Azal Khan

Azal Khan was a in-house features writer for Elite Agent Magazine.
  • Bouris invests in virtual estate agent Property Now

    Mr Bouris and his ASX-listed investment and mortgage broking firm Yellow Brick Road have taken a 5 per cent stake in PropertyNow, joining BRW rich-lister Jeremy Same as shareholders in the privately-held company. PropertyNow founder and director Andrew Blachut said three years of courting Mr Bouris paid off when he bought into PropertyNow earlier in this month. “The business is…

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  • Real Estate News

    REIQ calls on state government to deliver on mandatory CPD promise

    The Real Estate Institute of Queensland has called on the State Government to introduce mandatory CPD to the real estate profession. REIQ Chairman Rob Honeycombe said they want the State Government to honour its more than two-year-old promise to introduce mandatory CPD. “Queenslanders are staring down the barrel of another election and before our politicians start wheeling out more promises,…

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  • DA Approved Properties launches for residential and commercial listings

    The Director of DA Approved Properties, Lachlan Martin, says the site is Australia’s only devoted portal for featuring DA-approved properties for sale. “It’s a platform where agents can come to find properties that have already been DA approved. The site makes it easier for developers to scroll through and find their next projects,” Mr Martin said. This website accommodates both…

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  • Real Estate News

    Bankwest housing density report shows NSW only state to see growth in medium density housing approvals

    New South Wales was the only state in Australia to experience growth in medium density approvals in the 12 months to March 2017. That is one of the key findings of the Bankwest Housing Density report which analysed approvals in medium density and low density housing over both the long and the short term. The report also found that NSW…

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  • Elite Agent

    How to Defend Your Fee: Belle Property Strathfield

    After attending a training session conducted by Belle on ‘defending your fee’, Norman decided to go up against a local competitor who holds 23 per cent market share and offers 1 per cent commission rates (excluding GST). “We are above other agencies in terms of our premium branding and we felt our commission should reflect that,” Norman said. “When the commission…

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  • Real Estate News

    Real Estate Bookings Launches REBconnect

    The Real Estate Bookings platform captures buyer and tenant enquiries from a range of online channels. The platform integrates with Facebook, Instagram, property websites and real estate portals. This data can now be used to directly remarket listings to in-the-market buyers via social media. Combining this with other data sources, such as CoreLogic, Acxiom and Quantium, means every property advertisement…

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  • INDUSTRY NEWS

    CoreLogic Property Pulse: housing stock under $400k declines

    New research by CoreLogic shows properties in the $400,000 price bracket have declined. The research shows that across Australia, 31.2% of houses and 37.3% of units sold transacted for less than $400,000. By comparison, a year ago the proportions were recorded at 32.8% for houses and 38.6% for units. A decade ago, 62.4% of all house sales and 68.9% of…

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  • Real Estate News

    Australasia’s best auctioneers vie for ultimate gavel in SA

    Australia’s best auctioneers will compete for the title of champion in Adelaide which will host the 2017 Australasian Auctioneering Championships from 6-7 September 2017, hosted by the Real Estate Institute of South Australia. The annual competition showcases Australia and New Zealand’s best auctioneers who are ready to take up the challenge with a frenzy of calling, bidding and selling. “The…

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  • Real Estate News

    ActivePipe big winners in Australian Business Awards

    Melbourne-based technology start-up ActivePipe has been recognised as an ABA 100 Winner in the Technology Innovation, Marketing Innovation and Software Innovation categories of the Australian Business Awards 2017. ActivePipe specialises in automated communications for real estate and has created technology to improve the way real estate agents communicate with their customers. Now in their fifth year, The Australian Business Awards…

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  • Real Estate News

    Gunning RE expands as commerical real estate sector heats up in Sydney

    The regeneration of Sydney CBD is underpinning a relatively favourable period for secondary rental growth, making the commercial property market particularly attractive, according to commercial, retail and industrial real estate agency Gunning, led by REIA president Malcolm Gunning. Gunning leasing, sales and brokerage agent Simon Larkins said that, at a time when smaller tenants are becoming more active in the leasing market,…

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  • Real Estate News

    Belle Property Celebrates the Best of 2016-2017 at Annual Awards

    Belle Property Dee Why swept the awards evening and were crowned the number one office for gross commission earned and number two for number of transactions. Agent Nick Duchatel was ranked the number one agent (GCI), Lauren Bridges was awarded BDM of the Year (transactions) and agent Jo Morrison received the Excellence Award for most improved over a two-year period.…

