OPINION
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Three real estate lessons for 2021: Manos Findikakis
We will all remember 2020 as the “unexpected” year. A year that began with extreme optimism, which was abruptly met with total chaos, and now exhibits signs of this centuries ‘roaring 20’s’. It’s funny, although so very predictable, how history tends to repeat itself. That is not to say that as a global community we are out of the woods…
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Leaders: Take a break…
As the months of 2020 wore on, the faces of those staring back at me through the ