Samantha McLean

Samantha McLean is the Co-founder and Managing Editor of Elite Agent, Australia's trusted platform for real estate news, insights, and community connection. With over 20 years in sales and marketing across respected global companies, Samantha brings practical expertise and thoughtful leadership to the industry. Since founding Elite Agent, Samantha has grown the brand from a magazine into a dynamic media hub that includes the Elevate podcast, daily newsletters, and engaging industry events. Her approachable style and genuine curiosity have earned Elite Agent recognition, including multiple Mumbrella awards for excellence. Samantha is passionate about exploring how technology, especially artificial intelligence, can improve productivity and client relationships without losing the essential human touch. She regularly discusses these topics with industry experts on the Elevate podcast. She holds a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology Sydney. Connect with Samantha at Elite Agent or aipoweredagents.com or visit her personal website samanthamclean.com.
  • Elite Agent

    Steve Carroll: Robots, Driverless Cars and the Need for Speed

    Ladies and gentlemen, in the future, when you get home from work, who would you rather have cook your dinner… your partner, or a robot programmed by Jamie Oliver? This was one of the opening questions from Steve Carroll in his keynote at this year’s Momentum events across Australia. Elite Agent’s Samantha McLean took notes and has unpacked some of…

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  • Real Estate News

    Wrap up – What’s new for FY 18: Samantha McLean

    July 1 is a date in everyone’s calendar. Not only is it the start of the new financial year, and the halfway point in the calendar year, but also the date when many of the state and federal budget initiatives come into effect. Here is a roundup of what’s changed around the country and in each state when the clock…

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  • Real Estate News

    Building Ministers Move on Building Product Safety

    Friday’s meeting of the Intergovernmental Building Ministers’ Forum (BMF) presented an opportunity take action on building product safety in the wake of the recent London Grenfell Tower fire and follows calls by many to undertake audits of residential apartment buildings and other high risk buildings. The BMF is a body of Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers responsible for building and plumbing policy and…

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  • Real Estate News

    To New Beginnings: Nikki Gogan Moves to Caporn Young

    After 30 years in Northam, WA and 11 and a half years as a member of the Hollett & Lawrence Real Estate team, Nikki Gogan has moved to Fremantle to be a part of Caporn Young, working closely with Associate Director and RERN Hall of Fame winner Stefanie Dobro. Speaking to Samantha McLean yesterday, Nikki says while she is excited about the…

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  • Elite Agent

    Tom Panos – Commissions Are In the Community, Not In the Office

    “‘HI. HOW’S THE SALE OF your place going?’ One of three things will happen when you say this. People are going to say to you, ‘We’ve already sold.’ Some people will say to you, ‘We don’t have a property to sell.’ Some people will say to you, ‘It’s not on the market yet.’ Bingo.” This is one of the classic…

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  • Elite Agent

    Tilting not juggling: Why its better to be deliberately out of balance

    Work-life balance, it’s kind of unicorn-ish isn’t it? Forget the latest designer handbag, for many women (and men) the concept of work-life balance is the “new black” in terms of status symbols, worn a bit like a medal. But is being able to perfectly balance your work and personal life really real? ‘Having it all’ seems to have become ‘doing…

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  • Brand Editorial

    Console Cloud Has Arrived

    In February we spoke to Console Group CEO Tim Molloy about the new beginning for Console and the goal of having their first client on the new platform by 31 March. Having successfully achieved this milestone, we caught up with Tim again recently to find out what exciting things we can expect from Console in the coming months. With the…

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  • Elite Agent

    Mighty Mackay: Leanne Druery

    AFTER WATCHING one of Tom Panos’ famous Sunday night rants, Transform 2017 winner Leanne Druery took on board his five-second rule of decision making. At the time she had been contemplating returning to her career as a sales consultant after the tragic loss of her husband three months earlier. Feeling there was nothing to lose and everything to gain, Leanne…

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  • Elite Agent

    New App Developed to Keep Drones Safe

    The Civil Aviation Authority of Australia (CASA) have partnered with specialist drone software company Drone Complier to develop a smartphone app to make flying drones safer. For the first time, an official app has been developed in Australia to help drone flyers stay safe and abide by the safety regulations. The app is called “Can I fly there?” and displays…

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  • Real Estate News

    New Player in the Bid for Fairfax

      The battle for Fairfax Media and its lucrative property portal Domain took another interesting turn yesterday after a second US private equity player entered the fray with a rival and slightly higher offer. The latest bidder is San Francisco-based Hellman & Friedman (H&F) which has offered between $1.225 and $1.250 per share for 100 per cent of the company.…