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  • INDUSTRY NEWS

    REA Group goes live with a design uplift for new homes

    REA Group has gone live with a design uplift to the new homes section of their website. With half of property seekers on realestate.com.au considering off-the-plan property, REA’s Joseph Lyons said the section of the site (https://www.realestate.com.au/new-land-estates/) plays a critical role in meeting the needs of consumers across Australia, and also offshore investors. Mr Lyons, REA Group Executive General Manager – Developer…

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  • FRANCHISE NEWS

    Raine & Horne Opens Office in Lane Cove

    Raine & Horne has expanded with an office at Lane Cove led by agents Stuart Bourne, Nathan Westerbrink and Alex Banning. The three agents were previously in direct competition with each other, said Raine & Horne executive chairman Angus Raine. The three agents were previously in direct competition with each other, said Raine & Horne executive chairman Angus Raine. “Mr…

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  • Real Estate News

    Ray White opens office in West End Brisbane

    Ray White has opened an office in West End, in inner city Brisbane, under the leadership of a family long associated with the area. The O’Kelly family has been an integral part of the West End neighborhood since 1982 when Luke’s parents Clive and Sandra O’Kelly opened their first real estate office there in 1985. Luke O’Kelly, their eldest, has…

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  • Real Estate News

    Fairfax confirms Domain will begin trading in Mid-November

    Fairfax Media expects Domain to begin trading in mid-November after it separately lists the real estate classifieds and services business, the AFR reports. Fairfax released details of the spin-off following the release of their full year results, which saw the publisher report a net profit of $84 million. Fairfax also reported a six per cent reduction in operating costs, thanks…

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  • Real Estate News

    CoreLogic Property Pulse and auctions 10 August 2017 – Million Dollar Sales at Record Levels

    Research by analyst Cameron Kusher shows that the cost of housing has continued to rise in most parts of the country over the past 12 months. He said, “Bracket creep should come as no surprise in markets like Sydney and Melbourne, where dwelling values have increased by 77 per cent and 61 per cent respectively over the past five years.…

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  • Real Estate News

    Raine & Horne launch a new office in Fiji

    With the launch of this office in Fiji, Raine & Horne has plans to open more offices in the Pacific, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East in the next 12 months. It has recently opened two offices in Dubai. “Australia is a global leader in the delivery of real estate agency best practice, and Raine & Horne is a…

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  • Real Estate News

    Domain launches open API

    Domain Group has launched an open API allowing developers, businesses, and partners to access the company’s property datasets. “This is the first move of its kind in Australia’s property space and one that has the power to reshape the future of innovation for the industry,” said Simon Farrugia, Senior Product Manager, Platforms & API at Domain Group. “To date, it…

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  • FRANCHISE NEWS

    Darwin agent Adam McCann named top Raine & Horne salesperson

    Darwin sales agent Adam McCann was named Raine & Horne group’s top salesperson for this financial year. The leading Darwin firm commands 12 per cent market share of the property rental market and a 22 per cent share of the sales market. Mr McCann received his award at the 40th annual Raine & Horne Awards held at the Darwin Convention Centre…

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  • Real Estate News

    LJ Hooker expands national growth team

    Steve Mutton joins LJ Hooker as its Queensland Development Manager, bringing with him growth and franchise leadership having owned six Ray White agencies on the Gold Coast. Mr Mutton is tasked with growing the brand’s Queensland network in emerging markets from Coolangatta to Cairns. Auctioneer David Holmes has also been appointed as LJ Hooker’s National Auctions Manager and will oversee…

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  • Real Estate News

    360 Rooms app allows creation of virtual tours for properties

    Real estate agents and property managers can now create their own immersive virtual tours in less than 10 minutes, for only $10 each, using the 360 Rooms app. The app is free to download and pairs with the Ricoh Theta S camera to instantly capture 360 photos and stitch them together into a seamless virtual tour. The tours can be…

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  • Real Estate News

    Stone Real Estate opens 14th office in Beecroft

    Joining Mr Dearlove in the new Stone Beecroft franchise are the rest of his team: Alastair Kivell, James Ramsey, fluent Mandarin and Cantonese speaker Jeff Luo and Chloe Jurd. Mr Dearlove’s wife Rebecca also brings extensive project marketing experience from her previous role as CBRE’s residential projects marketing manager. Mr Dearlove says his decision to join the Stone team was…

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  • Real Estate News

    REIQ Auctioneer of the year wins title for fourth time

    Mitch Peereboom, Head Auctioneer at Harcourts Queensland, was named the runner-up. Five finalists competed in challenging conditions in front of a sold-out crowd at the Brisbane Powerhouse on Friday, 28 July. “Of course I was hoping to win, but to think that I’ve won this title four times now is unbelievable,” Mr Nickerson said. “It’s an absolute honour to win…

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  • CASE STUDIES

    Belle Property Narellan say, ‘pick people not roles’

    One of Belle Property’s youngest businesses managed to secure 50 per cent market share in their core suburb, followed by another 15 per cent in a neighbouring area, after just 18 months in operation – simply by focusing on people. The team at Belle Property Narellan under the leadership of Troy Holmes have come a long way since they opened…

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  • Real Estate News

    RBA leaves rates on hold in August 2017

    In his statement, RBA governor Dr Philip Lowe expressed a degree of concern about the impact a stronger Australian dollar is having on economic activity. The Australian dollar exchange rate remains at above 80 US cents. “The higher exchange rate is expected to contribute to subdued price pressures [inflation] in the economy,” Dr Lowe said. He also commented on the…

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  • Real Estate News

    Ray White’s newest office Berkeley Vale under the leadership of familiar faces

    Ray White’s newest office in Berkeley Vale on the NSW Central Coast is under the leadership of two familiar faces. Principal Ian Boyle is a well-known award-winning local agent with large market share in the area. His partner Cathy Burnside is a relative newcomer to real estate but a familiar face from TV. “I have been on All Saints and some…

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  • INDUSTRY NEWS

    CoreLogic home value index shows house prices jumped 1.5 per cent across capital cities in July

    Melbourne house prices jumped 3.1 per cent in July and have been the key driver in the 1.5 per cent increase in combined capital city dwelling values for the month. CoreLogic’s latest home value index shows house prices rose in Sydney by 1.4 per cent, while Canberra prices jumped by 2.4 per cent but fell in Brisbane (-0.6%), Perth (-1.3%)…

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  • Real Estate News

    Raine & Horne Commercial open in Toowoomba

    Raine & Horne Commercial Toowoomba will be led by Andrew Lynch, principal of Raine & Horne Toowoomba, the group’s best Queensland office based on number of sales and transaction dollar value. The new office will be located in a purpose-built facility at the rear of 611 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba. “Raine & Horne has been part of the furniture in Toowoomba…

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  • Real Estate News

    REISA market update second quarter 2017

    Following the release of the Valuer-General’s median house price data for the 2017 July quarter, REISA CEO Mr Greg Troughton said that sales were up across the entire State with metropolitan Adelaide recording a solid 6.9 per cent increase in sales over the last three months. “It is fantastic that sales have soared in the June quarter and this just…

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  • Real Estate News

    HIA: New home sales hit lowest level since 2013, while housing affordability continues to decline

    New home sales in Australia’s largest states hit their lowest level since October 2013, with sales sliding in both the detached house and multi-unit sides of the market, according to the latest HIA New Home Sales Report. New homes sales declined by 6.9 per cent in June compared with the previous month and were 11.9 per cent lower than the…

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  • Real Estate News

    Stone Real Estate opens first regional office in Wollongong

    Stone Real Estate opens the doors of its Illawarra office today – the brand’s first office outside metropolitan Sydney. Wollongong agents Michael Schlegel and Paul Piacentin are at the helm of Stone’s 12th office after the company started three years ago. The pair brings over 30 years of local market experience to the new franchise, which will cover suburbs from…

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  • INDUSTRY NEWS

    CoreLogic Property Pulse and auctions 27 July 2017 – renting on the rise and homeownership declining

    CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher said analysis of recent Census results show the proportion of properties rented has been trending higher, increasing from 29.6% at the time of the 2011 Census and 27.2% at the time of the 2006 Census to reach 30.9% of all dwellings in 2016. “While the proportion of dwellings being rented is climbing, the proportion of…

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  • Real Estate News

    Laing + Simmons Port Macquarie wins office of the year at 50th Anniversary awards

    This year marks 50 years for Laing+Simmons, who held their annual awards night on Saturday to celebrate the group’s achievements. Laing+Simmons Port Macquarie took the Office of the Year Award, while the North Sydney team was recognised with the Gold Award for Business Growth. Damian King of Port Macquarie took home the Doug Laing Memorial Award, named after one of…

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  • Real Estate News

    HEM Property is a finalist in Greater Port Macquarie Business Awards

    HEM Property is a finalist in the New Business category of the 2017 Greater Port Macquarie Business Awards. The young business was started five months ago by three agents who wanted to make customers their focus. Naomi Hunter said she and her fellow directors David Evans and Kristian Murphy know the client comes first, given how deeply emotional and personal…

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  • Real Estate News

    London house sells after having viewing staged over Facebook Live

    Estateagenttoday.co.uk reported that the online agency Housesimple was aiming to sell the three-bedroom semi-detached bungalow in Rainham, east London, valued at between £470,000 and £475,000. The owner, Shanty Helim, staged the Facebook Live viewing herself, and viewers were encouraged to make an offer on the home via the Facebook Messenger application during and following the streaming. Over 20,000 people viewed…

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