove wasn’t a standard residential listing.

“With four acres, three access points and a substantial shed and office behind the home, it had genuine commercial application potential,” Carl said.

“The buyer pool was broader than a typical lifestyle property. Our strategy was to market it across multiple buyer segments simultaneously — families wanting acreage, tradespeople and small business owners needing workspace, and buyers looking at long-term commercial upside.”

Carl used targeted copywriting, floor plans and photography to highlight different aspects of the property for each segment. Business owners came through looking to run operations from the site, families wanted space around a family home, and tradespeople focused on the larger land allotment and shedding options.

Seven offers and serious competition

The multi-segment approach delivered strong numbers — seven formal offers from 35 inspection visitors, with four buyers commissioning independent building reports before making offers.

Carl said the willingness of four out of seven buyers to commission independent reports signalled a deeper level of commitment than typical enquiry-stage interest.

The successful buyer started at $1.828 million and ended at $2.008 million through the negotiation process as Carl gave unsuccessful parties opportunities to increase their offers.

“The competition certainly helped us get that unconditional offer above the range,” Carl said.

Speed reflects preparation, not price

Carl expects questions about whether 11 days on market indicates undervaluation.

“The sale price answers that question,” Carl said.

“Eleven days reflects preparation, not undervaluation. The marketing range was appropriate to the comparable market, but the competitive process and the quality of the property and the pre-sale inspections allowed buyers to move quickly and confidently. Speed and price aren’t trade-offs when a campaign is structured properly.”

Carl says for future vendors considering selling a lifestyle or a hybrid use property, the three things to focus on is firstly to understand who your real buy pool is. For properties like this, it’s wider than people assume. Second, invest a small amount upfront in an independent report to remove buyer hesitation, and third, work with an agent who will set a fact-based marketing range that brings buyers to the table rather than scaring them off.

“Doing those three things is how we turned $1.8 million to $1.95 million into a property sale of $2.008 million unconditionally,” Carl said.

About the agent

Carl Payne joined Barry Plant in 2006, transitioning from a successful sales career in another industry. Since entering real estate, he has been a consistent high performer, earning recognition at company and regional levels, including Diamond Club and Million Dollar Club honours. A fully licensed agent and accredited auctioneer, Carl brings experience, structured campaign management and a strong service focus to residential property sales across the Lilydale area. Visit Carl’s website for more information or call Carl on 0413589800

The post Multi-segment campaign drives seven offers and a $180,000 negotiation lift in Wandin North appeared first on Elite Agent.

Wayne Riethoff has sold a five-bedroom English country cottage in Westbury, Tasmania for $700,000 after a 350-day private treaty campaign that found the perfect buyer for a niche property.

Wayne Riethoff knew from day one that 10 Quamby Street in Westbury would take the right buyer, not the fastest one. The five-bedroom English country cottage on 1,840 square metres had everything a certain type of buyer would love — but finding that buyer meant committing to a campaign that would stretch across 350 days.

“We always knew that it was going to take the right buyer — it’s quite a niche property and Westbury is quite a small township community,” Wayne says.

“We had a lot of viewings, a lot of interest in the property, but it really did just take that one buyer that fell so completely in love with the property.”

The niche property that needed the right match

The 1950s cottage had all the elements that make a property hard to categorise but impossible to forget. Split over two levels with an English country cottage feel, established gardens, and generous land in a tightly held community, it wasn’t a property you could easily comp against typical suburban housing stock.

“It really had an English country cottage feel to it with beautiful gardens,” Wayne says. “Westbury itself is a very tightly held community — it’s about a 20-minute drive out of Launceston.”

The property attracted consistent viewing numbers, but Wayne and his vendor weren’t chasing any offer. They were waiting for the buyer who would see what they saw.

The evolving social campaign

Over nearly a year on market, Wayne kept the campaign fresh by constantly adjusting the messaging and creating short videos that showcased different angles of the property.

“We had a pretty big social campaign, which we kept changing up regularly,” he says. “Doing lots and lots of short videos featuring the garden, featuring some of the more unique features of the property.”

Viewers consistently commented on the location, the quietness, the feel of the property, the gardens, the outlook, and the township itself. The feedback confirmed Wayne’s instinct — this was a lifestyle purchase, not a transaction.

The buyer who fell in love with the gardens

The successful buyer came from Devonport on Tasmania’s northwest coast, drawn by the same gardens that had anchored Wayne’s campaign from the start.

“The gardens were a really big drawcard for them,” Wayne says. “They loved gardening so it really appealed.”

Five offers came through during the 350-day campaign, but this one resonated with the vendor on multiple levels.

“This was just the one that really resonated with the vendor, not only on price but also on how they fell in love with the property,” Wayne says.

What it means for Westbury sellers

Wayne’s campaign proved that buyers are actively seeking entry to Westbury’s tightly held market, across a range of property types and sizes.

“There are lots of buyers looking to come into the tightly held community of Westbury and looking for anything from smaller properties to properties similar in size to 10 Quamby Street,” he says. “All different types of buyers — they’re definitely out there and ready to go.”

But the real lesson from this sale isn’t about market conditions. It’s about the relationship that underpinned the entire year-long process.

“It really was a deeply personal campaign built on a strong and genuine relationship with the vendor,” Wayne says.

“Working with her and for her was paramount and it became a highlight of the whole process.”

Where Westbury sits

Westbury sits about 20 minutes from Launceston in Tasmania’s Meander Valley, a tightly held historic township with a colonial village character. The 1,840-square-metre property sits at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in a spacious residential pocket that reflects the town’s semi-rural appeal.

About the Agent

Wayne Riethoff works alongside Bec as a real estate team at The Agency Northern Tasmania, with over 29 years of combined experience. Known for honest advice, a calm approach, and genuine community connections, they focus on making the property process simple, personal, and enjoyable while striving for outstanding results. Visit Wayne’s website for more information or call Wayne on 0477881449

The post Gardens and patience deliver $700,000 result for Westbury country cottage appeared first on Elite Agent.

As we move toward the midpoint of 2026, the momentum building across the Harcourts network is becoming increasingly visible — not just in activity levels, but in expansion, recruitment, and the confidence we are seeing from business owners across the country.

Across Australia, Harcourts already has 38 offices set to open throughout 2026, making this one of the strongest growth years the network has experienced in recent times. Importantly, this growth is not happening by accident. It reflects a deliberate strategy focused on strengthening our presence in key markets, attracting ambitious leaders, and building long-term capability across the network.

New South Wales is a strong example of that momentum, with 10 new offices currently set to open this year. We are also continuing to increase our footprint across Sydney’s North Shore and Eastern Suburbs – areas where expectations around service, professionalism, and market expertise continue to rise.

What is increasingly clear is that the industry has entered a new phase. Growth today is no longer simply about size or visibility. The most successful businesses are looking for alignment: strong leadership, operational support, collaboration, innovation, and a network that genuinely helps people grow.

That is where Harcourts continues to differentiate itself.

We are seeing it in recruitment conversations with experienced operators looking for stronger connectivity and broader opportunities. We are seeing it in succession discussions as business owners plan the future of their agencies with greater intention. And we are seeing it in the calibre of leaders choosing to join the network as they position themselves for the next chapter of growth.

Importantly, every new office strengthens more than just our geographic reach. It strengthens the network itself. More offices create broader referral pathways, deeper expertise, stronger collaboration opportunities, and greater visibility for the Harcourts brand nationally.

That spirit of connection and shared momentum is also building toward HX 2026.

HX has always represented more than an event on the calendar. It is where the energy of the network becomes tangible — where relationships are strengthened, ideas are exchanged, and the future direction of the business begins to sharpen.

This year, HX arrives at an especially exciting time for Harcourts. There is genuine momentum across the network, and importantly, there is a shared sense of ambition about where we are heading next.

As we continue through 2026, our focus remains clear: not simply growing bigger, but growing smarter, stronger, and more connected.

Because sustainable growth is never built office by office in isolation.

It is built through the strength of the network around them.

The post Growth with intent: the momentum building across Harcourts in 2026 appeared first on Elite Agent.

OBrien Real Estate held its 2026 Annual Leadership Conference in Nusa Dua, Bali, from 17–20 May, gathering business owners, senior leaders and high performers from across the network.

The conference theme – “Advance & Challenge” – reflected Managing Director Dean O’Brien’s focus on leadership discipline and execution.

“The market is asking more of every agency, every leader and every team member,” Dean said.

“It is asking for better decisions, higher standards and a willingness to challenge the habits that may have worked in the past.”

The four-day program featured Brendon Gale, CEO of the Tasmanian Devils and former Richmond Football Club chief executive, as the headline speaker. 

Brendon drew on his experience in elite sporting environments to discuss high-performance leadership, accountability and culture.

“Brendon reminded us that culture is not what you write on a wall. Culture is what you tolerate, repeat and reward every day,” Dean said.

Industry speakers Johnny Bell and Brett Graham focused on practical application – the behaviours, systems and disciplines required to build stronger teams.

“Leadership is not just about having a vision. It is about the daily standards, the conversations, the follow-up and the consistency that turn strategy into results,” Dean said.

The conference also included sessions from Elite Agent’s Samantha McLean, Steven Osborn, Steve Hughes, Paul Loftus, Simon Cashman and Milan Cooper, covering themes of adaptability, innovation and accountability.

Dean said the network’s focus remains on translating conference insights into office-level action.

“When people return with clearer priorities, stronger accountability and a renewed focus on the fundamentals, the whole business becomes stronger.”

The post OBrien Real Estate takes leadership team to Bali for annual reset appeared first on Elite Agent.

REMAX has opened another office in Perth’s southern suburbs, with former business development manager Fahim Kabir launching REMAX Proactive in Willetton.

Fahim moves into franchise ownership after working as business development manager at REMAX Extreme in Cannington. 

He brings a decade of real estate experience across property management and sales, plus several years in new home construction.

“REMAX is a highly regarded brand in Perth with strong global recognition, providing a solid foundation and confidence when stepping into business ownership,” Fahim said.

Before 2024, Fahim managed both property management and sales divisions simultaneously – experience he says shaped his approach to client service.

“A decade in real estate, combined with several years involved in new home construction, has given me valuable perspective in how I support and guide my clients,” he said.

“For me, being able to provide practical, informed advice that not only assists clients today but also positions them well for the future is important.”

The move to ownership was driven by a desire for greater control over business direction.

“Having ownership over the processes, culture, and direction of the business was a major motivating factor as I continue building for long-term growth with the backing of a strong brand and network,” Fahim said.

REMAX Australia’s WA-based representative Simon Withers said Fahim’s progression reflects the calibre of professionals within the network.

“Fahim’s strong work ethic, clear vision, and commitment to delivering a high standard of service are qualities that align exceptionally well with the values of the REMAX brand,” Simon said.

REMAX Australia managing director Joel Davoren said the new office adds to the network’s expansion in Western Australia.

“It is great to see people within our network step into business ownership and Fahim is an excellent addition to our network’s group of business owners,” Joel said.

REMAX Proactive is located at Unit 2, 8 Yampi Way, Willetton.

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Australian house prices may deliver little to no real capital growth over the next two decades, according to a new report from Macquarie that challenges assumptions about property as a wealth-building vehicle.

The analysis, titled A Brief History of Australian House Prices, argues the structural forces that drove the nation’s housing boom, including falling interest rates, financial deregulation, and tax incentives, have largely run their course.

“Real dwelling prices in Australia have increased approximately 160 per cent since 1980,” the report stated, according to Live Wire.

“However, for two-thirds of that period, prices trended sideways, with most of the gains occurring in two short bursts.”

Those bursts came between 2000 and 2003, following the introduction of the capital gains tax discount, and again from 2012 to 2022, driven partly by historically low interest rates.

The report suggests the recent federal budget changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts could compound existing pressures on the market.

Macquarie analysts expect investor flows into established housing to slow materially – potentially by more than 50 per cent.

“In the near-term, we expect investor flows into established housing to slow materially,” the report states.

“While there may be some offset from increased flows into new housing, this will likely be limited by the capacity of the construction sector to deliver this stock.”

The analysis points to affordability as a critical constraint, noting that average dwelling prices have diverged significantly from household capacity to pay.

Rising female workforce participation boosted household incomes and borrowing power over recent decades, but with participation rates now approaching those of males, Macquarie argues those gains are unlikely to repeat.

The report also challenges perceptions that property prices only move upward.

Since 1980, national nominal house prices have experienced eight separate peak-to-trough declines.

In inflation-adjusted terms, the falls were more severe – Melbourne took nearly 11 years to surpass its 1989 peak in real terms, while Perth prices didn’t return to 2006 levels until 2024.

Macquarie has modelled scenarios ranging from a modest 5 per cent price correction to an unwinding similar to the 1980s, when prices fell approximately 9 per cent.

The investment house expects housing credit growth to contract from 7 per cent in the 2026 financial year to 3.6 per cent in 2027, with Commonwealth Bank and Westpac most exposed to the changes due to their mortgage lending concentration.

However, Macquarie notes grandfathering provisions for existing investors could limit stock coming to market, potentially creating a floor under prices even as new investor activity slows.

“If real prices once again move sideways for a decade or two – an outcome needed to ‘fix’ housing affordability – incremental revenue from capital gains tax will be zero,” Macquarie states.

“Enjoy the tax cut.”

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PRD Real Estate has opened a new office in Highton, marking the brand’s first presence in the Greater Geelong region as it continues to expand across Victoria.

The office will be led by Kim Stinton, who brings nine years of real estate experience to the role, including a period operating independently in the local market.

PRD Managing Director Todd Hadley said the expansion aligns with the franchise’s broader Victorian growth strategy.

“Greater Geelong is one of the strongest regional markets in the country, driven by lifestyle demand, infrastructure investment and population growth,” Todd said.

“Expanding our presence here is a natural step for PRD as we continue to strengthen our Victorian network.”

PRD Highton will service a broad catchment including Highton, Grovedale, Waurn Ponds, Mount Duneed, Geelong West, Bannockburn, Torquay and surrounding areas, covering both established suburbs and emerging growth corridors.

Kim said joining PRD was about finding alignment with a brand focused on sustainable growth.

“PRD is clearly focused on smart, sustainable growth. The way the business is expanding across Victoria shows they understand where the market is heading and how agents need to operate to meet client needs,” she said.

“My approach has always been centred on trust, transparency and service. PRD’s values, systems and research support that way of working.”

Kim pointed to PRD’s national research capability as a key factor in her decision to join the network.

“The depth of PRD’s research is impressive. It allows us to provide buyers, sellers and investors with accurate, relevant information so they can make confident decisions in any market conditions,” she said.

The Geelong expansion comes as PRD approaches a milestone year – the brand will mark 50 years in Australian real estate in March 2026. PRD operates as part of the Colliers network.

“Reaching 50 years is a testament to PRD’s strong foundations, adaptability and the people within our network,” Todd said.

“Kim’s experience, professionalism and client-focused approach make her an excellent representative of the PRD brand.”

The post PRD expands Victorian footprint with Geelong office launch appeared first on Elite Agent.

A London mansion featuring a basement workshop accessed via a hidden staircase and retracting floorboards has come to market for £29.95 million (A$53.3 million).

Tech entrepreneur Sergey Frolovichev, who was involved in the expansion of dating apps Bumble and Badoo alongside Andrey Andreev, is selling the Hampstead property through Draper London.

The seven-bedroom house on Greenaway Gardens spans approximately 14,500 square feet and includes a basement-level design studio that Sergey modelled on his favourite film, The Dark Knight.

The space is accessed through a concealed entrance from the games room, with display cabinets lining the corridor and ceiling lighting, both taking design cues from the 2008 Batman film.

The property is being sold on a shell-and-core basis, meaning the structure and infrastructure are in place but internal fit-out remains incomplete.

Buyers will need to budget an additional £5 million to £7 million (A$8.9 million to A$12.5 million) over 12 to 18 months to finish the interiors. Once completed, the mansion could be worth up to £40 million (A$71.2 million), Draper London suggests.

The original house dates to around 1934 and was designed by architect Charles Henry Bourne Quennell in a neo-Georgian style. Architectural practice SHH obtained planning consent to enlarge and remodel the building, working with Sergey on the design.

Infrastructure already installed includes ground source heating, underfloor heating throughout, fresh air ventilation to all rooms, and integrated cabling for home entertainment and security systems.

The layout includes a triple-height entrance hall with a cantilevered staircase and rooflight 12.5 metres above.

The lower ground floor houses a health spa with swimming pool, gym, steam room and sauna, along with the media room and games room.

A principal bedroom suite on the first floor spans the full width of the building and includes two roof terraces, two dressing rooms and two bathrooms. There are six additional bedroom suites across the upper floors.

External space includes nearly 8,000 square feet of terracing and a south-west facing garden and plans include a sunken fire pit with built-in seating at the rear of the garden.

The holding company for Bumble and Badoo was sold to Blackstone in 2019 in a deal valuing the business at $3 billion (A$4.2 billion).

“This sale offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create one of the finest new residences in Hampstead,” said Craig Draper, founder of Draper London.

The full listing can be viewed at draperlondon.com.

The post Inside the UK mansion with a hidden “Batman Lair” basement appeared first on Elite Agent.

It’s 11 o’clock at night. Someone in your area can’t sleep because they need to sell their house to buy the next one, and they’re worried about the timing. They don’t open the portals. They open ChatGPT.

That moment – long before anyone fills in an appraisal form – is where listings might be being won and lost. AI search has changed the game for real estate agents, and most don’t know it yet.

“Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to be the exact local answer your clients ask AI for, so that you win the lead before a single click happens,” Samantha McLean told agents in Week 3 of the AI Sprint.

It’s a big mission. Here’s how she broke it down.

Three ways to get a lead – and the one that’s getting harder

There are really only three ways to generate a lead, Samantha said. Outbound, where you interrupt people with calls, flyers and social posts. Inbound, where they come to you. And bought leads, through the likes of Local Agent Finder, Open Agent, or Zillow if you’re overseas.

No judgement on any of them. But her preference is clear.

“Buying leads is okay, but it’s a bit like being handed a fish,” she said.

“Inbound and SEO is like building a boat and learning to fish forever. You get it right, and people start coming to you.”

The problem is that inbound itself has changed.

Roughly one in three people on Earth now touch an AI every month, by Samantha’s count, and they’re using it to research you well before they ever think about calling.

“They’re doing their own research, and they’re doing it in a different way than they ever have before,” Samantha said.

The magic mirror problem

Her first challenge to the room was one she’s set in several emails: go and ask ChatGPT who the best agent in your area is.

Just don’t do it yourself.

“It’s a bit like the queen in Snow White,” she explained.

“Magic mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? And the mirror always says, ‘You are.’ Because the LLM wants to please you.”

An AI you’re already logged into knows your location and your context, and it’s built to be your assistant – so it flatters you.

To get an honest read, swap with a trusted colleague. Get them to run the prompt on you while you run it on them.

The results can be sobering. On a call with an Insider the day before, Samantha found Google’s deep research had reported the agent’s days on market as 55. It wasn’t true.