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  • Elite Agent

    Time, Trust and Transparency

    NIGEL DALTON IS PART thought leader, historian, geek, and agile promoter. Heading up the REA Labs in his new role as Chief Inventor he is at the forefront of technological change in the real estate industry. Samantha McLean sat down with Nigel to talk about the chemicals that bubble away in the lab and how they may be indicators of…

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  • Real Estate News

    A New Home for PEXA by Futurespace

    PEXA, the company that provides the future of real estate transactions is moving it’s 200 staff to a futuristic new office in Collins Square, Melbourne CBD. The new office has been designed by leading workspace design firm, Futurespace incorporating the futuristic focus that saw PEXA rank as the fifth fastest growing tech startup in the Deloitte 2016 Technology Fast 500.…

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  • Elite Agent

    The Art of Retargeting Online

    RETARGETING, SOMETIMES CALLED remarketing, in simple terms, helps you reach people who have previously visited your website by showing them your ads on other well known sites on the internet. Adwerx, newly launched in Australia, makes this process both simple and cost-effective for real estate agents. Samantha McLean sat down with Adwerx CEO Jed Carlson to unpack this exciting new…

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  • Real Estate News

    LJ Hooker appoints Jason Rose to the role of National Business Growth Coach

    LJ Hooker has bolstered its Business Development Team with the key appointment of industry veteran Jason Rose to head national coaching and office development. Mr Rose, who over a 30-year career has called more than 3,000 auctions, returns to LJ Hooker where he previously held network sales and auctioneer roles. A specialist in online lead generation, Mr Rose’s appointment comes…

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  • TECH + SOCIAL

    Samantha McLean: It’s always about time

    Since everyone’s time is limited to the same 24 hours in a day, the equation comes down to how much you can fit into those 24 hours, whether it’s real estate, other work, play or family.

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  • Brand Editorial

    Big Data and the Future of Prospecting

    WE LIVE IN AN AGE OF consumerism, where potential clients have more information about choosing an agent than ever. But it is also true that we can access a whole lot more information that enables us to be smarter at marketing to them. Together with CoreLogic Australia, Elite Agent Magazine gathered an expert panel to share insights as to how…

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  • Brand Editorial

    Digital and Big Data – What Do They Really Mean?

    THERE ARE TWO BROAD CONCEPTS which we need to understand to follow what’s occurring in real estate and other industries right now. Samantha McLean of Elite Agent Magazine starts by defining the terms and explaining their significance. ‘DIGITAL’: HOW WE CAN ENGAGE WITH CUSTOMERS ‘Digital’ means different things to different people. For some it’s purely about technology; for others it…

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  • Brand Editorial

    Big Data beyond Australia

    THE GLOBAL REAL ESTATE market is just beginning to tap into the power of predictive analytics and other data-driven technology. Overseas markets such as the US are working through the available use cases and expanding into many types of niche solutions. These too provide valuable insights for real estate agencies looking for a new way to get an edge in…

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  • Brand Editorial

    Creating Value in the Knowledge Economy

    Matt Kuperholz is no stranger to all types of data. As PwC’s Chief Data Scientist, he was recently honoured by Malcolm Turnbull and the Australian Chief Scientist as one of 100 knowledge workers shaping the new economy. Matt was formally trained in actuarial science and computer science, and has since honed and expanded his technical skills in these fields with…

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  • EPM

    Rental Revolutionary: an exclusive with the new CEO at rent.com.au

    GREG BADER IS THE NEW CEO at rent.com.au. After just six months in the job, he is already shaking up the way that renters apply for property, as well as crafting an innovative pricing model where the agent pays zero unless the tenant also comes from rent.com.au. With the percentage of renters in today’s market continually growing, he says that…

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  • Elite Agent

    Collective Success: Joel Hood and Jarrod Carman

    JARROD CARMAN is the driving force behind the Eview Group Mornington Peninsula office in Victoria, with nine years in real estate and an Honors degree in Psychology. JOEL HOOD works in the same office, but as the principal of his own brand and business. Collectively, the two of them swept the Eview Group Annual awards in 2016, with Carman winning…

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  • EPM

    Regional Growth Master: Dave Skow Wagga Property Management

    DAVE SKOW is the owner of Wagga Property Management in the NSW Riverina. Grabbing an opportunity to open a property management only business in the area, he has grown his rent roll from zero to just over 500 properties in under three years. Passionate about growth, this is his remarkable story. Firstly, Dave, tell us a little bit about your…

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  • Brand Editorial

    To New Beginnings: Console to Launch Cloud Product in March Under New CEO Tim Molloy

    Tim Molloy is no stranger to growing businesses, knowing as he does how almost any industry can be transformed through technology. Now, as the CEO of Console, he is taking a close look at how to make the role of the property manager more productive and efficient using the ‘new’ Console as a vehicle for change. Samantha McLean spoke exclusively…

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  • Elite Agent

    Five in Five: Five tips from #icny17 day2

    Some notes from Sam’s Five in Five from #icny17 – Day 2 On day two we looked at the concept of saving and compressing time in real estate as we expect other transactions in life to be similarly compressed. Here are five technology trends we saw at Inman on Day 2 Taking home inventory/creating home logbooks. Similar to the concept of…

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  • Elite Agent

    10 Real Estate Trends to Watch For in 2017: Samantha McLean

    Last week, as I was sitting in Claudio Encina’s hotseat, I had to answer a question about the trends I thought would impact the real estate industry in 2017. Having had a little more time to reflect on everything I have seen, heard and read this year, I’m going out on a limb with some predictions – plus a few…

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  • Brand Editorial

    What Needs to Transform? Part Two: A Solid Foundation for a Bright Future

    To transform requires more than to simply make a few changes. ‘Transformation’ implies a metamorphosis into a new state that bears little resemblance to the original. It’s now time to unpack the journey’s the teams have taken and discuss with the directors their before and after milestones. All four agencies that participated in Transform PM are different in size, structure…

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  • Elite Agent

    Precision and Personal Branding: Sonya Treloar

    This year, she was ranked number four on the international list, made the A-List for the third year running and was also inducted into the exclusive Ray White Chairman’s Club; proving age, gender and being authentically who you are do not create barriers to success in real estate. Story by Samantha McLean. Starting her real estate career in real estate in…

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  • Elite Agent

    10 Digital Tools to Supercharge Your Marketing

    Regular readers of Elite Agent’s daily e-newsletter The Brief receive a marketing and technology tip every Tuesday and Wednesday. Many of the tools we have talked about are things we use and love ourselves – they keep our website humming, and can help you achieve great results for your digital marketing too. Here are our 10 favourite digital marketing tools of…

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  • Elite Agent

    The Dream Team

    PASSION, DRIVE, PERSISTENCE: While balancing an ‘apprenticeship’ in property with tertiary studies, these three impressive young sales associates in the Goldman team are well on their way to success at the prestigious Sotheby’s International business in Sydney. While each are still yet to turn 20, they seem to have the maturity and drive of many people twice their age. Story…

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  • EPM

    A UK Perspective on Technology and Change: Peter Knight

    Peter Knight, Chairman of The Property Academy in the United Kingdom, is one of the leading voices driving innovation in the real estate industry in both the UK and Europe. We caught up with him during his recent visit to Australia and asked him how real estate property managers and leasing agents in Britain are dealing with disruption – and…

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  • Elite Agent

    A look back on 2016, from the editor’s chair: Samantha McLean

    2016 has been a big year for the Elite Agent Magazine team. Our chief editor, Samantha McLean, shares her key takeaways and experiences from the ride. Every year in November, Oprah Winfrey writes a list of her favourite things, the ‘O list’ in Oprah Magazine. It’s the list of awesome things that she would like to get for Christmas that…

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  • Elite Agent

    Five ways to achieve your goals in 2017

    New Year’s resolutions: They’re easy to set, and they’re even easier to forget. Take some time now to be strategic about your goals for the new year so you can make the right resolution and put yourself in a position to succeed. 1. Be Focused We all have plenty of things we’d like to work on. Whether doubling or tripling…

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  • Elite Agenttom panos

    Tom Panos: Playing the Long Game

    Auctioneer. Coach. Media expert. Speaker. Author. Social media celebrity… These terms have all been used to describe a man who in our industry really needs no introduction. Elite Agent Editor Samantha McLean went one-on-one with Tom Panos to talk technology, lead generation, and why it is essential to play the long game in today’s competitive environment where the consumer is…

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  • Elite Agent

    Never Cold Call Again

    We live in an age of ‘consumerism’ where potential clients have more information on us than ever. But it is also true that we can access a whole lot more information that enables us to be smarter at marketing to them. Together with CoreLogic Australia, Elite Agent gathered an expert panel to discuss and provide readers with insights into how…

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  • EPM

    Vale Simon Cox

    It has been a mass of heavy hearts in the industry this week as we learned of the passing of Coronis Rental Area Leader, Simon Cox, who lost his fight with brain cancer on Thursday, 22 September 2016. Highly regarded throughout the real estate industry, Simon’s career in property management spanned more than 20 years in varying roles from Property…

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