“The LLMs will find out whatever they can about you, whether it’s true or not, because they’re looking to surface an answer,” she said.

The prompt she suggests handing to a colleague: “I’m meeting three agents this week to appraise my home. For each one, search the web for their recent sales, reviews and social media. Build a dossier on who’s genuinely active in my street and who’s just shopping for listings.” For extra detail, turn deep research on.

What your clients are actually asking

The instinct is to optimise for “best real estate agent in Broadbeach Waters”. But the average prompt people type into ChatGPT runs to about 60 words – and almost nobody searches that way.

“They’re searching for much longer, more detailed, probably more fear-based, painful questions than they ever have,” Samantha said.

The 2am questions sound more like this: “I need to sell my current house to buy a new one, but I’m worried about the timing. What’s the best way to handle the financing and logistics so I don’t get stuck paying two mortgages?” Or the inherited, outdated property the siblings want to sell as-is, in probate.

These are the long-tail, emotional queries agents can actually answer with targeted content. And being the answer is the goal.

How AI search rewrote SEO

The reason this matters now, Samantha said, is that Google has rolled out its biggest interface change in 25 years, with AI mode as the default experience.

“This whole SEO thing we used to optimise for has changed,” Samantha said.

The ten blue links aren’t gone – they can still be found off to the side – but they now sit beneath an AI overview that often answers the question outright. That’s the zero-click search: the user can get what they came for and never visit anyone’s website.

It’s not just text, either. Google has flagged an Ask YouTube feature that shifts video search from keywords to natural-language prompts and, by Samantha’s reading, will deep-link users to the exact timecode where their question gets answered.

“If you aren’t doing video market updates or talking-head market updates, you’re missing out on the ultimate zero-click use case,” she said. Google can already watch, transcribe and understand any video you put on YouTube.

The goal is no longer just website clicks. It’s building a hyperlocal authority ecosystem so that when the answer engine responds, you’re the answer it surfaces.

EEAT: why Google is hardest on agents

To be that answer, you need to understand what the engines are looking for. Samantha introduced two concepts.

The first is EEAT – experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness.

Real estate gets some of the toughest treatment here, because Google files it under “your money or your life”.

“If someone writes a blog post on changing a zipper and it’s wrong, the world’s not going to end,” she said.

“But incorrect advice on finance or real estate or health falls into that ‘your money or your life’ category. So Google wants to make sure, before it surfaces an answer, that you have the expertise and experience to be trusted.”

Authoritativeness is why being mentioned on a high-authority site matters. Sites that have published good content for years – Elite Agent among them – get weight. If you’ve been written about or appeared on a podcast, that coverage tends to surface.

This piece connects directly to last week’s session on AI-powered DISC profiling and the earlier work on building AI buyer personas – the same theme of doing the homework before you ever sit down with a vendor.

Information gain, and the slop bucket

Trustworthiness is the part of the algorithm Samantha says has changed most. She pointed to a Google update in March 2026 aimed at AI-generated content created to game the system.

The phrase to remember is information gain.

“What the AIs want is information they don’t already know – something new,” Samantha said. “By all means use AI to generate content, but make sure you add something the AI wouldn’t know.”

What do kids actually love about that local park? What’s the dish people queue for at the cafe down the road? That human, on-the-ground detail is the signal.

Miss it, and you know exactly where you land.

“Otherwise you end up in the slop bucket,” she said, “because you’ll end up with words like ‘delve’ and ‘nestled in a cute corner of’, and it’ll just sound like AI stuff.”

Brand defence: own the ground they land on

The second concept is brand defence – an SEO strategy for keeping control of your own narrative.

When someone asks whether you’re any good at your job, you want something you control to surface. A neglected LinkedIn profile or a listing on a portal where buyers can also see five other agents is weak brand defence.

“It’s somewhere you own, no competitor ads, controlled by you,” Samantha said. Your own website is the best home for it – somewhere a prospect lands inside your ecosystem, not someone else’s.

She also made a case for transparency over polish. The flawless just-sold flyer tells an AI – and a human – almost nothing about whether you can handle a deal when it goes sideways.

“If I’m on a plane with a pilot in a storm, I want somebody flying the plane who’s been through a few storms,” she said. “I don’t want someone whose first storm is this one.”

The agents winning at this aren’t just posting the result. They’re explaining the process: what the hurdles were, how many buyers missed out, how they got it over the line.

Earned media and the authority backlink

The hardest signal to manufacture is earned media – being cited or mentioned by someone else.

Historically that meant selling a trophy home or a derelict place with a great story, the kind of thing mainstream media will chase for clicks. Without one of those, your options were to ring a journalist and hope, or pay for it.

A human-written profile on Elite Agent takes a day and a half to two days of work across several people, plus an editorial sign-off, and runs to about $1,000. As Samantha put it, that’s actually cheap compared with paid media elsewhere – Forbes charges several thousand for an article.

But the full human treatment doesn’t scale to every agent. Which is exactly the gap that started a different idea.

How Ailsa was born

“What if we could use a conversational AI as a journalist?” Samantha said. “This is where Ailsa was actually born.”

Ailsa is built to deliver information gain. She doesn’t stop at the facts of the sale – she probes the layers underneath: what your strategy was, what you found hard, the local knowledge only you would have.

In a live demonstration, Ailsa walked Samantha through a just-sold story: the price, the method, days on market, then the harder questions. An 11-day sale through a short, two-week auction campaign in an area where auctions aren’t the norm, because the vendor had already committed to their next purchase.

“Walk me through how you actually made that work,” Ailsa pressed. “What did you do differently to generate that urgency?”

“You can see how she’s leading me down a path of creating the content the AIs are looking for,” Samantha said – the process, who missed out, the length of the campaign. The lived experience that proves expertise.

Every story comes formatted with the SEO Google wants – the suburb and the agent’s name in the URL, the right headings and an agent bio at the end – and a direct-answer summary is now being added, a clean 40-to-60-word block an AI Overview can lift and cite. Crucially, it carries the authority from eliteagent.com that a do-it-yourself version can’t replicate.

The maths: a human-written Elite Agent story is around $1,000. An Ailsa story is $97 each, with five- and ten-packs available. The cheapest route by far is Elite Agent Insiders at $297 a year, which includes four Ailsa story credits, the DISC profiling and “Before We Meet” tools from earlier sessions, and a half-hour onboarding with Samantha on the annual plan.

The DIY version – with one big caveat

For anyone who wants to try it themselves, Samantha shared the prompt:

“Act as an expert real estate copywriter specialising in answer engine optimisation. Write a just-sold case study that satisfies Google’s EEAT requirements and ranks in AI overviews.” Then add your suburb and property type, the friction you overcame, your local secret, a 40-to-60-word direct-answer summary up top, and run it against your voice DNA profile.

Property managers shift the focus from a sold transaction to a problem solved or a yield maximised, and turn the raw data of a recent management win into a 400-word case study.

The caveat is real.

“The DIY route will only work if you put the sweat equity in to build your voice DNA and brand,” she said. “Otherwise you still end up in the slop bucket.”

And there’s the quieter question worth sitting with: even when done is better than perfect, does done actually get done – or are you already off to the next open home?

Your 2026 inbound checklist

Samantha closed with what to actually do next:

• Don’t stop anything you’re already doing. Keep your Google, Rate My Agent and Facebook reviews coming, plus written and video proof. AI search has expanded the search world, not necessarily completely replaced anything.
• Write case studies, not just sold flyers – show the process, the hurdles and how many buyers missed out.
• Start creating video content, and add timecodes to your YouTube uploads. Ask Google for a description with timecodes and it’ll generate them for you.
• Build a website hub that answers the long, fear-based questions your clients are really asking, so they land somewhere you own.
• Comment as well as post – commenting is content, and Google now sees all of it.
• Pursue earned media and exact-URL citations from trusted, high-authority sites.

The bigger point is that the people on the other side of the table have AI too. Buyers and sellers are running these prompts before they meet you, so run them yourself and be ready.

But there’s a line AI can’t cross. “People will have access to the same information you do, but the AI can’t provide the insight you can,” Samantha said – the kind of local knowledge that explains why the units on one side of a building are worth more than the other.

“Don’t automate your relationships – protect them. Don’t give away your voice to the AI, and don’t give away that last layer of customer care.”

This is Week 3 of The AI Sprint. Watch Week 1 and Week 2 on youtube now!

Did we mention you can join plenty of other AI-curious agents and Sam- live in our next sprint, which is June 2nd (that’s next Tuesday!)

It’s free, and you can register here.

Want to use AI like a professional, not a tourist? Join Elite Agent Insiders and get the tools to become so good they can’t ignore you.

The post How to Become the Answer AI Gives When Sellers Ask “Who’s the Best Agent?” appeared first on Elite Agent.

Australia’s auction markets are flashing warning signs, with clearance rates over the past five weeks tracking at or below the levels that preceded an 8 per cent fall in east coast house values during the 2022 downturn.

Sydney’s five-week average clearance rate sits at 51.6 per cent, compared to 51 per cent at the equivalent point in 2022, according to Domain.

Melbourne is matching its 2022 average at 55.1 per cent, while Brisbane has dropped to 37.2 per cent – marginally below its 37.7 per cent average four years ago.

During that earlier correction, median house prices fell 8 per cent in Sydney, 6.1 per cent in Melbourne, and 9.8 per cent in Brisbane.

Domain’s preliminary May data suggests buyer demand has eased faster than it did at the onset of the last correction, with higher interest rates and policy uncertainty weighing on confidence.

“Auction markets are often the first place we see turning points, and recent results are signalling a clear moderation in demand,” Domain Chief Residential Economist Dr Nicola Powell said.

“The fact that clearance rates are tracking below 2022 downturn levels highlights just how quickly conditions have softened through May, particularly at the top end.”

The softening reflects reduced borrowing capacity after sustained rate increases, which has widened the gap between what buyers can afford and what sellers expect. 

Rising listings are also adding supply, helping to rebalance conditions after a prolonged period of vendor strength.

Policy changes targeting investors appear to be dampening participation further, reducing competition just as stock levels climb.

However, Dr Powell noted that recent inflation data came in better than expected, which should reinforce expectations that interest rate pressures are beginning to ease.

“Combined with strong underlying fundamentals, this points to a more balanced market ahead,” Dr Powell said.

“For committed buyers, there’s growing opportunity as choice improves and competition becomes less intense.”

Strong population growth and a resilient labour market continue to support underlying demand, particularly at more affordable price points.

The post Auction clearance rates fall below 2022 downturn levels appeared first on Elite Agent.

For most real estate agents, a successful sale might end with a bottle of wine, a thank-you card or a bunch of flowers.

But for Northern Beaches agent Michelle Galletti of Cunninghams, one client took gratitude to another level by writing an original song about her after she guided him through the sale of his home during one of the toughest markets in recent years.

The sale itself was emotionally charged from the outset. Michelle had previously sold for the same clients during Sydney’s post-pandemic property boom, when buyers lined the street outside their Freshwater home.

This time, the experience could not have been more different.

“The last place I sold for them was during that period where everything went ridiculous and the Northern Beaches grew about 40 per cent,” Michelle said.

“I had a line outside the door and up the street. Then when I was selling this house recently, it was the total opposite.”

The property was being sold during a divorce, adding another layer of pressure to an already declining market and expectations had to be adjusted repeatedly as conditions worsened.

“It was their house to live in for a long time, but unfortunately that didn’t happen,” she said.

“We just didn’t know the market was going to go the way it did this year. The price just had to keep being pulled down, unfortunately.”

Rather than avoid difficult conversations, Michelle focused on keeping communication open and consistent throughout the campaign. She created a shared WhatsApp group with both vendors so every conversation happened transparently.

“In divorces, I find that having two separate conversations is not ideal because things can be misconstrued,” she said.

“So I do audios on WhatsApp and say, ‘Hey guys, this is where we’re at,’ so everyone has the same information. If we need to make decisions, generally we do it on a three-way call. There’s no separate conversations.”

Even with that approach, the market decline was confronting. Michelle had sold a smaller property for significantly more only a year earlier.

“I’d sold something across the road a year and a half before for $5.7 million and it was less of a house,” she said.

“This one ended up selling for $4.5 million … it was really upsetting because you think about what people have put into it, and then they’ve got to split and fund separate lives.”

Despite the disappointing financial outcome, the clients’ appreciation for Michelle only grew stronger throughout the process. One of the vendors, Dave Mardon, a creative professional Michelle describes as “the most creative human you’ve ever met”, decided to express that gratitude by writing and recording a song about her.

The lyrics of the song titled Galetti captured both the stress of the campaign and the trust that developed along the way.

“You did not need to go that hard
But you did, and that’s why you’re a star
Kept the asking price, held the line
While every other clown said, ‘Cut it fine.’”

Another verse reflected the reassurance Michelle gave during moments when the situation felt overwhelming.

“You said, ‘Nah mate, let’s wait,’
And somehow that didn’t feel insane.
You had a buyer in your sights
And you steered him straight to mine.”

For Michelle, the gesture was completely unexpected, particularly given how emotionally draining the campaign had been for everyone involved.

“That’s why I was surprised,” she said.

“You manage it the best way you can, but they could have just gone the complete opposite direction and been angry about the whole thing. Instead, they were just incredibly grateful.”

After years in real estate, she said she had never received anything remotely similar.

“When I got it on my phone, I thought it was just a song that had my surname in it,” she said.

“Then I started listening and I was in shock. I sent it to everyone saying, ‘Can you believe someone would do this?’”

Michelle believes the songs resonated so deeply because they acknowledged the emotional side of the job that clients rarely see from the outside.

“People think you just open the door and get paid,” she said.

“But you’re counselling people, it emotionally takes its toll if you actually care. The outcome of that, getting something like that [song], means more to me than anything really.”

The experience also reinforced her belief that agents need to be direct during difficult markets, rather than avoiding uncomfortable conversations.

“Not having hard conversations as an agent is where a lot of people fall down,” she said. “You need to be really proactive and say, ‘This is the truth of what’s going on and we need to adapt to it.’”

For all the uncertainty of the market, Michelle said the songs ultimately reminded her why authenticity still matters most in real estate.

“It makes me feel like I’m doing the right thing,” she said. “If you can make some sort of difference in your own backyard, I think that’s what’s important.”

The post Better than flowers after a sale? Having a song written about you appeared first on Elite Agent.

Mark Durran, one of Australia’s most experienced hotel transaction advisors, has joined HTL Property to lead the firm’s capital markets division across the Asia-Pacific region.

Mark brings a 36-year track record that includes personally negotiating more than 140 major hotel deals. 

His portfolio spans some of the country’s highest-profile sales, including the $530 million Hilton Sydney, the $415 million Marriott Portfolio across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and the $210.5 million Sir Stamford at Circular Quay.

In Sydney’s CBD alone, he has handled four of the last eight major hotel transactions.

“Mark’s reputation for navigating the most complex, valuable and challenging transactions in the market is second to none,” Andrew Jolliffe, Managing Director of HTL Property said.

“His appointment underscores our commitment to providing clients with access to the industry’s most sophisticated capital markets advice and an unmatched network of global and domestic investors.”

Mark joins from Savills, where he led the Hotel Capital Markets team.

Before that, he spent 25 years in senior leadership at JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group.

In his new role, Mark will focus on major hotel brokerage assignments across Australia and New Zealand, while working to connect local assets with investment capital from Asia and other international sources.

“I look forward to combining my experience with HTL’s platform and professional standing to drive exceptional outcomes for our clients during this dynamic period for the hotel investment market,” Mark said.

The post HTL Property hires Mark Durran to lead hotel capital markets appeared first on Elite Agent.

The appointment strengthens Real+’s executive capability at a time when real estate and property management businesses are navigating rapid change, rising client expectations, operational complexity and the need to evolve without losing the human connection that underpins strong service businesses.

For Real+, the move signals a clear intention: to build on the credibility, trust and industry impact created under Founder and CEO Fiona Blayney, while adding greater commercial structure and leadership capacity for the future.

Ms Blayney said the appointment was deliberate and future-focused.

“This is an intentional move for Real+,” Ms Blayney said.

“We have built strong foundations across the business and are clear about the opportunity ahead. The industry is changing quickly, and our responsibility is to keep evolving so we remain valuable, relevant and useful to the businesses and people we serve.

“Sean brings strong commercial thinking, deep market knowledge and a broad perspective across partnerships, service, leadership, technology, AI, automation and growth. Many people will know him through Connectnow, but his capability extends well beyond that.”

Mr Scoffield joins Real+ with more than 20 years of business leadership experience across strategic partnerships, market expansion, customer experience, digital transformation, communication and commercial growth.

His appointment follows a period of increasing momentum for Real+, including the continued growth of PM/ONE, now firmly positioned as the largest independent property management conference on the industry calendar.

Ms Blayney said Mr Scoffield’s appointment was not about changing the essence of Real+, but strengthening its ability to scale.

“This is not about changing who Real+ is,” she said.

“It is about strengthening what Real+ can become.

“Real+ has always been built on vision, trust and strong industry connection. This next phase is about building structure, rhythm and execution around that foundation. Sean brings fresh perspective, strong commercial thinking, healthy challenge and disciplined focus to an already committed and capable team.

“We are not interested in standing still. We are building a business that can continue to lead, support and serve the industry well into the future.”

The General Manager role has been designed to lead day-to-day operations and support Real+’s strategic agenda, with a focus on commercial performance, operational excellence, alignment and sustainable growth.

The role will work closely with Ms Blayney, the Board and the Real+ leadership team to align multiple divisions under a more unified operating model, while preserving the trust, personality and client connection central to the Real+ brand.

Mr Scoffield said the opportunity to join Real+ was compelling because of the strength already built and the potential still ahead.

“Real+ has earned a respected place in this industry,” he said.

“There is already a strong reputation, a clear market connection and a team doing meaningful work.

“My role is to bring structure, momentum and disciplined execution to the next phase, while protecting the essence of what has made the business valuable.

“There is enormous opportunity ahead, and I am thrilled to be part of it.”

Together, the appointment pairs Ms Blayney’s recognised industry authority, client insight and market influence with Mr Scoffield’s commercial, operational and growth experience – creating greater structure and capacity for what comes next.

The post Real+ appoints Sean Scoffield as General Manager in next phase of national growth appeared first on Elite Agent.

Emma Orchard has sold a three-bedroom mid-century home in Hamilton Hill, Western Australia, for $1.14 million after just eight days on market, with five offers and twenty competitive adjustments.

Emma Orchard knew the 1960s-built home at 143 Forrest Road had something special — not just solid mid-century bones, but a 707-square-metre block with wide side access perfect for future subdivision. The challenge was making sure buyers saw both stories at once.

Emma arranged targeted painting to freshen the original interiors, then brought in staging that complemented the home’s mid-century character. The furniture choices weren’t just about aesthetics — they helped buyers visualise the lifestyle potential of a low-maintenance solid home that could also unlock future value.

“This property was a 1960 solid home in original condition, but it had beautiful mid-century features,” Emma said.

“We focused heavily on not only the low-maintenance solid home, but also the availability to subdivide the property because it had a nice wide side access — very easy subdivision could be done down the track.”

The campaign attracts broad interest

The property went live on a Tuesday. Emma scheduled 45-minute open homes for the Saturday and Sunday, expecting solid interest. The response exceeded expectations.

“We conducted a home open on the Saturday and the Sunday and received offers just straight after the Saturday’s home open,” Emma said.

Buyers loved the era of the home and its solid construction. Even though it sat on a busy road, the horseshoe driveway meant families didn’t have to reverse out into traffic — a practical safety feature that resonated strongly with parents.

Five offers and twenty adjustments

The competition was fierce. Five offers arrived, triggering twenty competitive adjustments as buyers fought to secure the property.

“The competition was fierce with everybody wanting to secure this home and we’re very happy with the outcome,” Emma said.

The successful buyers were a local family who saw the long-term investment potential clearly.

“They bought the property as an investment to retain for their two girls for in the future — they could subdivide it and each of the girls would have a block each,” Emma explained.

“But in the meantime, it’s a good low-maintenance investment property until that time.”

Hamilton Hill’s established appeal

Hamilton Hill is an established southern coastal suburb of Fremantle in the City of Cockburn. The area offers convenient access to parks, schools, shops and public transport, with median house values sitting around $1.12 million — making this result comfortably above the local benchmark.

Above-appraisal result for interstate seller

The seller, based in Melbourne, was thrilled with both the price and the service. Emma coordinated all the preparation work remotely, keeping him informed throughout the competitive negotiation process.

“The seller was extremely happy with the outcome because we achieved above the initial appraisal price,” Emma said.

The result validates Emma’s strategy of presenting the property’s dual appeal — a solid family home today with genuine future subdivision potential that attracted buyers across multiple categories.

About the Agent

Emma Orchard is a dedicated real estate professional at C&Co Real Estate with 23 years’ experience across sales, property management and business development. Known for her honest approach and strong communication, she builds lasting relationships and delivers strategic advice with exceptional service. Her goal is always to achieve the best possible outcome while making the process smooth and stress-free. Visit Emma’s website for more information or call Emma on 0418803826.

The post Emma Orchard sells Hamilton Hill home in eight days with five-offer competition appeared first on Elite Agent.

John Church has sold a three-bedroom penthouse apartment at Warners Bay’s Waters Edge complex prior to auction after 21 days, converting cultivated database buyers into committed purchasers.

The preparation that counted

John Church has sold apartment 707 at 1 Howard Street, Warners Bay — a three-bedroom penthouse in the Waters Edge complex — after a strategic two-phase campaign that began off-market and concluded with an unconditional sale after 21 days.

The approach reflected months of preparation. John had sold a number of apartments in the complex previously and maintained contact with buyers who’d missed out, building a database of prospects specifically interested in Waters Edge.

“We already had multiple buyers who had expressed interest in buying into this complex,” John said.

“We’ve been cultivating these buyers over time, but we had also recently sold a number of apartments in the complex and had buyers who had missed out.”

Testing the market off-market

John launched with a two-week off-market campaign targeting his database before taking the property live. The strategy allowed him to gauge genuine interest levels while maintaining vendor control over timing and exposure.

The eventual buyers were out-of-area downsizers relocating to be closer to family — a profile that benefited from the early, discreet approach. They’d been searching for some time when John’s off-market notification reached them.

What sealed their decision was the combination of penthouse position, lake views, and a wraparound balcony paired with practical features including timber floors, a TV unit, an island bench kitchen, and extensive built-in storage.

“All buyers were very impressed with the high level of finish including timber floors and many built-in features,” John said.

The unconditional commitment

With multiple interested buyers in play, the downsizers distinguished themselves by offering strong price and removing all uncertainty.

“This buyer was prepared to pay a strong price, which represented fair value, with conditions that were unconditional,” John said.

The turning point came when they waived both the cooling-off period and finance clause — signals of genuine commitment that gave the vendors exactly what they needed.

“We knew then that they were confident and strong buyers committed to the property,” John said.

For the vendors, who were eager to move to their next chapter, the certainty proved as valuable as the price itself.

Warners Bay’s lakeside appeal

Warners Bay’s lakeside apartment precinct sits near the village centre and Lake Macquarie foreshore, offering an active lifestyle with direct access to the lake and local amenities.

The Waters Edge complex provides residents with a swimming pool, gym, and secure parking — lifestyle infrastructure that repeatedly attracts downsizers and lake-lifestyle seekers to the development.

What it demonstrates

John’s result shows the value of database cultivation in apartment complexes where buyer interest clusters around specific buildings. By tracking missed-out buyers and maintaining relationships after previous sales, he created a ready market when the right stock became available.

The two-phase approach — off-market testing followed by public marketing — gave vendors the best of both worlds: first access to pre-qualified buyers, then broader market exposure if needed.

For this sale, the off-market phase identified serious buyers early, and the transition to live marketing created the competitive tension that delivered an unconditional outcome.

About the Agent

John Church from LJ Hooker – Lake Macquarie | Warners Bay has been a licensed real estate agent since 2016 and has more than 30 years’ experience marketing property across Lake Macquarie and Newcastle. He has been involved in the sale of homes, townhouses, apartments and land subdivisions, with expertise spanning residential sales, commercial property and project marketing. John brings a client-focused approach to every campaign, working to ensure both buyers and sellers experience a well-managed and considered property transaction. Visit John’s website for more information or call John on 0414294944.

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Real estate has long rewarded effort. There is an unspoken expectation in many businesses however, that success comes from the hustle and the grind – working harder and longer, being forever accessible to our clients and powering through, regardless of the circumstances. 

For a time, that approach can and probably will deliver results. But guess what? It’s not sustainable and more importantly, it’s not what resilience and success actually looks like.

Resilience is often framed as endurance; the ability to absorb pressure and keep going. While there is some truth in that, it only tells part of the story. Real resilience is not just about pushing harder, it’s about knowing when to pivot.

Over the course of our careers, there will inevitably be moments that test confidence and judgment. Markets shift, expectations increase, and pressure builds in ways that can feel constant. In those moments, the default response is often to do more – to work longer hours, take on more responsibility and try to control outcome. 

But the challenge is, for every action there is a reaction. Send an email – get one back. Make a call – the work follows. Therefore, more, longer and extra don’t achieve long term outcomes. We just burn out, and I know this, speaking from my own experience.

More effort is not the solution and wearing a badge of ‘busy’ is something we need to stop being proud of.

At a certain point, the hustle becomes counterproductive. It impacts clarity, drains energy and can lead to decisions that are reactive rather than considered. 

Many of us stay in this cycle longer than we should, not because we lack awareness, but because we’ve been conditioned to equate resilience with persistence at all costs.

There is a difference between persistence and resilience and understanding that difference is critical. Persistence encourages you to keep going, regardless of the situation. Resilience requires you to assess whether continuing on the same path is the right decision or not.

Some environments will stretch you in a positive way. Others will deplete you. Recognising the difference requires a level of self-awareness that is not always easy to develop, particularly in a high pressure, fast moving industry. It means stepping back and asking more considered questions of ourselves. 

• Is this aligned with what matters most to me? 
• Is this sustainable long term? 
• Am I operating at my best, or simply trying to keep up?
• Do I still feel joy in the work that I do?
• Am I being the best version of myself, holistically?

These questions create space for better decisions. They allow you to move from reactive to intentional.

Another important aspect of resilience that is often overlooked is the role of support. While independence is valued in real estate, perspective is rarely built in isolation. The people you surround yourself with – mentors, peers and trusted colleagues – play a significant role in how you navigate challenging periods.

They provide context when your thinking narrows, and reassurance when confidence drops. They offer perspective that is difficult to access when you are in the midst of a challenging situation. In that sense, resilience is not just an individual trait but rather it is supported by the strength of the relationships and team around you.

There is also an element of honesty required. Not every situation is meant to be endured indefinitely. In some cases, the most resilient decision is to change direction. To step away from something that no longer aligns and create space to reset and realign with your values.

I’ve always said the grass is greener where we water it. But it takes courage to realise, sometimes no amount of watering will help, if the grass is fake. 

That decision can feel uncomfortable. It can challenge your identity and create uncertainty. But I’d suggest you’re in the right place, as so often, difficult decisions lead to growth.

Over the years I’ve found listening to these lessons builds a different kind of confidence. One that is grounded in experience rather than external validation. It is quieter, stable and far more sustainable and fulfilling.

Resilience, in this sense, becomes less about reacting to challenges and more about being prepared for them. It is reflected in the habits you build, the boundaries you set and the decisions you make.

I’ve found the most difficult times shape perspective, strengthen judgment and ultimately define the kind of person you become. And for those willing to reflect, adjust and move forward with intention, it becomes one of the most valuable and rewarding thing you can do.

The post Unpopular opinion? Hustle culture is dead appeared first on Elite Agent.

A luxury penthouse that served as Ariana Grande’s home during the filming of both Wicked movies has been listed for sale at £16,950,000 (AUD$32.5 million).

The 9,677-square-foot residence sits atop the Buxmead development on The Bishops Avenue – commonly known as “Billionaire’s Row” – in London’s Hampstead Heath neighbourhood.

Ariana, who played Glinda in the film adaptations, rented the property while shooting both Wicked and Wicked: For Good. According to House & Garden, the singer reportedly chose the location partly for its comprehensive on-site security.

The penthouse spans the entire third floor of the 20-apartment building and features five bedrooms and six bathrooms across two levels.

The main floor includes a 44-foot reception room, separate TV lounge, and a substantial kitchen, all with floor-to-ceiling windows opening onto a wraparound terrace with views over Kenwood Park.

A private lift connects to the lower level, which houses a cinema room, games room, private dining room with bar, and four additional bedrooms.

The property also includes a mirrored gym with barre – reportedly where Ariane held private rehearsals and movement sessions during production.

Residents have access to the building’s shared amenities, including a 25-metre indoor pool, Technogym fitness centre, spa with treatment rooms, sauna, steam room, hammam and jacuzzi, an 18-seat cinema, and residents’ lounge.

The property sits within 2.5 acres of private landscaped gardens.

The Hampstead area clearly made an impression on the singer. Her 2025 album included the track “Hampstead,” which opens with the line: “I left my heart at a pub in Hampstead.”

The listing is handled by Becky Fatemi at United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty.

The post From film set to for sale: Ariana Grande’s London penthouse hits the market for AUD$32 million appeared first on Elite Agent.

Joe Grgic has never run a marathon before. 

But in November, the Harcourts North Geelong director will line up alongside 60,000 runners in New York City to take on one of the world’s most famous races.

The goal isn’t a personal best – it’s fundraising for Barwon Health, the regional health service that operates University Hospital Geelong and provides care across the Barwon South West region.

Securing a spot wasn’t straightforward. 

With less than three per cent of ballot applicants gaining entry, Joe secured his place through a charity allocation, which requires participants to raise funds for their chosen cause.

For a self-described casual runner, the training has meant a significant step up.

“I usually run five to six kilometres three times a week, but I am now out to 16 and a half kilometres and continually growing on that distance,” Joe said.

“I have secured my spot. Now, I am just doing the training.”

His regular sessions take him along the Barwon River as he works around past sports injuries to build his endurance.

All funds raised will go directly to Barwon Health, supporting facilities including the Andrew Love Cancer Centre and the development of a new Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Adam Fiteni, CEO of Harcourts Victoria, said Joe’s effort reflected the agency’s community focus.

“His willingness to take on such a demanding physical challenge for the betterment of our local healthcare system is truly inspiring,” Adam said.

“He is setting a remarkable standard for community leadership, and we are incredibly proud to support him.”

The post Geelong agent takes on New York Marathon for local hospital appeared first on Elite Agent.

New realestate.com.au data shows Australia’s rental yields have broadly declined over the past 12 months, with stronger home price growth outpacing rent increases in most markets, while Sydney and Melbourne have remained comparatively stable.

Across the country, gross rental yields have come under pressure as property values have risen faster than rents.

However, Sydney and Melbourne have avoided the sharper declines seen in other capital cities, with yield movements largely flat over the year as rent growth and price growth have broadly offset each other.

REA Group senior economist, Angus Moore, said the divergence reflects differences in home price growth across the country.

“So the simple answer is home prices just haven’t been growing as quickly in Sydney and Melbourne, you know, Melbourne especially, as they have in other parts of the country,” he said.

Mr Moore said stronger capital growth in other markets has been the key driver of declining yields elsewhere.

“The pace of home price growth in Perth especially, but even Brisbane and Adelaide has just been strong enough to offset that increase in rent and see gross rental yields decline in the past twelve to eighteen months,” he said.

Darwin recorded the highest rental yields across the capital cities in April, led by Berrimah at 7.6 per cent for houses, while Karama and Malak both recorded 7.7 per cent for units.

Moore said investor activity in the Northern Territory has increased significantly, noting the impact of the market’s smaller size on volatility.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of investor demand in the Northern Territory. The share of loans going to investors in the territory hit a record high last year,” he said. “The Northern Territory is a very small market, so it doesn’t take a lot of buyers to change that.”

Sydney and Melbourne recorded relatively stable yields over the year: in Sydney, Cranagan Bay recorded the highest house yield at 4.9 per cent, while Ultimo and Auburn recorded unit yields of 6.3 per cent. In Melbourne, the highest house yields were recorded across Warburton, Hastings, Clyde, Wollert and Coolaroo at 4.3 per cent.

Mr Moore said investor demand continues to be concentrated in more affordable areas.

“We do see that search interest from investors disproportionately towards those more affordable areas. Investors do tend to favour that sort of most affordable stock,” he said.

Units continued to record higher rental yields than houses across capital cities, reflecting lower purchase prices.

Outside the capitals, regional Western Australia recorded the highest rental yields nationally. Houses in Coolgardie recorded a yield of 11.5 per cent, followed by Kambalda East at 11.0 per cent. In the unit market, Newman recorded the highest national yield at 13 per cent, followed by Pegs Creek at 12.9 per cent.

These markets are strongly influenced by resource-sector activity, with Mr Moore pointing to the role of mining and associated demand in driving elevated rental returns across regional Western Australia in particular.

“The interesting divergence is between capital city and regional areas in terms of growth rental yields and also the predominance of mining and mining adjacent areas,” he said.

“The data reflect the very high rents associated with resource areas,” he said.

However, he cautioned that conditions in these markets can shift quickly depending on changes in mining activity, given the relatively small size and cyclical nature of many of these regional towns.

“Small towns are quite variable in terms of demand based on what’s going on in the mining sector.”

Mr Moore also pointed to the impact of pandemic-era migration on regional rental markets.

“We saw quite strong migration or internal migration from capital cities to regional areas during the pandemic,” he said. “It doesn’t take a lot of extra demand for that to soak up the available rental stock.”

While conditions have eased from pandemic peaks, he said regional markets remain tight, with continued pressure on rents.

Key take outs:

• Across the capital cities, Darwin recorded the highest rental yields in April, with Berrimah (7.6%) the top suburb for houses, and Karama and Malak (7.7%) equally leading for units over the year.  
• In Sydney, houses in Cranagan Bay (4.9%) led for highest rental yields, while Ultimo and Auburn (6.3%) were on top for units. 
• For Melbourne, houses in Warburton, Hastings, Clyde, Wollert and Coolaroo all recorded the equal highest rental yield of 4.3%.
• Units typically recorded higher rental yields than houses across the capitals, likely due to their lower purchase price.
• Nationally, regional WA saw the highest rental yields, with houses in Coolgardie leading over the last 12 months to April 2026, with a rental yield of 11.5%, followed by Kambalda East at 11.0%. 
• For units, Newman in regional WA was top of the rank nationally, with a rental yield of 13%, followed by Pegs Creek at 12.9%.

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The federal budget’s changes to negative gearing have triggered a noticeable uptick in demand for new properties, but established homes in quality locations remain a solid long-term option.

Developer and Managing Director of Aus Property Professionals, Lloyd Edge said the budget changes, which preserve full negative gearing benefits for new builds while limiting them for established properties, have shifted conversations with investors over the past few weeks.

“There’s not so much talk about construction prices now because there’s more of a talk about if you buy new, you get the full negative gearing benefits,” Mr Edge said.

“I’ve seen a lot of demand for people who wanted to change their strategy to buy new properties that fit that category.”

The definition of “new” is also broader than many realise, Mr Edge said. 

Properties that have been lived in for less than twelve months by an owner-occupier still qualify as new builds for tax purposes, opening up options beyond off-the-plan purchases.

He said on the surface, it appears that developers are going to benefit from the budget announcement.

But cautioned against a knee-jerk change in strategy for average investors.

“I still maintain that older properties in good locations, over time, are still going to be where the growth is,” he said.

“A lot of the new-build properties often are in new estates, so they’re going to be on the edge of town, the outer suburbs. 

“While there’s going to be a spike in demand for them, they’re still not in areas that have the best infrastructure.”

The changes also create opportunities for less scrupulous operators, Edge warned. Property spruikers pushing house-and-land packages with hidden building commissions are likely to ramp up activity.

Mr Edge also flagged a looming bottleneck in the development pipeline. 

While demand for construction is set to rise, planning approval processes – particularly in Victoria – remain unchanged.

“The councils haven’t made the red tape easier to get the approvals through,” he said.

“So it’s going to be more DA’s, but they’re going to take longer to get approved.”

For investors weighing their options, Mr Edge’s advice is to focus on fundamentals rather than chasing tax breaks.

“You certainly shouldn’t need to be relying on negative gearing to get a good asset,” he said.

“If you are relying on the tax breaks, then maybe you’re not buying the right asset for yourself anyway.”

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Queensland has emerged as one of the best markets for residential sales agents in Australia.

It was the only state to beat the national average across three key indicators in the six months to February 2026: Average commission per sale; offers per listing; and days on market.

At the other end of the scale, Victoria was the only state to fall below the national average across all three measures.

The findings, published in Reapit’s Real Estate Intelligence Report 2026, draw on anonymised operational data from the company’s sales management platform. Used by more than 52,000 real estate agents across Australia and New Zealand, Reapit’s platform reveals trends based on real property transactions and listing activity between September 2025 and February 2026.

Commission rates

Compared to the national average of 1.95 per cent over the reporting period, the Northern Territory recorded the highest average commission as a percentage of sale price, at 2.39 per cent.

• NT: 2.39%
• QLD: 2.33%
• TAS: 2.08%
• WA: 2.00%
• VIC: 1.75% 
• NSW: 1.71%
• ACT: 1.69%
• SA: 1.64 %

“There is limited competition between agents in the Northern Territory, which is why we typically see the country’s highest commission rates there,” Reapit General Manager ANZ Simon Berglund said. 

Queensland’s 2.33 per cent commission rate also places it well above the national average.

“In more competitive listing environments such as Victoria and New South Wales, there is usually downward pressure on commissions as agents compete for stock,” he added.

Offers per listing

Nationally, properties attracted an average of 1.53 offers per listing, with stronger buyer competition in South Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales.

• SA: 2.18 offers
• QLD: 1.98 offers
• NSW: 1.58 offers
• ACT: 1.425 offers
• WA: 1.38 offers
• TAS: 1.33 offers
• VIC: 1.23 offers
• NT: 1.21 offers

“Queensland again outperformed the national benchmark at 1.98 offers per listing, indicating consistently strong buyer depth,” Mr Berglund said.

Days on market (property sales)

Nationally, properties took an average of 58.33 days to sell over the period. Several states beat this benchmark, led by Western Australia at 38.17 days.

• WA: 38.17 days
• SA: 43.00 days
• ACT: 46.67 days
• QLD: 52.5 days
• NSW: 58.33 days
• VIC: 68.83 days
• TAS: 75.17 days
• NT: 84.66 days

Mr Berglund noted that in Western Australia, where the nation’s shortest selling timeframes point to a fast‑moving market, agents need strong marketing and positioning to stand out and win listings from sellers across the state.

“Queensland is showing a similar trend, with strong buyer demand and faster selling timeframes driven by the continued influx of affluent boomer retirees. This creates clear opportunities for agents looking to take advantage,” he said.

Real data, real advantage

“Agents don’t need more opinion – they need real data they can act on,” Mr Berglund said.

“Armed with live transaction data, agencies can pinpoint where conditions are strongest and make more targeted investment decisions.”

For more data insights, download the Real Estate Intelligence Report 2026.

About Reapit
Reapit is the original, end-to-end business technology provider for real estate agencies of all sizes. For more than 25 years, Reapit has helped sales and lettings agents build relationships and grow their businesses. Its technology connects property professionals in Europe, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand with buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords to power the relationships that change lives. Worldwide, Reapit technology is used by more than 92,000 agents in more than 18,000 branches, with more than 1.3 million properties under management, enabling customers to run their businesses, identify opportunities for growth, efficiently sell homes, manage rental properties, collect rent, communicate with clients and deliver an outstanding customer experience.

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Expected to attract hundreds of agents, business owners, marketers and industry leaders, the event will focus on growth, leadership, performance and the future of the real estate industry.

Australia and New Zealand’s leading agents, auctioneers and industry professionals will gather in Brisbane this July for one of the most anticipated real estate events of 2026.

Apollo Auctions Australasia has officially announced the return of LAUNCH’26, its flagship conference designed to bring together the industry’s most driven professionals for a full day of high-performance learning, networking, strategy and business growth.

Apollo Auctions General Manager and 2026 Australasian Auctioneering Champion Greg Brydon said the event was created to challenge conventional thinking and give attendees practical, real-world insights they can immediately apply to their businesses.

“There’s no shortage of information in this industry. What’s rare is being in a room with people who are actually doing it at the highest level,” Mr Brydon said.

“LAUNCH’26 is about bringing together elite performers, honest conversations, proven ideas and the type of energy that changes the trajectory of businesses and careers.”

The conference will feature a lineup of keynote speakers, industry operators and business leaders covering topics including leadership, growth, performance, brand positioning, consumer behaviour, auction strategy, team culture, leverage and market adaptation.

The event will also include:

• A large-scale industry trade expo
• Networking opportunities with leading agencies and suppliers
• Premium hospitality experiences
• Interactive sessions and live discussions
• VIP experiences and private networking opportunities

Apollo Auctions Director Justin Nickerson said LAUNCH’26 reflects the changing demands of the real estate industry and the need for professionals to continually improve and adapt.

“The market has changed. Consumers have changed. Expectations have changed,” Mr Nickerson said.

“The businesses that thrive over the next five years will be the ones prepared to evolve, communicate better, lead stronger and execute at a higher standard. That’s exactly what LAUNCH’26 is designed to help people do.”

Following the success of previous Apollo events, LAUNCH’26 is expected to become one of the leading professional development and networking events on the Australasian real estate calendar.

The conference theme centres on momentum, leverage and future-focused growth, with Apollo positioning the event as a place “where ideas ignite, relationships form, and the future of the industry takes shape”.

Australian television personality Shelley Craft will host the event, with further speaker announcements to be released in the coming weeks.

Tickets are now available, including General Admission and VIP experiences.

More information is available via Apollo Auctions.

The post LAUNCH’26 Returns to Brisbane Focusing on Growth, Leadership and Performance appeared first on Elite Agent.

In a profession long defined by early starts, late finishes and relentless prospecting, the definition of “growth” in real estate is shifting in a way that feels both subtle and seismic.

For decades, success was measured by output: more calls made, more doors knocked, more conversations had in driveways and kitchens at the end of long days.

But according to Simon Withers, WA Business Growth Manager at REMAX Australia, that formula is starting to lose its dominance, not because effort matters less, but because effort is being redirected.

“Growth is no longer just about working harder,” Simon says. “In the old days it was about number of contacts, calling people, knocking on doors, sending letters out, getting your face out there.

“There’s still somewhat about that, but today it’s changed. It’s all about AI technology, processes, and automating your systems so you’re spending less time prospecting and more time in front of your clients.”

What he’s describing is not the disappearance of traditional real estate behaviours, but a rebalancing of where time actually gets spent.

Prospecting still exists, door knocking still happens, and conversations still matter, but increasingly they are being supported, and in some cases replaced, by systems designed to do the repetitive work in the background.

The real shift is not simply technological, but behavioural and Simon says growth now depends on an agent’s willingness to reimagine how their business actually operates, particularly in the early stages of their career.

“For new entrants to the business, we introduce more of this technology at the start,” he explains. “Setting up these processes early makes your life easier down the track. Established agents, obviously, are more used to the old-fashioned ways.”

That tension between old habits and new systems runs through almost every part of the industry at the moment.

On one hand, there is a growing toolkit of automation, AI-driven follow-up, and integrated CRM systems; on the other, there is a deeply embedded identity in real estate that still values hustle, visibility and physical presence above all else.

Nowhere is that tension more visible than in how agents are expected to market themselves.

Your digital presence, Simon argues, is no longer an extension of your business. It is the business.

“We had our national website redeveloped,” he says. “All of our business websites now feed directly into remax.com.au, which improves SEO for all of our businesses around the country. We’re seeing really great results from that, directly through the traffic in those offices’ websites.”

Alongside this centralised digital infrastructure sits a growing expectation that agents themselves are part of the marketing engine. Social media is no longer treated as a branding add-on or a place to post listings; it has become, in effect, the front door of the business.

“All of those platforms – Instagram, TikTok, Facebook – they’re all part of it,” he says.

“But it’s got to be entertaining. It’s got to be different. People are bored of seeing ‘I’ve sold this house’ or ‘we’ve listed this property’. They want to know who their agent is, what their personality is, more about the person they’re trusting with their greatest asset.”

In many ways, that shift has forced agents into a new kind of visibility; one that is less about polished corporate messaging and more about personality, consistency and familiarity.

“It’s a relationship business,” he says. “And it’s a lot harder to build that relationship electronically. But if you can do it through video, through TikTok, it’s a digital way of knocking on their door.”

Even for experienced agents, that change is not always comfortable and Simon is candid about his own reluctance.

“I hate taking video of myself,” he admits. “But it’s just a method to get in front of people nowadays. Especially with younger generations, people in their twenties, they don’t like answering the phone. They don’t really like face-to-face cold approaches. So the way into their living rooms is through social media.”

The implication is that growth is no longer just about increasing effort, but about increasing relevance. Being seen is no longer enough, he says, you have to be encountered in the right way, on the right platform, at the right time.

But while digital tools and automation dominate much of the conversation, Simon is careful not to overstate their importance at the expense of something more traditional, and arguably more fragile: relationships.

“At the end of the day, you still have to form relationships and get in front of people,” he says. “As you develop a relationship, that person becomes sticky to you. They refer business to you. Word-of-mouth is still the best form of marketing.”

That balance between systemisation and human connection is also shaping how agencies scale. One of the biggest mistakes, he believes, is not the lack of technology – but the overuse of it.

“Most common mistakes is just taking on every technology they can initially,” he says.

“Overwhelming themselves with systems, and also overwhelming themselves with subscription fees, which add up extremely quickly.”

Instead, he advocates for a more staged approach and building infrastructure gradually rather than trying to implement everything at once.

“It’s about what works best for you initially and scaling from there. When you start your business, some things will work best for you. Down the track, you can take on additional technologies to streamline the business.”

That philosophy extends into how REMAX Australia supports its network. As a franchise model, much of the decision-making around technology is filtered and curated rather than left entirely to individual business owners.

“One of the benefits of a franchise group is that we filter through all of those various technologies and AI solutions and recommend the best to our business owners,” Simon explains. “So they don’t have to do it themselves.”

But perhaps the most interesting shift Simon describes is not technological at all, it is cultural.

A high-performing agency, he says, is no longer defined purely by production numbers or individual achievement, but by retention, culture and internal alignment.

“It’s about maintaining a positive culture within your business,” he says. “Retention of high-performing staff is always difficult because when someone is successful, everyone wants them.”

The solution, in his view, is to rethink how leadership is framed internally.

“The business owner should see their salespeople and property managers as their clients, and focus on providing them with the best environment to run their business.”

It is a reframing that positions internal teams not as employees in a hierarchy, but as operators within a supported ecosystem. And for Simon, that shift is essential to long-term performance.

“You’re providing them the platform to run their individual business underneath your business,” he says. “And that’s what actually drives outcomes.”

And that, ultimately, circles back to the original point. Growth is no longer a solo pursuit driven purely by individual output. It is becoming something more distributed, across systems, across teams, and across networks.

The post Real estate growth is no longer about working harder, it’s about working differently appeared first on Elite Agent.

Jemima Goldsmith, the British writer, producer and former wife of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, has listed her longtime West London mansion for sale after owning the property for nearly three decades.

The five-bedroom property, called Britannia Studios, is on the market with a guide price of £6.5 million (A$11.6 million).

The Daily Mail described the move as a classic case of empty nest syndrome after her children moved out.

The 52-year-old screenwriter and producer bought the home in 1999 while pregnant with her second son and married to Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan, who later became Prime Minister of Pakistan before being jailed on corruption charges. The couple divorced in 2004.

Located on a private mews on the Chelsea-Fulham border, the property is described as more reminiscent of a New York loft than a conventional London family home.

A source close to Jemima told the Daily Mail that security and privacy had kept her in the property for so long.

“She’s considered moving before, but it’s been hard to find somewhere as secure and private. It’s a classic case of empty nest syndrome. It’s time now for a new start as she gets married.”

Jemima – the daughter of the late financier Sir James Goldsmith and his second wife, Lady Annabel – is engaged to billionaire financier Cameron O’Reilly, son of the late Irish media magnate Sir Anthony O’Reilly.

She reportedly plans to divide her time between Cameron’s home in Switzerland and her £15 million (A$26.7 million) manor house in the Cotswolds.

Britannia Studios is listed with Sotheby’s International Realty UK. The full listing can be viewed at sothebysrealty.co.uk.

The post Jemima Goldsmith lists iconic London mansion as she prepares for a new chapter appeared first on Elite Agent.

New realestate.com.au data has revealed a striking feature of Australia’s housing market: even within the country’s most exclusive suburbs, there are still significant “hidden” price gaps that can amount to millions of dollars depending on exactly where a property sits.

The analysis, which uses PropTrack’s automated valuation model (AVM), compares median home values across SA1 regions within each suburb over the 12 months to April 2026.

The results show that premium suburbs often thought of as uniformly expensive actually contain sharply different price tiers within their boundaries.

Nowhere is that more evident than Vaucluse in Sydney’s east, which recorded the largest house value gap in the country. The difference between its most expensive and cheapest pockets reached a staggering $11,678,000.

Toorak in Melbourne followed closely, with a variance of $11,063,000 between its highest and lowest-value areas, reinforcing how even Australia’s most elite postcodes can contain dramatically different market segments.

Across the national rankings, New South Wales dominates almost entirely. It accounts for the vast majority of suburbs with the biggest internal price differences and fills nine of the top 10 positions for houses, as well as all top 10 positions for units.

Only Toorak breaks that NSW dominance in the house category, ranking third overall.

For houses, the gaps across the top 10 suburbs range from $8,370,000 in North Bondi to the $11,678,000 peak in Vaucluse. For apartments, the differences remain substantial even at the lower end of the scale, starting at $2,827,000 in Millers Point and stretching to $5,963,000 in Hunters Hill.

These variations, according to REA Group Senior Economic Analyst Megan Lieu, reflect the way micro-location drives value even within tightly defined prestige suburbs.

Ms Lieu said the largest gaps are consistently found in blue-chip areas where lifestyle features and location premiums heavily influence pricing.

“The largest differences between pockets within suburbs are mainly seen in blue-chip, premium suburbs,” Ms Lieu said, pointing to the role of waterfront positions, quieter streets, and proximity to amenities in shaping value.

She explained that even within the same suburb, properties positioned closer to lifestyle drawcards such as beaches or harbour views can command significantly higher prices than those just a few streets away.

“If you’re looking at properties right beside the water, then they’re all obviously going to cost a lot more than one’s that are five streets away,” Ms Lieu said.

She also highlighted that supply constraints play a key role in sustaining these divides, particularly in heritage or tightly held suburbs where redevelopment is limited.

“There are limitations, especially in heritage suburbs or blue-chip suburbs in terms of rebuilding and knocking down and rebuilding,” she said.

“That does limit the amount of supply within these markets, so they’re always tighter than new development suburbs.”

The data ultimately points to a housing market that is far less uniform than suburb-level price tags suggest.

The post Hidden millions: Australia’s premium suburbs reveal massive internal price gaps appeared first on Elite Agent.

Mortgage stress is no longer confined to Australia’s traditional outer-suburban “mortgage belt”, with new data showing financial pressure is now spreading into some of Sydney’s most affluent postcodes as sweeping federal tax changes and weakening auction conditions ripple through the housing market.

According to the latest report from Digital Finance Analytics (DFA), mortgage stress is rising across both middle-income and high-income suburbs, marking a structural shift in where financial pressure is emerging.

Research adviser Mansour Soltani said stress levels are now “notably higher than this time last year”, driven by a combination of higher mortgage repayments, cost-of-living pressures, shrinking savings buffers and policy uncertainty.

He said the federal budget’s changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts have fundamentally altered the investment equation.

“For many years, investors were prepared to carry short-term losses because the expectation was that long-term capital growth, combined with tax incentives, would outweigh the holding costs,” Mr Soltani told The Australian.

With those incentives now reduced, investors may be less willing to absorb ongoing cashflow losses, potentially increasing selling pressure in leveraged markets.

The DFA analysis shows mortgage stress is no longer concentrated in lower-income areas, but is now entrenched across “dual-income middle-ring suburbs” that expanded debt loads during the low-rate era. Recent commentary also points to Sydney recording the highest concentration of rising stress across capital cities, with multiple postcodes showing worsening conditions in early 2026.

Sydney’s affluent Lower North Shore postcode 2066, covering suburbs including Lane Cove, Northwood, Riverview, Longueville and Linley Point, has emerged as Australia’s biggest severe mortgage stress hotspot in the first quarter. The number of severely stressed households in the area surged from 749 to 2,306, highlighting how financial pressure is now extending well beyond traditionally vulnerable outer suburban markets and into high-income, established areas.

At a national level, the Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) report shows mortgage stress is increasingly entrenched across “middle Australia” rather than being concentrated in lower-income postcodes. Brisbane and southeast Queensland recorded the fastest growth in default risk, with eight of the top-10 ranked postcodes increasing over the quarter, including a 73.3% spike in postcode 4207 across the Gold Coast–Logan corridor.

Melbourne’s outer growth suburbs also weakened, with 3030 (Point Cook, Werribee, Wyndham) rising 51.4%, and 3199 (Frankston, Karingal) increasing 28%, underscoring widespread deterioration across growth corridors.

The strain is now intersecting with a softer housing market.

Across the combined capital cities, Cotality economist Annabelle Mezieres reported that the preliminary auction clearance rate edged up slightly to 58.2%, but remains below the key 60% benchmark for six of the past eight weeks following the budget changes.

The prior week recorded a low of 57.5%, highlighting ongoing volatility in buyer demand.

Sydney’s market has been particularly affected. While clearance rates lifted to 56.9% from a recent low of 49.2%, activity remains fragile. Melbourne recorded a steadier 60.2%, but volumes and sentiment remain uneven across cities. Brisbane, meanwhile, recorded a weak 45.7% clearance rate, its softest result since 2023, underscoring widening divergence across capital cities.

Nationally, auction volumes rose to 2,339 listings, up 19% week-on-week, but still down 4.9% compared to the same period last year, suggesting sellers are returning to market cautiously even as demand remains patchy.

In Sydney, 823 homes went to auction last week, a sharp increase on the prior week’s 619 listings, while Melbourne hosted 1,043 auctions, up 13.6% week-on-week.

Despite higher volumes, both cities are showing signs of absorption stress, with clearance rates failing to consistently hold above 60%.

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In real estate, referrals aren’t just a nice-to-have, they’re the single most cost-effective source of new business available to you. A referred client converts at roughly three times the rate of a cold lead, takes half the time to trust you, and is statistically more likely to refer someone else in turn.

The problem? Most agents build their referral business the old-fashioned way: memory, goodwill, and a Christmas card. It’s fragile. It stalls the moment you get busy. And it leaves enormous value sitting dormant in your database.

The agents scaling to 40, 60, even 100+ transactions per year aren’t working harder they’ve built a system. And the @realty Cloud CRM gives every agent on the network the exact tools to do the same.

“The best referral system is one that operates whether you’re at a listing presentation, on holiday, or asleep. Build the system once – let it run forever.”

Why Most Referral Strategies Fail

Ask any agent how they get referrals and the answer is almost always the same: “I just do a good job and they come to me.” That’s not a strategy – that’s hope. And hope doesn’t scale.

The gap between agents doing 20 transactions and those doing 60 isn’t talent or market conditions. It’s whether they’ve systematised their client relationships after settlement. Most agents vanish from a client’s life within 60 days of handing over the keys. By month six, you’ve been forgotten. By year two, someone else has listed their next property.

A referral network on autopilot solves this with three things: consistent touchpoints, relevant communication, and zero manual effort after the initial setup.

The @realty CRM Features That Power Your Network

The @realty Cloud was built specifically for the way independent agents work. Every feature below maps directly to a stage in your referral system – and once configured, it runs without you.

Action Plans & Automations — Set up post-settlement nurture sequences that send personalised messages, schedule tasks, and trigger follow-ups at exactly the right time, automatically.

Bulk SMS & Email — Send market updates, anniversary messages, and value-add content to your entire database in minutes. Personalisation tokens make every message feel 1:1.

Smart Call Lists — Instantly generate prospect lists based on sales and listings near your clients’ properties, giving you a reason to call that’s always relevant and timely.

Digital Price Updates — Send personalised property value reports to homeowners in your database, integrated with PriceFinder & PropertyGuru. You get notified when they open it.

Client Groups & Tagging — Segment your database into referral partners, past clients, investors, and more. Target communications with surgical precision.

Notifications & Activity Feed — Never miss a moment when a client opens your email or views your price update. Know exactly when to follow up and why.

Building Your System: A Step-by-Step Blueprint

Step 1: Segment your database on day one

The foundation of any referral system is a clean, segmented database. In the @realty CRM, use Client Groups and tags to categorise every contact: past buyer, past seller, landlord, investor, tradesperson, referral partner. Each group receives different communication — relevance is what keeps people engaged.

CRM tip: Use the “Multiple Contacts” and “Client Groups” features to tag every settled client immediately. Build a group called “Referral Network” from day one.

Step 2: Create a post-settlement action plan

This is your core automation. After every settlement, enrol the client in a 12-month action plan that automatically sends a settlement thank-you, a 3-month check-in, a 6-month market update, an 11-month anniversary message, and a 12-month property value report. Each touchpoint is personalised, on-brand, and sent without you lifting a finger.

CRM tip: Set up your Action Plan once in the @realty Cloud. Every future client enrols at settlement your system compounds with every transaction.

Step 3: Automate your price update strategy

Nothing keeps you front-of-mind with past clients like a personalised property price update. Use the @realty CRM’s Digital Price Updates (integrated with PriceFinder and PropertyGuru) to send quarterly value reports to everyone in your database. When they open it, you’re notified giving you the perfect reason to follow up.

CRM tip: Use the notification feature to set a task reminder the moment a client opens their price update. That call is no longer cold, it’s warm and expected.

Step 4: Build your referral partner layer

The most powerful referral networks extend beyond past clients. Create a dedicated group in your CRM for referral partners mortgage brokers, conveyancers, financial planners, property managers. Send them a monthly market snapshot built once and sent with bulk email. Position yourself as their trusted real estate resource. When a client asks “do you know a good agent?”, your name is front of mind.

CRM tip: Use Bulk SMS for immediate market news (auction results, rate changes). Use Bulk Email for longer-form market updates. Separate tools for separate purposes both automated.

Step 5: Use smart call lists to reactivate dormant contacts

Every time a property sells or lists near one of your past clients, the @realty Cloud can generate a smart call list. This gives you a genuine, relevant reason to reach out: “I noticed a property just sold two streets from yours it achieved X. Thought you’d want to know what that means for your property’s value.” That’s not a cold call. That’s a service call.

CRM tip: Filter your Smart Call List by Activity History to ensure you’re not reaching out to clients you’ve recently contacted. The CRM tracks all previous touchpoints automatically.

Step 6: Ask  at the right moment, automatically

The single most effective thing you can do to increase referrals is simply ask. But timing is everything. Build a referral ask into your 90-day post-settlement action plan, when the client experience is fresh and satisfaction is at its peak. Your automated message does the asking you just handle the incoming introductions.

CRM tip: Create a templated SMS and email that goes out at Day 90. Keep it brief: thank them, mention you grow through referrals, and ask if they know anyone who might benefit from your help.

What Your Autopilot Referral System Looks Like in Practice

Let’s make this concrete. Imagine you settle 3 transactions per month a modest number for a working agent. Over 12 months, that’s 36 clients enrolled in your post-settlement action plan.

Each of those 36 clients receives a minimum of 5 automated touchpoints over the following year. That’s 180 branded, personalised communications sent without you doing anything beyond the initial setup. You’re staying front of mind for 36 past clients, consistently and professionally, while you’re out winning new business.

At a conservative 10% referral rate, that’s 3–4 warm referral leads per year from existing clients alone. Add your referral partner layer, and that number doubles. Add your smart call list reactivations, and it doubles again.

“Your database is your business. The agents who treat it that way and have a system to nurture it will always outperform those who don’t.”

Your Weekly Referral System Checklist

Once your system is live, your weekly referral maintenance takes less than 30 minutes:

• Check your CRM notification feed for any clients who opened a price update or email campaign in the past 7 days and call the top 3.
• Review your Smart Call List for any recent sales or listings near your top past clients. Add personalised notes before calling.
• Check which action plan touchpoints fired this week confirm the right clients were enrolled and messages delivered successfully.
• Add any new referral partners from the week to your CRM and enrol them in your partner nurture sequence.
• Review any new leads that came in this week and tag their source. Over time, this data tells you exactly where your best referrals come from.

The Mindset Shift That Makes This Work

The biggest barrier to building an autopilot referral network isn’t technical it’s mental. It requires shifting from “I’ll follow up when I have time” to “the system follows up, and I show up when it matters.”

The @realty Cloud CRM was built for exactly this. It’s not a database where contacts go to be forgotten it’s a lead generation engine that compounds with every client you add. The automation handles the consistency. Your personal touch handles the conversion.

Agents on the @realty network report a 53% increase in productivity once they’ve set up their core automations. That’s not because they’re working more hours. It’s because they’ve stopped losing time to tasks the CRM can do for them and redirected that time to high-value human interactions.

Set the system up once. Let it run. Show up when it matters. That’s the autopilot referral network.

The post Building a referral network that works on autopilot appeared first on Elite Agent.

Helen Yan has celebrated 10 years with Ray White by opening a new office in Balwyn and signing a renewed franchise agreement with the group.

The event brought together clients, family, colleagues and local community members to mark the milestone for one of Victoria’s most recognised agents.

Helen has worked in the Balwyn area since 2010 and has held the number one principal position in Victoria for eight consecutive years – believed to be the longest-running streak in the Ray White Victoria and Tasmania network.

In 2023, she received the Ray White CEO’s Cup.

“Celebrating 10 years with Ray White while opening our beautiful new Balwyn office makes this an incredibly special moment for me and my family,” Helen said.

“Balwyn has been my home market for more than 15 years and staying connected to the local community has always been the most important part of what we do.”

Helen acknowledged her son Jason’s role in delivering the new premises.

“Jason has worked tirelessly helping organise the team, oversee the move and bring the vision for the new office to life. 

“I’m incredibly proud to be building this business together.”

Domenic Belfiore, CEO of Ray White Victoria and Tasmania, said Helen’s consistency had set a benchmark across the network.

“To remain the number one principal in Victoria for eight consecutive years is an extraordinary achievement and a reflection of the trust she has built within her community over a very long period of time,” Domenic said.

Ray White Group Managing Director Dan White, who attended the celebration, said Yan’s impact extended beyond sales results.

“There are so many customers here today that have told me stories about the incredible care and attention that Helen has given them over so many years to deliver extraordinary results. That is the ultimate compliment,” Dan said.

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Mark Blit has joined Ray White The Bayside Group, adding 17 years of experience across Melbourne’s Bayside suburbs to the agency’s roster.

He said the move came down to alignment in people, values and culture.

“I pride myself on giving clients honest advice, maintaining clear communication, and being firm in negotiations to achieve the best possible outcome,” Mark said.

“I want people to remember me as someone who was genuine, knowledgeable, and always in their corner.”

On current market conditions, Mark noted that Bayside buyers are highly focused on quality and value.

“It’s creating a market where strategy, pricing, and presentation are more important than ever.”

Kevin Chokshi, director and chief auctioneer at Ray White The Bayside Group, said Mark’s track record made him a strong addition to the team.

“In a market where reputation is everything, Mark has built a career defined by performance, trust, and consistency,” Kevin said.

The post Veteran Bayside agent Mark Blit joins Ray White appeared first on Elite Agent.

Greg Brydon has won the 2026 Australasian Auctioneering Championship, claiming the industry’s top auctioneering title at the competition held in Melbourne.

The Apollo Auctions Australasia general manager competed against auctioneers from across Australia and New Zealand over two days, emerging victorious on home turf in Victoria.

Brydon said he’d been working toward the win since first competing at AUSTROS level in 2023.

“Ever since competing at this level for the first time in 2023, I had the trophy as a screensaver on my phone,” he said.

“I wanted to show my daughters and my family that you can achieve anything if you work hard enough.”

The championship is hosted by the Real Estate Institute of Australia alongside the Real Estate Institute of Victoria and the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand. 

It tests competitors across speed, clarity, legal compliance, negotiation skill, adaptability and performance under pressure.

Greg credited close friend and mentor Luke Banitsiotis, who won AUSTROS in Hobart in 2024, as a driving force behind his own push for the title.

“After watching Luke win the AUSTROS in Hobart in 2024, I made a promise to both him and Harry Li that I would do everything in my power to keep going until I won another cup for Victoria,” he said.

“Auctioneering is far more than calling bids. 

“It’s about communication, pressure management, negotiation, strategy, crowd control and creating confidence in moments that matter.”

Greg leads Apollo Auctions’ team of auctioneers across Australia and New Zealand, and is also involved in auction training, campaign strategy and performance coaching.

The REIV acknowledged Greg’s continued growth and commitment following the result.

“This win isn’t just mine,” Greg said.

“It belongs to the people who have backed me, challenged me, trained with me and supported me over the journey. 

“We’ve built an incredible culture at Apollo and this is a proud moment for our entire team.”

The post Greg Brydon wins 2026 Australasian Auctioneering Championship appeared first on Elite Agent.

Walk into most real estate offices, and you’ll find the same formula of bright lights, corporate branding, oversized “SOLD” walls, and agent headshots lining the corridors.

Thorburn Property Group’s new Burleigh Heads headquarters has none of that.

The boutique agency has unveiled a space designed more like a private members club than a traditional real estate office – complete with a dedicated vinyl listening lounge, high-end sound system, and extensive record collection.

Managing Director Andrew Thorburn said the design was a deliberate rejection of industry norms.

“We wanted to completely remove ourselves from the traditional corporate real estate environment,” Andrew said.

“The industry has looked and felt the same for years. We wanted to create something with personality, atmosphere and emotion.”

The space features raw corrugated iron cladding, hand-crafted furniture, gallery-spec artwork, rich natural timber, and ambient lighting throughout. 

The agency says every detail – from acoustics to scent to material selection – was considered as part of the client experience.

Notably absent is fluorescent lighting and corporate blue branding.

“Buying and selling property is emotional,” Andrew said.

“People remember how a space made them feel. We wanted clients to walk in and immediately understand that this business is different.”

The office also reflects Andrew’s personal heritage.

He’s the great-grandson of legendary Phar Lap trainer Harry Telford, and curated memorabilia from the champion racehorse features throughout the space alongside generational representative caps.

“The Phar Lap pieces are incredibly personal to me and represent an important part of my family history,” Andrew said.

“They help tell a story about heritage, character and perseverance.”

For Andrew, the headquarters represents a broader shift in what clients expect from real estate businesses.

“The old corporate agency model no longer connects with people the same way,” he said.

“Clients want something more personal, more considered and more genuine – that’s exactly what we want our space to reflect.”

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Two Mandurah real estate agents have taken over leadership of Professionals Mandurah, marking a new chapter for the brand in Western Australia’s Peel region.

Vicki Bredendeck and Sharon Anderson, who previously worked together at the office under former principal Laurie Hird, have reunited as co-principals after pursuing separate careers in the local market following his retirement.

The pair said they initially considered launching independently before opting to return to the Professionals network.

“At first, we looked at starting the business independently, but the support, marketing power and reputation of the Professionals brand made it the right fit for us,” Vicki said.

“You’re not just another number within the group. Every member contributes to making the brand stronger, and there’s genuine collaboration and support between offices.”

Mandurah has recorded some of Western Australia’s highest capital appreciation rates, according to PropTrack data, with investor activity and rental demand driving market strength.

Vicki said the conditions present opportunities but warned against short-term thinking.

“Properties are achieving strong results, but for us, it’s never about making a quick sale. It’s about offering a high level of service, doing the best thing for the client and building long-term trust,” she said.

“Sharon and I are building the business with longevity, rather than chasing short-term market conditions. There are always new agencies popping up when the market is strong, but we’ve both worked through the tougher cycles.”

Sharon said the rental market and investor activity are creating momentum for the new office.

“The rental market is incredibly strong, and there’s still a very active investor market in Mandurah, which is creating a lot of opportunity for growth,” she said.

“We’re already seeing strong word-of-mouth referrals from previous clients, and we’re building relationships with other Professionals offices as well.”

Professionals CEO Sean Hanneberry said Western Australia remains one of the brand’s strongest markets.

“Professionals has a deep history and strong community presence across Western Australia, and Mandurah has been an important part of our history and presence in the state,” Sean said.

“Their combined expertise across sales and property management, along with their strong community connections, positions them for long-term success.”

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The Federal Budget’s push to shift investor demand from established housing to new builds may have unintended consequences – not for prices, but for the number of homes changing hands.

That’s the warning from Ray White Group Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee, who argues that transaction volumes matter more to the broader economy than most people realise.

“A home sale is not just a transfer of ownership; it is the start of a chain of economic activity,” Ms Conisbee said.

Every property transaction triggers borrowing, renovations, moving costs, retail spending and professional services. 

When fewer homes sell, that activity contracts – regardless of what’s happening to prices.

Ms Conisbee points to historical patterns showing transaction volumes are far more volatile than prices. 

Over the past 25 years, Australian residential sales have swung between fewer than 380,000 and more than 580,000 annually.

The sharpest falls have come when the ability or willingness to move has been disrupted – through tighter credit, higher interest rates, weaker confidence or policy change.

The Budget, Ms Conisbee argues, adds another disruption; buyers may pause while they assess how the changes will affect prices, rents and investor demand. 

Sellers may delay if they’re unsure how deep the future buyer pool will be.

Investors have even clearer reasons to hold. 

Existing investors may avoid selling to preserve grandfathered treatment, while new-build investors may hold longer if resale narrows their future buyer pool.

“When policy change creates uncertainty and rewards waiting, fewer homes come to market – even if prices hold up,” Ms Conisbee said.

The Budget also does little to encourage downsizing, leaving another source of established housing stock constrained.

For state governments, fewer transactions mean direct budget pain. 

Stamp duty is collected when properties change hands, not when values rise on paper.

In 2024–25, stamp duties on conveyances accounted for 20.9 per cent of total state and local government taxation revenue nationally. 

Queensland and New South Wales were most exposed at 22.5 per cent and 22.4 per cent respectively. Victoria sat at 20.4 per cent. 

The ACT, which has been shifting from stamp duty to land tax, is least exposed.

“A high-price market with fewer sales can still weaken the revenue outlook because there are fewer taxable events,” Ms Conisbee said.

This creates a difficult contradiction for state governments; they need housing affordability to improve, but their budgets benefit from high-value homes changing hands. 

They want more efficient use of existing stock, but stamp duty makes moving more expensive.

The post Budget housing measures could trigger economic ripple effects beyond prices appeared first on Elite Agent.

Jellis Craig hosted 350 clients, investors and developers at its bi-annual Property Event in Melbourne on Friday, with the group’s leadership sharing market insights and proprietary data on Victoria’s real estate outlook.

The event, themed “The Future of Real Estate in Victoria,” featured presentations from Nine News Finance Editor Chris Kohler, Cotality Head of Research Tim Lawless, and Jellis Craig CEO Andrew McCann.

Andrew participated in a fireside discussion on the “Property Pulse” – his observations from across the Jellis Craig network.

His key message centred on recent federal budget changes affecting negative gearing and capital gains on investment properties.

“There’s never been a better time to upgrade the primary place of residence,” Andrew said.

He pointed to Melbourne’s relative affordability compared with other states as a factor enabling buyers to secure appropriately sized homes.

Andrew said the event was designed to share the group’s insights with key stakeholders.

“One of our main points of difference is the proprietary data, sophisticated insights and reporting that we have access to, so it’s important for us to be able to share that knowledge with our clients and the people who drive so much success across our group,” he said.

“2025 was a record breaking year for us, and even though the Victorian market is facing headwinds we are still looking to build on that success by sharing our expertise with our clients and investors.”

Jellis Craig hosts the Property Event every two years, bringing together industry leaders and economists alongside its internal data and expertise.

The group was established in 1991 and operates across Metropolitan Melbourne, the Bellarine Peninsula, the Mornington Peninsula, and Central Victoria.

The post Jellis Craig urges homeowners to upgrade at its bi-annual Property Event appeared first on Elite Agent.

When Ralph Lauren moved house in 2022, he didn’t leave the building. The fashion mogul and his wife, Ricky, had lived at 1107 Fifth Avenue (Upper East Side of Manhattan) for four decades. Their solution to wanting a change? Move to a different apartment at the same address.

That’s a notable endorsement for any building – and now, according to Country & Town House, a 10-room apartment on the ninth floor is on the market for US$11.5 million (AUD $16 million).

The full-floor residence sits at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street in Carnegie Hill, with views across Central Park, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir and the George Washington Bridge.

The corner primary suite stretches 27 feet along Fifth Avenue, offering western park views and northern sightlines toward the Jewish Museum.

The apartment includes four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a library, a 24-foot gallery entrance, an oversized living room, a formal dining room and a home gym.

All elevators in the building are private – residents won’t cross paths in the lift – and there’s a communal rooftop garden.

The building itself has an unusual provenance. Built in 1924, it stands on the former site of cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post Hutton’s mansion.

When developers convinced Marjorie to sell, they recreated her home on the building’s top three floors, fitting her original interiors into the new penthouse.

Ralph Lauren has written about his attachment to the address in his memoir Ralph Lauren: A Way of Living, describing his desire for the apartment to feel like “a downtown loft, but uptown on Fifth Avenue” – open, light-filled and oriented around Central Park views.

He called it their “real first home,” a place with room for their three children and space for the couple to discover who they were.

The original apartment was designed by the late, great interior designer Angelo Donghia. After three decades, Ralph and Ricky completed a full renovation in 2012, with Ralph writing that the changes made the space feel larger, more modern, and better suited to how their lives had evolved.

Neither Ralph’s former apartment nor his current residence is for sale. The property is listed through John D Wood International and available to view via Coldwell Banker Luxury.

The post Inside the Manhattan building Ralph Lauren loves so much he moved… without leaving appeared first on Elite Agent.

Alison Wood Brooks has studied hundreds of thousands of conversations. Her conclusion for the AREC audience, delivered via Zoom from Boston: agents who treat conversation as a learnable skill will outperform those who rely on charisma or market conditions.

“You’re not really in the property business,” Brooks said.

“You’re in the human relationship business, and that unfolds one conversation at a time.”

The Harvard Business School professor – whose book TALK examines the science of conversation – told the room that when markets tighten, conversational skill matters more, not less.

Building trust, following up, being emotionally steady, expressing integrity and genuinely caring about people become competitive advantages.

“The number one mistake people make in conversation is focusing too much on yourself,” she said.

The rest of her session was a practical framework for pushing attention outward.

The TALK framework

Brooks gave the audience a four-part acronym: Topics, Asking, Levity, Kindness.

Topics are the building blocks of every conversation.

Brooks urged agents to prep topics before meetings – even ten seconds of forethought makes conversations measurably better.

She also shared a finding from her research: when people feel a conversation covered the wrong number of topics, they are three times more likely to say they didn’t cover enough than too many.

Conversations fail more often from stagnation than from moving too quickly.

Asking means asking more questions, especially follow-up questions.

Brooks cited research showing that asking just one additional question on a first date converts one in twenty into a second date.

The same principle applies in listing presentations, negotiations and client meetings. Follow-up questions show you’ve listened and want to know more.

“When in doubt, ask the next question,” she said.

“It’s where the richest information lives.”

Levity is the antidote to the quieter killer of conversation – not hostility, but boredom and disengagement.

Brooks drew a distinction between trying to be funny and trying to make it fun. Her research found the people rated funniest in conversations aren’t the ones making the most jokes – they’re the ones spending the most time laughing.

“Stop trying to be funny,” she said.

“Try to make it fun.”

Kindness sits at the base of the framework.

Brooks said the most important skill within kindness is listening – not just active listening (smiling and nodding) but using your words to show someone you’ve heard them.

Follow-up questions, paraphrasing, and what she calls “callbacks” – referencing something someone said earlier in the relationship – are how trust compounds over time.

Validate before you redirect

Brooks gave a specific tactic for difficult vendor conversations.

When a property has dropped in value, and you need to deliver that news, start by naming the feeling.

“It makes sense that you feel nervous about buying this house. It makes sense that you feel angry that we didn’t get a higher price. It makes sense that you feel sad about selling your home,” she said.

“Whatever your clients are feeling, we have to say out loud that they’re allowed to feel that way.”

Validation is not agreement, she stressed.

You can validate a vendor’s frustration and still hold firm on price. But validating first changes how the rest of the conversation lands.

Brooks added that new agents who feel like imposters often perform confidence and certainty as a response. That reads as inexperience, not strength.

“Admitting uncertainty can be quite powerful and make you look a lot more seasoned,” she said.

“Very experienced people in any domain know that you have to admit what you know and what you don’t know.”

She closed with a message about what won’t be commoditised.

AI and information are becoming commoditised: Human trust and human connection will not.

“Conversation isn’t just a skill,” Brooks said.

“It is the skill.”

Your Tuesday morning to-do list

1. Before your next listing appointment, spend sixty seconds prepping three topics you want to raise – not a script, just three things worth covering. Notice how much less anxious you feel walking in.
2. In your next client call, try ending more of your speaking turns with a follow-up question. See how quickly you learn something you wouldn’t have otherwise.
3. The next time a vendor pushes back on price or timing, validate before you redirect. Say “It makes sense that you feel that way” before you say anything else. Watch what happens to the temperature in the room.
4. Think of one long-term client. Find something they told you months ago – a renovation they were planning, a school their kids started, a trip they mentioned. Call them and reference it. That’s a callback, and it’s how trust compounds.
5. In your next team meeting, try to make it fun rather than trying to be funny. Ask a surprising question, share something unexpected, laugh more. See if the energy shifts.

The post You’re Not in the Property Business appeared first on Elite Agent.

Shirlz Russell has sold a DA-approved development site at 56 Nelson Street, Mackay, for $320,000 after navigating two collapsed contracts to secure an unconditional cash buyer.

Six offers, three contracts, two setbacks

Shirlz Russell has sold a DA-approved development site at 56 Nelson Street, Mackay, for $320,000 after navigating two collapsed contracts to secure an unconditional cash buyer. The 797-square-metre vacant land parcel attracted six written offers within the first week of the campaign — then fell over twice before Shirlz delivered a result her vendors were thrilled with.

“I certainly didn’t expect that it would fall over twice with such strong interest,” Shirlz said.

“What we actually needed to do was just regroup and get on with it. We reconvened without losing any leverage — not once, but twice.”

DA approval and drone photography drove early competition

Shirlz positioned the flat, rectangular block around its existing development approval for three two-bedroom units. She invested in drone photography to showcase the CBD location and ran a premium realestate.com.au listing — unusual for vacant land, but critical to the campaign’s success.

“Having DA approval already in place makes the decision comfortable for buyers,” Shirlz said.

“We saw a lot of interest early on and that produced six written offers within the first week. We went under contract very quickly.”

The first contract fell over. The second followed soon after. Lesser campaigns would have stalled. Shirlz went back to the buyers who had already made offers, relaunched to market, and received even more interest in the second phase.

Vendor confidence through calm control

With three vendors on title, Shirlz kept everyone aligned by remaining calm under pressure and providing strategic updates at every turn.

“We methodically kept them updated every step of the way,” Shirlz said

The third contract came from a local buyer planning to build on the site themselves. They knew the area well and understood the value of the location. Crucially, they offered cash and unconditional terms — eliminating the finance risk that had derailed the previous two deals.

“The vendors were delighted,” Shirlz said.

“We couldn’t have been happier to receive a cash unconditional offer.”

The forward view for Mackay development sites

Shirlz’s advice for anyone listing a development site in Mackay is clear: be realistic with pricing, offer complete transparency in negotiations, and don’t skimp on marketing.

“Don’t skimp on the photos and don’t skimp on your marketing campaign,” she said.

“We went with a full realestate.com.au listing, which for a piece of vacant land some people might balk at — but that is ultimately why we had such strong inquiry on this particular block.”

The property sold via private treaty after 39 days on market. The campaign is a case study in deal recovery — proof that the right agent doesn’t panic when contracts collapse, but regroups and delivers.

About the Agent

Shirlz Russell is a dedicated real estate professional with Area Specialist Property Hub in Mackay, known for achieving results above market value and delivering exceptional client care. A well-connected local, she combines strategic marketing, skilled negotiation, and a hands-on approach to ensure every client feels supported, informed, and confident throughout their property journey. Visit Shirlz’s website for more information or call Shirlz on 0419786414.

The post Three contracts, two setbacks, one unconditional result in Mackay CBD appeared first on Elite Agent.

Kathie Lee Gifford has listed her Greenwich, Connecticut, waterfront estate for $100 million (AUD$140 million), according to TMZ, marking the end of a 30-year ownership that began when she and her late husband, Pro Football Hall of Famer Frank Gifford, purchased the property in 1994.

The 13,163-square-foot mansion sits on Cedar Cliff, at the tip of a peninsula along the Long Island Sound.

The property includes eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a pool, spa, fitness centre, tennis court, private beach, and boat dock.

A three-storey east wing houses the primary suite, home office, movie theatre, professional recording studio, and wine cellar – all with water views.

The couple paid $7.8 million (AUD$10.9 million) for the property, which has been described as resembling a European villa. Over the years, it hosted guests including Kevin Costner, Dolly Parton, Regis Philbin, and Donald Trump.

Frank died in 2015 and Kathie Lee left her longtime role on the Today show in 2019 and relocated to Nashville, though she held onto the Connecticut property until now.

If the estate sells at the asking price, it would rank among the most expensive home sales in Connecticut history. The state record was set in 2023 when a nearby estate sold for nearly $139 million (AUD$195 million).

Leslie McElwreath of Sotheby’s International Realty, Greenwich Brokerage, holds the listing.

The post Could Kathie Lee Gifford’s US$100m estate break Connecticut sales record? appeared first on Elite Agent.

Ben Crowe spent thirty years in elite sport before realising most people whose job is to play aren’t actually playing.

The mindset coach – whose work has included Ash Barty, the Boston Celtics and Dylan Alcott – told the AREC audience that the same problem exists in every high-performance environment, real estate included. He drew on examples from Andre Agassi, Boris Becker and other elite athletes throughout the session.

“The opposite of play isn’t work,” Crowe said. “The opposite of play is fear. You’re either in the play state or the fear state, because you can only be in one of those two states.”

Play, in his framework, doesn’t mean table tennis in the break room. It means finding time and space for curiosity, creativity and experimentation to flourish. He linked fear and pressure to a focus on things people can’t control – especially other people’s expectations, opinions and outcomes.

His challenge to the room: ask yourself right now which state you’re in. Then ask what play looks like for you here.

The flip that removes pressure

Crowe shared a reframe he’s used with clients from CEOs to NBA coaches. One client told him they’d been saying “I’ve got to take the kids to school, I’ve got to help a client, I’ve got to do something for my wife.”

“If you flip the O to an E in ‘gotta,’ it changes from ‘I’ve got to’ to ‘I get to,'” Crowe said. “I get to take the kids to school. I get to help a client. I get to do something for my soulmate.”

That single letter changes the frame from obligation to appreciation. Crowe said the Boston Celtics used the “got to / get to” reframe during the season they won the title.

He was blunt about a phrase often celebrated in sport and performance circles: “Pressure is a privilege” is not true, Crowe argued. A farmer waiting three years for rain who just lost his farm wouldn’t call that a privilege. What is a privilege is the possibility of what you can do in a given moment – the opportunity, not the weight.

Belief beats confidence in a street fight

Crowe distinguished between confidence and belief in a way that reframes how agents think about taking on work they haven’t done before.

“Belief kicks confidence’s butt in a street fight,” he said. “Because confidence is evidence-based. Confidence goes, ‘Have I been here before?’ Belief goes, ‘I haven’t been here before, but I believe in my potential and I’ll trust I’ll figure it out.'”

He outlined two core beliefs he considers especially powerful. The first: I’m worthy no matter what, just as I am – win or lose. The second: I believe in my potential and trust that if I stay true to my values, things will take care of themselves.

That second belief, he said, is what changes your relationship with uncertainty – the fear most organisations are struggling with right now.

Accept, then focus

Crowe gave the room a single formula he provides every team he works with: “I must accept the things I can’t control and focus my attention on the things I can. The best version of me.”

Without that acceptance, he said, you’ll focus on things you can’t control – and focusing on something you can’t control is the definition of pressure. He suggested building two lists: an acceptance list (typically starting with opinions of others and expectations of outcomes) and a focus list (typically only three things – intention, effort, and mindset).

He closed by linking it back to the room. If you can learn to accept your imperfections and believe you’re worthy no matter what, that’s self-confidence. If you can move from “I” to “we” and help others realise their potential, that’s leadership. And if you can accept what you can’t control and bring the best version of yourself to the work, that’s performance.

“It doesn’t guarantee you’ll win,” Crowe said. “But it does guarantee that you bring the best possible version of you to the dance floor.”

Your Tuesday morning to-do list

1. Before your first call tomorrow, ask yourself: am I in the play state or the fear state right now? If fear, name the thing you’re trying to control that you can’t. Let it go and refocus on effort and intention.
2. Write an acceptance list – the things in your business you cannot control (market conditions, vendor expectations, what other agents say about you). Put it somewhere visible. Then write the focus list beside it: what you can control today.
3. Catch yourself saying “I’ve got to” this week – got to do the follow-ups, got to call that lead, got to prepare the CMA. Flip it to “I get to.” Notice what changes.
4. Write down three beliefs you hold about yourself that might be holding you back. (“I’m not a luxury agent.” “I can’t cold call.” “I’m not senior enough to win that listing.”) Ask: is that confidence talking, or is that just a story I’ve told myself?
5. Pick one listing presentation or client meeting this week and approach it as play – lead with curiosity, ask “what if” questions, experiment with something you haven’t tried before. See what happens when you stop performing and start exploring.

The post The opposite of play isn’t work – it’s fear appeared first on Elite Agent.

Tim Smith thinks you’re being selfish. Not in the way you’d expect. The Orange County agent – number one team in California for Coldwell Banker, $7 billion in career sales across twenty-seven years – returned to the AREC stage thirteen years after his first appearance with a message that reframed the industry’s most avoided activity.

“If you are not out there prospecting, that’s selfish,” Smith told the AREC audience.

“Because whatever you are self-absorbed with that keeps you from doing the work that pays you – and not just pays you, but allows you to serve people – you are being selfish.”

One appointment. Every week.

Smith broke his entire business down to arithmetic. Forty-two working weeks. One listing appointment per week. Sixty-five percent conversion to listings taken (because thirty-five percent of sellers aren’t real). Eighty-five percent of listings sold. Factor in buyer-side transactions and referral flow from every listing, and the model produces a $6.6 million income.

“No matter the question, prospecting is the answer,” he said.

“If you sat with my team, if you sat with my wife – she would just tell you how shameless I am, because everywhere I go is an opportunity to open my mouth.”

The language that opens doors

The shift Smith advocates is subtle but deliberate. He doesn’t ask sellers if they plan to sell. He asks if they’ve had thoughts of selling.

“Don’t ask them if they plan to sell, because then you can start really getting inside their mind,” Smith explained.

“Everybody’s constantly having thoughts of selling.”

From there, it’s two follow-up questions: Do you know anyone thinking of selling? And do you know anyone who tried to sell and wasn’t successful? Both surface opportunities that traditional listing strategies might never uncover.

His daily formula: five new conversations with strangers, five follow-ups with pipeline contacts, and four conversations that steer toward listing opportunities. Fourteen conversations a day. No scripts.

“When you really care, and you really know your craft, prospecting doesn’t have to be salesy,” he said.

“Confidence is not the starting point – confidence is the result of reps.”

The films that opened $900 million in doors

Smith’s other obsession is brand-building that creates listing appointments without cold calls.

He showed two case studies that traced a direct line from creative risk to offers, listing opportunities and closed deals.

The first was a rap video spoofing “Teach Me How To Dougie” for a Newport Beach listing – rewritten as “Teach Me How To Duffy” after the electric boats locals cruise around the harbour.

It pulled 35.2 million views in its first month and, through geo-targeted distribution, surfaced both an international buyer and an out-of-state buyer who made offers on the property.

The second was a $43.5 million sale in Emerald Bay, Laguna Beach – where five agents told the sellers it could not be listed above $30 million, and Smith’s biggest competitor said to stay under $40 million.

Smith came back with what he calls a “confidence interval rate” – the price achievable with ninety percent certainty – and guaranteed over $42.5 million.

Through geofencing campaigns targeting private jet centres, his team found a buyer flying from London to Las Vegas who had been searching for a beachfront home in Emerald Bay for twenty years.

A second buyer surfaced the next day, flying from Connecticut to Montana. The property sold for $43.5 million in thirty-three days. The sellers later estimated his strategy saved them five to six million dollars over what another agent would have achieved.

After the sale, Smith had the sellers record a testimonial. He said one film, produced for $2,200, had generated $900 million in sales.

“2.0 is building a brand not just for your ego – building a brand to open doors,” Smith said.

The challenge

Smith closed with a direct challenge to the room: one listing appointment per week, fourteen conversations a day.

“Ninety percent of the people aren’t in the home of their dreams,” he said.

“And we’re dream makers. Let’s get them in the home of their dreams.”

His daily routine still includes prospecting calls – even after $7 billion in sales. When motivation fades, he comes back to the same thought: it’s not about making money. It’s about serving people. And choosing not to have those conversations means choosing not to help.

Your Tuesday morning to-do list

1. Block out your first hour tomorrow and make five calls to people you don’t know – neighbours of recent sales, open home attendees, expired listings. Ask one question: “Have you had any thoughts of selling?”
2. Write down your numbers: gross commission last twelve months, number of transactions, average commission per deal. Work backwards to how many listing appointments you need per week to hit your target.
3. Pick three people in your pipeline you haven’t spoken to in thirty days and call them before lunch. Not a text. A call.
4. Create a list of five homeowners you know tried to sell and didn’t succeed – through other agents, withdrawn listings, or passed-in auctions. Reach out this week with no pitch, just curiosity about what went wrong.
5. Record yourself doing a two-minute property walk-through on your phone – no crew, no budget, just energy and knowledge. Post it. Start building the brand asset library that compounds over time.

The post Not prospecting is the selfish choice appeared first on Elite Agent.

Alex Ouwens’s son was diagnosed with cancer during COVID. Nathan Casserly’s wife broke her pelvis on a ski trip in New Zealand. Both happened while they were scaling OC.

“Life doesn’t care about your business plan,” they told the AREC audience. “You can have the best business plan in the whole world until life punches you in the face.”

The OC co-founders framed their six lessons not as theory but as things they learned when circumstances forced them to.

Build trust before you need it

Fifteen years ago, OC brought in a specialist leadership consultant. He’s still with them. They agreed on productive and unproductive behaviours as a team, building what they call a self-leadership model – before they knew how much they’d need it.

“Your business moves at the speed of trust,” Alex said. “With scale, it’s impossible as a leader to be across everything.”

When life intervened – Alex’s son’s illness, Nathan’s wife’s accident – that trust infrastructure meant the business kept running without them holding every thread.

Ownership changes behaviour

Nathan shared a story from one of their offices. He arrived early after a windy night. Rubbish had blown against the front of the building. He sat in his car and watched as staff arrived. One by one, people walked past it. Some stepped over it.

Eventually, one person stopped and picked it all up. It was a shareholder.

“Something really does change when people actually feel responsibility for a place,” Nathan said. “That’s when culture scales beyond the founders.”

Build your pit crew before pressure hits

Alex said every elite performer has their own pit crew – coaches, mentors, advisers, people you trust when things get hard.

“Sometimes, when you are inside the jar, it’s hard to read the label on the outside,” he said.

OC has had an advisory board in place for more than ten years, meeting monthly with people from different backgrounds who challenge their thinking. But a pit crew isn’t just about business – it’s health, fitness, mindset, family, or simply one person who thinks clearly when you’re under pressure.

Champion teams over individual stars

Five years ago, OC identified half a dozen people aged 18 to 21 – no database, no profile, no real estate experience. Just attitude and work ethic. They put them through a cadetship program and developed them one skill at a time.

“Five years later, most of them are still with us,” Nathan said. “Three of them are in the room here today.”

Those three are now part of some of the highest-performing teams in the business and across Adelaide.

“Not everyone wants to be the number one agent in Australia. Some people want balance. Some want growth. Others want leadership. Our job is to allow people to be their own version of success.”

The customer needs to feel heard

Alex said OC had created too much friction with clients during disputes, particularly in property management. They adopted the Ritz-Carlton model of empowering managers to fix problems immediately, with budget authority in the moment.

“Sometimes, the customer just needs to feel heard, felt and seen,” Alex said. “Reputation is everything. None of us are perfect, but repeated poor experiences shape how the public sees you, your business, and sometimes the entire industry.”

Leading with vulnerability

Early in their careers, both co-founders believed leaders needed to have every answer and never show uncertainty.

“What got us through was actually our ability to put our hand up and say, ‘We need help. We don’t have all the answers,'” Nathan said. “It didn’t weaken our business – it strengthened it. People stood up. Leaders emerged. Trust deepened.”

On their fifteen-year partnership, Alex said they had stayed aligned on their north star, values and agreed behaviours. When they have differing views, they try to step back and ask what the most balanced, wise business mind would do – rather than trying to win the argument.

What OC is building toward 2030

The co-founders closed with what they called their accountability piece – what they want to have built by 2030.

For agencies, they see four priorities: an elite performance platform for agents, AI-enabled real-time dashboards and insights, culture built through shared leadership and empowered people, and disciplined growth decisions that protect profit.

For agents, the requirements shift too. They’ll need to become elite relationship managers – tech fluent, strong communicators, highly trusted, with clear personal brands and clear values.

“Agents are going to need to be disciplined enough to block out the noise,” Nathan said.

What OC will measure: NPS and customer comfort, profitability for shareholders to reinvest in the platform, market share to give back to communities, lead generation, secondary revenue through industry partners, and talent retention.

“The agency will build the platform,” Nathan said. “The people will bring it to life.”

Their closing invitation: build something that can still thrive when life happens – and build it with the people you want to be around each day.

Your Tuesday morning to-do list

1. Write down the three behaviours you expect from your team – and the three you won’t accept. If you’ve never made these explicit, do it this week. Trust gets built on agreed standards, not assumed ones.
2. Think about the last client complaint that escalated further than it should have. Could the person who first heard it have resolved it on the spot? If not, give your frontline team a budget and the authority to fix problems in the moment.
3. Identify one person in your business aged 18 to 25 who has the attitude but not the experience. Offer to mentor them for the next quarter – one skill at a time, no pressure to be a top performer by Friday.
4. Ask yourself honestly: when did you last tell your team you didn’t have the answer? If you can’t remember, find one situation this week where you can be genuinely open about what you don’t know.
5. Name your pit crew – the three to five people you’d call at 2am if everything went sideways. If you can’t name them, that’s the gap to fill first.

The post Your business moves at the speed of trust appeared first on Elite Agent.

The appointment marks a significant shift from local business leadership to a network-wide strategic role focused on driving considered growth and strengthening performance across Barry Plant’s more than 65 offices.

In his new role, Tense Venneri will work closely with directors, support office growth strategies, mentor emerging agents and help build stronger operational connections across the network.

He says the focus is simple but important.

“We’re an exciting network of more than 65 offices backed by a highly respected brand,” Tense said.

“Barry Plant has always felt like a connected business, where everyone comes together to share ideas and learn from and support one another. That collective spirit and real buy-in mean people are invested in protecting the strength and reputation of the brand.”

“It’s a special business and, as Head of Growth, it’s now my role to help it reach its full potential – supporting those within the network to perform at the highest level and welcoming the right people into the business to be part of the journey too.”

Venneri also sees a strong opportunity to apply practical, on-the-ground experience to a broader leadership role, particularly at a time when real estate businesses are navigating constant change.

Barry Plant CEO Lisa Pennell believes that experience is exactly what makes him well-suited to the position.

“Tense’s appointment reflects our need for leadership grounded in recent, high-level, real-world agency experience and because this is a really unique group, someone who deeply understands the Barry Plant way,” Lisa said.

“I was looking for someone who has strong core values and deep ethics, along with a sharp understanding of today’s industry – someone who has been on the tools and truly understands what our offices are dealing with each day, but will also act honestly and transparently to support fair outcomes.”

“Tense has been an exceptionally successful and highly skilled sales agent and business leader for many years, and, even more importantly, he’s an incredible person and part of the fabric of the Barry Plant group. He ticked every box for the Head of Growth role, so this was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made.”

Tense originally expected a slower pace after years of running a major regional office, but a conversation with Lisa quickly changed that direction.

His appointment is the culmination of a career that began far from real estate. 

Tense left school at 17 and spent 16 years in retail, working as a shoe salesman before moving into management roles across Victoria and New South Wales.

Real estate was not initially part of the plan. 

That changed in 1993 when encouragement from friends in the industry led him to take the leap into sales at age 34, with a young family and a commission-based role ahead of him.

“Within six to 12 months, I was thinking, ‘What have I done?'” he said. 

“It was difficult, it wasn’t easy, and I had just started a family. It was quite nerve-wracking.”

With support from his wife, he pushed through the early uncertainty, laying the foundation for a career defined by persistence, trust and long-term relationships.

He began at Mildura Real Estate, then the region’s largest independent agency, before becoming a partner just seven years later. 

After a later period with another franchise group, Venneri and his partners brought the business into the Barry Plant network in 2010, a move he describes as transformative for the office’s growth over the past 16 years.

One of the most rewarding aspects of his career has been mentoring younger agents and watching them develop.

“I got a lot of satisfaction out of bringing the younger generations through and watching them progress,” he said. 

“I want to help current offices improve their bottom line, help directors with the challenges of running a business, and assist agents coming through the system.”

For him, the philosophy remains unchanged despite the change in role.

“Real estate is not about houses, it’s about people,” he said. 

“You’ve got to earn respect and trust, surround yourself with good people and build a good reputation. That’s always been the most important thing to me.”

Now stepping into a network-wide leadership role, Venneri says the energy is firmly forward-focused.

“I’ve still got the passion,” he said. 

“It’s exciting to be looking at it from a different angle now and helping the broader network continue to grow.”

The post Tense Venneri appointed Barry Plant Head of Growth appeared first on Elite Agent.

The immediate wave of post-Budget analysis has quietened down and a clearer picture of Australia’s future property landscape is starting to form.

The frantic headlines have moved on, leaving behind the structural reality of the most significant property investment tax overhaul in a generation. With the removal of negative gearing for established residential dwellings and a complete restructuring of the capital gains tax (CGT) discount locked in for 1 July 2027, the market is quietly adjusting to a rewritten rulebook.

But away from the political talking points, how will these changes actually reshape the economics of property in the long run?

Angus Moore, Senior Economist at PropTrack, says we now have to look past the initial policy shock and map out the true long-term trajectories for buyers, landlords, and renters.

Of course, predicting the exact path forward requires a degree of caution, simply because Australia has not seen a policy shift of this scale in nearly thirty years.

“When we last saw changes three decades ago, Australia’s housing market looked very different to what it does today,” Angus says.

Yet, by looking at the comprehensive structural modelling, he points to a slow-burn transition rather than the sudden, dramatic market correction many originally feared.

The indexation model: An unexpected silver lining?

Under the pre-Budget framework, property investors were assessed on their raw capital gains and then simply taxed on half of whatever that profit was. From mid-2027, that system is dead for established dwellings. Instead, the original cost base of the property will be indexed to inflation, and investors will be taxed on the full after-inflation gain.

While the initial reaction from industry lobby groups was heavily critical, Angus points out an econometric quirk: a meaningful portion of investors will actually end up paying less tax under this framework.

“The simpler way to think about it is if inflation is, roughly speaking, half of the return on your investment, the two systems are equivalent,” Angus says.

“Prior to 1999, we used to do this model of inflation indexing. We changed in 1999 to this 50% discount for a variety of reasons, but part of the reason was that it was a bit simpler when people were still filing on paper. It was a little bit more complex to track inflation than it is today when everyone files digitally… We know what inflation is. That’s actually a relatively easy calculation.”

Because of this mechanism, investors holding properties in sluggish, low-growth markets will actually come out ahead.

“The reason that some investors are going to be better off is that for some investors, home prices are less than twice inflation,” Angus says.

“For instance, if you’ve held a home in Melbourne between the start of 2022 and today, the return on that has been significantly less than inflation. And so, actually, you’d pay less tax under the inflation indexing system than you would under the previous system.”

The gradual pressure on house prices

For prospective buyers hoping the policy would trigger a swift, massive collapse in property values, the economic consensus provides a reality check, as Angus has outlined in the realestate.com.au  Market Insight Report.

Long-term structural modelling clusters around a modest aggregate impact, estimating that home prices will eventually sit just 1% to 5% lower than they otherwise would have been without the policy change.

Crucially, Angus stresses that this will manifest as a gradual mitigation of future growth rather than an immediate market crash, contrasting it sharply with the rapid shocks caused by interest rate hikes.

“We would not expect it to have big immediate effects like something like, say, interest rate changes. Interest rate changes obviously flow through into borrowing capacities quite quickly, and so we tend to see the effect of interest rate changes pretty quickly, you know, within a couple months starting to show up in home prices,” Angus says.

“These changes are probably going to have a slower-burn effect, I would imagine. So we probably will not see them showing up immediately. And it is going to be a bit hard to distinguish the effect of the fact that we’ve seen three rate hikes, and we’re expecting to see more, that effect on home prices from the effect of these tax changes.”

The long-term impact will also be highly segmented. Rather than rippling evenly across the country, the downward pressure will be felt most acutely where investor participation has historically been at its highest.

“We expect to see a more pronounced effect on the segments of the market with high investor participation,” he says.

“Realistically, we are looking at the more affordable end of the market, which is where investors tend to concentrate. We will probably see a greater impact there than at the more expensive end, which tends to be dominated by owner-occupiers.”

The real casualty: A localised crisis for renters

While the long-term price impact for buyers appears manageable, Australia’s rental market is sitting on an exceptionally thin buffer. Treasury’s official baseline modelling claims that aggregate long-term rents will only rise by a minor $2 per week- a figure Angus agrees is relatively small in the grand scheme of things.

However, he cautions that these smoothed-out national estimates mask significant structural risks during the multi-year transition, especially given how punishingly tight current rental conditions already are.

“While the modelling over the long term suggests the impact on rents will not be big, there is a risk in the short term that we see a disproportionate impact because of how tight rental market conditions already are,” Angus warns.

The real danger lies in a structural geographic shift. Because newly built homes are completely exempt from the tax changes to incentivise new construction, investor capital will inevitably migrate over the next decade. Angus warns this will alter where rental properties are physically available, potentially starving established areas of much-needed housing.

“Because of the incentives for investors to buy new, we might see a bit of a shift in where rental properties are provided towards the sorts of out-of-the-line growth areas where we build new homes, as opposed to in more established inner- and middle-ring suburbs,” Angus says.

“This could see more rental accommodation added in outer growth areas that are further from jobs, universities, and other amenities renters typically look for. While there may be downward pressure on rents in these areas from the added supply, the reduced supply in existing areas could see rents in those areas increase by more than aggregate estimates imply.”

The long-term balancing act

Ultimately, the long-term rental outlook relies on a delicate economic balancing act. While critics worry that reduced investor participation will permanently shrink the rental pool, Angus explains that the properties themselves are not going anywhere; they are simply changing hands.

“The balancing act here, and the reason why that sort of long-term effect on rents is estimated to be relatively small, is that while we see fewer investors and therefore fewer rental properties, those homes do not disappear,” he says.

“They get purchased by first-time buyers that previously would have been renters. And so the net effect on the balance between the number of people looking and the number of properties available is relatively unchanged.”

The post The aftermath of the property tax bombshell: Gradual cool-down or rental market catastrophe? appeared first on Elite Agent.

Katie Williams and Bryce Morley of Williams Morley Real Estate guided a local multi-generational family to secure a five-bedroom Berowra Heights home for $2.2 million, following a strategic six-week auction campaign designed to give serious buyers time to prepare and compete.

Strategic timeline creates opportunity

Katie Williams and Bryce Morley approached 79 Wyanna Street with a deliberate plan: a six-week auction campaign, longer than the typical four weeks, designed to accommodate the reality of higher-value sales.

“It was a very special property which showcased some of the best views in the area — water views out across the valley,” Bryce explains. “Understanding that a higher value sale price means that sometimes people need to either sell a property before being able to buy or potentially need to get their finances in order, we wanted to give them that time.”

As part of the preparation phase, Katie worked closely with the vendors on presentation, overseeing the photo and video process and ensuring the home was positioned strongly from the first inspection.

The beautifully renovated five-bedroom house had been configured with multi-generational living in mind — exactly what the successful purchasers, a local North Shore family, were seeking.

First impression: 35 groups through the door

The opening weekend validated the approach immediately. Thirty-five groups attended the first inspection, with subsequent Saturday opens averaging 15 to 20 groups each week.

“Many neighbours as well as buyers came through because it was such a unique property,” Bryce says. “Throughout the campaign, we did have good interest, with buyers responding strongly to the property’s standout features, the renovations and the view.”

Buyers consistently stopped on the balcony, taking in the outlook that greeted them immediately upon entry. The renovation quality drew questions too — groups asked who had completed the work, seeking ideas for their own properties.

Throughout the campaign, buyer engagement built steadily, with multiple parties requesting contracts and two registering to bid on auction day. One made a pre-auction offer.

Throughout the process, Katie maintained consistent communication with buyers to build trust and momentum, while Bryce focused on progressing key negotiations and managing competitive tension as interest strengthened.

Auction day: $150,000 jump secures the home

The successful purchaser had been a standout throughout the campaign. When bidding opened, they made an offer that immediately surpassed what the other registered bidder was prepared to pay.

On the day, the team worked closely together — with Bryce leading negotiations and Katie supporting both buyers and vendors to maintain confidence and keep the process moving.

Bryce worked with the leading bidder during the auction to bridge the gap between their opening position and the vendors’ expectations — a negotiation that resulted in a $150,000 increase from their initial bid.

Securing a $150,000 increase from the opening bid demonstrated the strength of buyer commitment on the day and the competitive framework created by the auction process.

“The negotiations on the day were tough,” Bryce recalls. “We really pushed the unique features of this home, talked about the recent comparable sales with the buyer, as well as really understanding their situation and what sort of budget they were able to spend.”

The family had been searching for space — room for parents to host grandchildren, for large family dinners and multi-generational gatherings. The property’s layout, combined with the view, the quiet location, and proximity to Berowra Waters and rail access, answered that brief completely.

What the campaign reveals about local demand

Berowra Heights sits within the Hornsby Shire region on Sydney’s North Shore, attracting buyers seeking larger family homes with natural outlooks. The suburb’s proximity to Berowra Waters, local shops and rail access positions it as a lifestyle choice for families wanting space without sacrificing convenience.

The campaign confirmed strong appetite for renovated homes with standout features in the area. Katie and Bryce note that local buyers within Hornsby Shire and Berowra Heights specifically come out whenever a property with views becomes available, assessing whether it suits their needs for something larger or with better outlooks.

The result was achieved during a period of broader interest rate uncertainty across Sydney, which had contributed to more cautious buyer behaviour in some segments of the market.

“Lots of very local people from Berowra and Berowra Heights — whenever a special property like that comes up with the views, they’re always coming out to get a feel for whether it could potentially suit them,” Bryce says.

The forward view

For vendors considering a sale in the area, Katie and Bryce’s advice centres on urgency and emotional engagement.

“Generating the urgency using an auction deadline absolutely helped with this property because it’s so unique,” Bryce explains. “You do have a lot of people that respond emotionally to properties of this nature. It’s all about staying in contact with buyers and learning as much as possible from them.”

The vendors achieved a result they were thrilled with — enabling their next purchase — and saw their home go to a family who would appreciate the work they had invested.

About the Agents

Katie Williams and Bryce Morley are Directors of Williams Morley Real Estate. Together, they bring decades of experience across Sydney’s Upper and Lower North Shore.

Katie has more than 20 years in real estate, including the past seven years specialising in Berowra and the Upper North Shore. Known for clear advice, strong negotiation and an ability to read buyer behaviour, she focuses on creating competition and keeping campaigns moving to secure decisive outcomes for her clients.

Bryce entered the property industry in 2012 and, as a long-time Mount Colah resident, brings strong local market knowledge and experience across property preparation, marketing and negotiation throughout the Hornsby region.

Across the Hornsby Shire, their focus remains on considered campaign strategy and consistent buyer engagement to achieve competitive outcomes.

Visit their website for more information or call Katie on 0456896001 or Bryce on 0433202890.

The post Williams Morley Real Estate’s six-week auction strategy delivers a $2.2m result in Berowra Heights appeared first on Elite Agent.

Brisbane property investors have until 2027 to get residential projects underway before Olympic construction locks up the labour force and blows out costs, according to new research from Colliers.

The report, released this month, maps a narrowing window across residential, office, industrial, retail and hotel markets – with the residential sector facing the tightest timeline.

“The period leading up to 2027 presents a key opportunity window,” the research states. 

“Developers who act early are well-positioned to secure approvals, funding, and construction capacity ahead of tightening constraints.”

Queensland’s construction pipeline has more than doubled over five years and is forecast to average $69 billion annually, peaking at $75 billion in 2027-28. The state faces a projected shortfall of approximately 19,100 workers annually through to 2031-32, with a potential peak gap of 35,000 workers in 2027-28.

The report draws a sharp distinction from Sydney’s 2000 experience.

“Unlike the Sydney 2000 Olympics, which experienced a delayed economic uplift following a period of economic weakness and high unemployment, Brisbane enters the Games with a strong, post-pandemic economy, tight labour markets, and elevated levels of public and private investment,” the research notes. 

“Growth is likely to be felt sooner and more broadly.”

The Brisbane Showgrounds athlete village alone will deliver approximately 10,592 beds, converting to 1,750–2,000 apartments after the Games – equivalent to nearly two years of typical inner-city supply – absorbing significant labour and materials.

Brisbane rental vacancy sits below 1.5 per cent, with dwelling forecasts indicating a need for approximately 40,000 apartments and flats in Greater Brisbane between 2021 and 2031.

The research suggests prefabrication and modular construction methods could become essential, potentially reducing on-site labour requirements, lowering costs by 3 to 15 per cent depending on the component, and accelerating delivery times by 10 to 30 per cent.

Office market pricing gap creates an entry opportunity

For commercial investors, current pricing may represent a rare window before conditions tighten further.

“Many assets are trading 20 to 45 per cent below replacement cost following an increase in construction costs,” the report states. 

“This pricing gap enables office space to be acquired at a meaningful discount.”

The research identifies at least 19 potential office conversion sites over a five to ten-year horizon across key CBD corridors, including Adelaide, George, and Queen Streets. However, feasibility typically depends on buildings reaching full vacancy and asset values falling to levels that support redevelopment.

Older C and D-grade assets experiencing higher vacancy are creating repositioning opportunities, with the report citing 123 Albert Street, where a refurbishment delivered a 20 per cent uplift in gross effective rent alongside improved occupancy.

Industrial land supply is tightening fast

Most Brisbane industrial submarkets have five per cent or less serviced land remaining, and at the current development pace, this supply is expected to be absorbed within four years.

Olympic-related construction is expected to generate strong demand for fabrication yards, materials storage, and equipment logistics. Food and beverage manufacturing will also see significant demand – the report notes that Paris 2024 prepared approximately 13 million meals over four weeks.

Brisbane industrial land prices are rising at some of the fastest rates on the east coast. The research suggests early positioning will be increasingly important as competition intensifies.

Hotels positioned for structural growth

Brisbane hotels are already trading above 75 per cent occupancy with limited spare capacity. 

The city has approximately 8,700 investment-grade hotel rooms with a relatively benign development pipeline.

“The opportunity to acquire a hotel in Brisbane today is increasingly regarded as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure a foothold in a city on the cusp of sustained global repositioning,” the research states.

High construction costs, labour constraints, and limited contractor capacity are expected to restrict speculative hotel development, reducing the risk of post-event oversupply that has affected other Olympic host cities.

Connectivity investment critical

The report warns that without deliberate investment in precinct connectivity, Olympic benefits may stay localised around venues rather than spreading across the inner city.

With private cars heavily restricted during the Games, most travel will depend on public transport – around 60 per cent by train and 25 per cent by bus. 

Walking, cycling and scootering will be essential, with many key precincts within a 15-minute trip of each other.

The research identifies a proposed walkable spine network connecting inner-city precincts as critical to distributing economic benefits more widely.

The post Brisbane investors under the pump as Olympic construction crunch intensifies appeared first on Elite Agent.

The hardest match Boris Becker ever played wasn’t a Grand Slam final.

It was the early rounds – the ones nobody watches, on a back court at ten in the morning with the wind blowing. That observation, shared via Zoom with thousands of Australian real estate professionals at AREC 2026, carried a message that went well beyond tennis.

“The final is always the easiest match because you play on the best court in front of many people,” Boris said.

“The first matches in the tournament were always more difficult than the final.”

For anyone who has ever found prospecting harder than the listing presentation, or cold calls harder than closing the deal, Boris was describing the same dynamic. The unglamorous work is where the real battle happens.

The innocence of just doing it

Boris won Wimbledon at seventeen – the youngest men’s champion in the tournament’s history. He wasn’t supposed to be there. His own coaching staff didn’t believe he could defend the title the following year.

His response was to tell them to stop talking.

“I said, ‘Guys, listen, I think I know what to do. Just don’t tell me anything about tennis anymore. You can just try to book the practice partner for the next day, because the next two weeks, I got it,’” Boris recalled.

He described his mindset at seventeen as “the innocence of youth” – not overthinking, not seeing the enormity of what he was doing, just treating it as the natural next step.

“You don’t really see outside of the tennis court. You see it as a very natural thing that you’re doing,” he said. “I didn’t really understand that this is not normal.”

It’s a useful reminder for agents who overthink their way out of action. Sometimes the advantage belongs to the person who simply doesn’t know they’re supposed to be intimidated.

Staying at the top is the harder job

John McGrath asked Boris directly: Was it harder to reach the top or to stay there?

“It’s always much harder to stay at the top,” Boris said without hesitation.

That resonates in an industry where building momentum after a strong year is often harder than the initial breakthrough. Boris pointed to the pressure of defending his Wimbledon title at eighteen as proof – the expectations, the doubt from his own team, the weight of the public image that had been built around a teenager.

“People had this image of me as the youngest Wimbledon champion. And the reality is that I was still a very, very young man,” he explained. “They certainly didn’t see the man.”

Coaching Djokovic and attacking the opponent’s strength

Boris spent three and a half years coaching Novak Djokovic, winning two Australian Opens together. The role required him to invert everything he knew about competition.

“Tennis is an individual sport. You have to think about yourself,” he said. “Coaching is the complete reverse. You are not the most important thing.”

His most famous tactical call was telling Djokovic to attack Rafael Nadal’s forehand – the shot every other player in the world tried to avoid.

“Everybody was afraid of Nadal’s forehand. I thought if you take out his strength, you can take out Nadal. And that’s why it worked.”

The parallel for agents: sometimes the smartest move is to go directly at the thing everyone else is afraid of – whether that’s a difficult pricing conversation, a competitive suburb, or a vendor everyone else has given up on.

The wrong people and the price of it

Boris was candid about his post-tennis years. After retiring, he struggled to judge character outside the structured world of professional sport.

“My sense for who was good and who wasn’t so good wasn’t great. I surrounded myself with the wrong people. That’s why mistakes were made,” he said.

Those mistakes led to bankruptcy, a conviction for hiding assets, and prison. Boris didn’t deflect responsibility.

“I was winning, but I was also losing. It was always me.”

When he lost everything, his circle collapsed with it.

“Your thousand best friends disappear. About five left,” Boris said. “In particular, my wife – and she was not part of that.”

Three years on, he has rebuilt – a new marriage, a new team of people who supported him during his lowest period, and a baby daughter. His message to AREC 2026 was direct: the people around you matter more than any individual skill.

Self-belief versus ego

Boris drew a careful line between confidence and arrogance.

“We all have an ego. It’s not always wrong to have an ego,” he said. “If you don’t believe that you’re able to win, who will?”

But he was equally clear about its limits.

“You shouldn’t take yourself too seriously because we’re just human beings.”

It was a fitting close from someone who has experienced both extremes – the rituals that build a life resume and the consequences of losing sight of what matters. Boris Becker’s career, fall, and rebuild is a reminder that how you handle the early rounds and the people you surround yourself with will determine far more than any single win.

Your Tuesday morning to-do list

1. Write down the three hardest things on your plate this week – the calls, conversations, or tasks you’ve been avoiding. Do the worst one first, before 10am. That’s your “first round” match.
2. Look at your inner circle – the five people you spend the most professional time with. Are they making you sharper or just comfortable? If you can’t name someone who challenges you, find one.
3. Pick one competitor or market segment that intimidates you and go directly at it this week. Book an appraisal in a suburb you’ve been avoiding, or call a vendor who turned you down last time.
4. If you had a strong year last year, write down what specifically you did differently – not the results, the habits. Make sure you’re still doing those things, not coasting on momentum.
5. Block out 10 minutes today and ask yourself honestly: is there a relationship or business arrangement you’re in right now that doesn’t feel right? Trust that instinct.

The post Boris Becker on why the first round is always harder than the final appeared first on Elite Agent.

Josh Flagg gets vendors to tell him their price before he tells them his.

It’s a small move with big consequences. In a Q&A with John McGrath at AREC 2026 on the Gold Coast, the Beverly Hills agent – who has sold more than US$3 billion in residential property – explained the psychology behind the technique and several other habits that have kept him at the top of the US luxury market for twenty years.

“Let’s say somebody calls in and they say, ‘I live at one two three Main Street,’” Josh said.

“I go, ‘Oh, so I’m assuming it’s in the ten to twelve million dollar range.’ I’ve never seen the house. They can’t say I underpriced it. I’m fishing. They’ll say, ‘Well, it’s really probably more nine.’ Now I know exactly what’s in their head, but I sound like I came there ahead of time.”

It’s a simple approach – offer a wide range, let the vendor narrow it, and walk into the appointment already knowing the number you need to address.

Product knowledge as a competitive weapon

Josh started selling at eighteen, without a profile or a television show. What he did have was an obsessive knowledge of houses.

As a child, his mother would drive him through the streets of Beverly Hills in her convertible just to calm him down. While other kids played sports, he studied gates, architecture, and floor plans.

That obsession became his listing pitch.

“Within five minutes, I could tell them more about their house than even they knew about their house,” Josh said.

“What the house across the street sold for in 1976, who owned it, the history – that gives me the edge. It’s not homework. It’s just something I’ve always done.”

For agents looking to sharpen their own listing presentation strategy, Josh’s message was clear: if learning about your market feels like a chore, you’re in the wrong business.

“If it’s your job, you’re not going to be successful. You have to love it.”

The candour that wins (and sometimes loses) the listing

Josh is known for challenging vendors on price in the room – even during the interview.

“They’ll say, ‘I think my house is worth eight million dollars.’ I’ll say, ‘Tell me why.’

They give me a whole bunch of reasons, and I’ll say, ‘Could it be possible that the reason you priced it at eight million was that you want to?’”

He acknowledged the risk. The vendor can simply hire the next agent who quotes a higher number.

“That’s fine. And then six months from now, when the house hasn’t sold, I’m going to be sitting here again,” Josh said.

“I think they appreciate that candour.”

He draws a clear line on pricing: If the gap is manageable – say, $10 million versus $12 million – he’ll take the listing and work the seller down.

If the gap is absurd – six to twelve – he walks.

“Within that six-month period of time, they’re going to come to realise their house is overpriced and they’re going to reduce it,” he said.

As proof, he pointed to a listing he had taken days before AREC, in which the vendor wanted $3 million for a property he valued at $2.7 million. Within days, the seller agreed to reduce the price by $150,000.

Never oversell

Josh shared a story about a property that had sat on the market for three years at US$8.5 million with another agent. When the owners asked how much he wanted to reduce the price, he told them the price was fine – the problem was the previous agent.

He then stacked five buyer inspections five minutes apart and deliberately arrived ten minutes late, so all five were lined up at the front door.

“What does that look like to you? A bidding war,” Josh said.

“I showed them the house, and then they started negotiating with me. One says, ‘What about seven and a half million?’ I say, ‘What about eight and a half million?’ I talk to them like I have nothing to lose. And the more you torture them, the more they want to buy it.”

His broader point – one that echoes advice from Josh Altman’s earlier session – was about restraint. Department store salespeople who hover kill the sale. The same principle applies to property.

“There is nothing worse than a real estate agent who oversells.”

Open houses and the phone rule

For newer agents, Josh’s advice was refreshingly old-school: more open houses.

“The number one thing you can do to get clients is set an open house,” he said.

“You don’t even have to set your own. There’s plenty of agents that cancel their open houses. You offer to sit theirs for them, and then people walk in.”

And when you’re in any appointment – listing presentation or otherwise – the phone goes away.

“The minute I go into an appointment, my phone goes on silent. My time is dedicated to that person. That’s how they know they’re the only client.”

Your Tuesday morning to-do list

1. Pick one suburb in your area and spend 15 minutes learning its sale history – not just the last three months, but the last three decades. Who built what, what the landmarks sold for, and what’s changed. Bring one of those facts to your next listing appointment.
2. Before your next vendor meeting, call and offer a wide price range based on the street and suburb. Let the vendor narrow it. Write down the number they land on before you walk in.
3. Put your phone on silent before your next appointment – not vibrate, silent. If it rings, ignore it from your pocket. Give that vendor your full attention for the entire meeting.
4. If you don’t have any open houses this weekend, call three agents in your office and offer to sit theirs. Treat every person who walks through the door as a potential client, not a browser.
5. Review your current listings. Is there one where the vendor’s price expectation is materially above your valuation? Have the honest conversation this week – not next month.

The post Josh Flagg’s listing strategy starts before he even sees the house appeared first on Elite Agent.

Your buyers and sellers have never had more property data – and they have never been less likely to act on it.

That was the central argument from Domain’s President, Jason Pellegrino, when he took to the AREC 2026 stage, making the case that the industry’s biggest problem is not a lack of data, listings, or digital tools. It is a confidence crisis decades in the making.

He opened with a personal story; his grandparents, migrants to Australia, stayed in a house too small for their family for ten years because taking on debt to move felt terrifying.

Fifty years later, his parents repeated the pattern, staying on a rural property in New South Wales, just south of Sydney, for a decade longer than they should have after it became too much to maintain.

“It’s not because they lack knowledge. It’s not because they lack options. It’s because they lacked one thing: confidence,” Pellegrino said.

The numbers support the claim. Despite record property prices, transaction volumes have been quietly declining for twenty-five years.

Average hold periods have stretched from three or four years to closer to ten. And the flood of data that was supposed to help – median prices, clearance rates, borrowing calculators, price alerts – has not created more decisive consumers.

The irony, he said, is that while more people are turning to agents, they are not necessarily doing so because they trust them. They are doing it because they need human support to move through the decision.

“The more information we give, the less confident the market has become,” Pellegrino said.

He likened it to someone standing at a skipping rope, rocking back and forth, trying to time the perfect entry – and standing completely still while another decade passes.

Pellegrino was direct about the industry’s blind spot – a thirty-year supercycle of house price growth has masked declining volumes and eroding consumer trust.

“We have all been mistaking a rising market for a better industry,” Pellegrino said.

From there, he moved to Domain’s strategic response: a deliberate repositioning around building confidence rather than providing more data.

“One path is to declare, this is the number,” he said.

“But when you reduce something as complex as valuation to a single number… you’re not just simplifying. You’re trying to set the default.”

“Here’s what happens in real life. The vendor looks at that single figure without context, their expectations are not met, and they decide not to list. The buyer looks at that single number, gets scared, and backs away and never attends the open.”

Pellegrino said Domain does not believe an algorithm can pinpoint one single correct number for a family home or investment property. The true value, he said, sits in a range.

“It’s shaped by what a buyer is willing to pay, what a vendor is willing to accept, and what a bank is willing to lend.”

Domain’s position, he said, is to show consumers a broader range of values and then guide them to the person who understands value “on any given street on any given day” – the agent.

He also pointed to Domain’s commitments to agents: CPI-only price increases, the removal of distracting third-party ads from around listings, and the inclusion of Matterport flyovers, photography and floor plans within Domain’s most popular agent products, taking real costs off the marketing schedule.

The Matterport demonstration brought some of Domain’s new strategy to life. A dated property that drew little reaction in standard photos changed once the old furniture was stripped away, and buyers could see the floor plan, natural light, digital measurements and a flyover revealing open water at the end of the street.

“That is the exact moment a property stops being a listing and starts becoming a possibility,” Pellegrino said.

“And the technology didn’t win that listing. You did.”

His closing message was pointed: platforms can build infrastructure and help buyers arrive ready to act, but when someone stands in front of an agent and asks, “Should I do this?” the answer can only come from a person.

Your Tuesday morning to-do list

• Pull up your listing presentation and count how many slides lead with data versus how many address the vendor’s confidence to act – if it is heavily skewed toward data, rewrite one slide around the question, “What is holding you back from making a move?”
• Check whether Matterport flyovers, photography and floor plans are included in your current Domain product – if they are, use them on your next listing.
• Review your last three appraisal conversations and note whether you led with comparable sales data or with a discussion of the vendor’s situation and readiness. Adjust your next one accordingly.
• Review your current marketing schedule costs and identify any line items that may now be covered by your portal products.

The post Domain bets the next era belongs to confidence appeared first on Elite Agent.

Nic Di Rosso of Deximal has sold a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at 4/39–43 Bow River Crescent in Burswood for $1.4 million, attracting a younger family drawn by the area’s transformation rather than its traditional downsizer appeal.

Why the controversial development became a selling point

The marketing acknowledged the state government’s Perth Park project — which includes a proposed new racetrack, amphitheatre and hospitality venues — without overpromising on a development still awaiting final approvals.

“We didn’t shy away from it in our conversations with potential buyers,” Nic says.

“As the siteworks had already begun when we launched, it was a hot topic of discussion with buyers and locals alike within Burswood. The demographic looking at the property were middle-aged people that absolutely loved the area, in particular the space and size of this apartment.”

The approach created a clear split in buyer interest from the first open home. Younger families embraced the precinct’s future vibrancy, while some older buyers expressed concern about the racetrack development.

A family ready for what the precinct could become

The successful buyers — a younger family — wanted exactly what the apartment offered: premium space in an area poised for transformation.

The property’s dual living zones proved particularly attractive. The open-plan family and meals area sits on one side of the kitchen, with a separate sitting area on the opposite side that some residents in the 26-unit complex have converted into third bedrooms.

“They purposely wanted it because of the vibrancy that they believe this particular new precinct will create within the Burswood Peninsula, and they absolutely love it,” Nic says.

The vendors, who work in property, understood the strategic positioning from the outset.

Nic says the property was always going to suit a buyer who embraced the precinct’s future rather than sought its established retirement community feel — and the eventual buyers matched that profile exactly.

Riverside precinct’s demographic evolution

Burswood Peninsula, developed as a luxury riverside precinct with city views in 2007–08, has traditionally attracted retirees. This sale signals a broader demographic shift as the state government’s Perth Park development reshapes the area’s appeal.

Deximal’s office is based within the Burswood Peninsula estate, and Nic focuses exclusively on this segment of the riverside precinct and Perth’s inner northern suburbs.

Burswood’s median unit price sits at approximately $725,000, according to CoreLogic data. Properties across metropolitan Perth typically sell within 14 days, according to REIWA.

About the agent

Nic Di Rosso is General Manager, Director and Licensee of Deximal, a boutique Perth agency specialising in apartments and premium properties across Burswood and Perth’s inner northern suburbs. Based within the Burswood Peninsula estate, Nic focuses exclusively on this evolving riverside precinct. Visit Nic’s website for more information or call Nic on +61 418 957 346.

The post Young family snaps up Burswood Peninsula apartment drawn by precinct’s transformation appeared first on Elite Agent.

Jesse Itzler sends three personal videos every day.

Not broadcast marketing. Not AI-generated. Short clips filmed on his phone, sent to specific people about specific things he knows they care about.

A windsurfing resort for one friend. A vegan restaurant menu for another. A thousand videos a year, each one a quiet reminder that someone is paying attention.

It was one of several deceptively simple habits Itzler shared with thousands of Australian real estate professionals when he joined AREC 2026 via Zoom, interviewed by John McGrath.

“Only one person can be the richest, and only one person can be the funniest, and only one person can be the smartest.

“But anyone can care the most,” Jesse said

The serial entrepreneur — who co-founded Marquis Jet, later acquired by NetJets, a Berkshire Hathaway company, and partnered in ZICO Coconut Water, later acquired by Coca-Cola — spent less time on billion-dollar deal-making and more on the small, consistent actions that he says have mattered far more.

That philosophy sits at the centre of what Itzler calls the “life resume” — the argument that experiences outside of work are not distractions from success but the very things that make people interesting, trustworthy, and worth doing business with.

He pointed to his own: living in a monastery with monks for fifteen days, riding his bike across America for charity, running hundred-mile ultramarathons, and co-existing with a Navy SEAL for a month.

Those experiences didn’t just make good stories; they built credibility that no sales pitch could replicate.

His system for building that resume is structured around three annual commitments.

First, one year-defining experience — something significant enough that it becomes the answer to “what did you do in 2026?”

He calls this a “misogi,” borrowed from a Japanese purification ritual.

Second, a personal day every eight weeks, dedicated to something outside the usual routine: fishing with his kids, visiting a college friend, attending an event purely for interest.

A forty-year-old who follows both rituals until eighty will accumulate forty defining experiences and two hundred and forty mini-adventures.

“That’s an amazing life. Business always falls in, but we tend to neglect the rest as we get older.”— Jesse said.

The third commitment is to add one winning habit per quarter — drinking more water, never being late to a meeting, and 10 minutes of daily practice.

Compounding small improvements rather than relying on annual resolutions that rarely survive February.

Itzler also addressed a topic that resonated in a room full of agents working through a difficult market: the internal conversation.

“The words that you speak matter,” Jesse said.

“We tend to really overindex in the self-talk bucket.”

He applies the same principle to his children; when one of his kids says, “I’m not good at reading,” he reframes it: Are you saying you haven’t grasped the concept yet, or that you’re working hard to get better?

For agents working through a buyer’s market, Itzler’s message was blunt: expect the difficulty.

His sales reps at Marquis Jet would return from meetings complaining that buyers pushed back on price.

His response was always the same — you’re a sales rep; they’re a customer. What did you expect? The same logic applies to hundred-mile races, publishing rejections, and property cycles.

“If you have health, you have hope. And if you have hope, you have everything,” Jesse said.

Your Tuesday morning to-do list

• Block out fifteen minutes and write down one thing — outside of work — that could define your 2026. Book it, pay for it, or commit to it before you close the laptop.
• Open your phone and send three short personal videos to people in your database — not a pitch, not a check-in, just something specific you know they’d appreciate.
• Pick one small habit you’ve been meaning to start (drinking more water, fifteen minutes of exercise, reviewing your week every Sunday night) and commit to it for this quarter only.
• Write three handwritten notes to clients, past buyers, or referral partners — no ask, no CTA, just genuine acknowledgement.
• Review your calendar for the next eight weeks and block off one full day for something unrelated to work.

The post Three rituals that built Jesse Itzler’s life resume appeared first on Elite Agent.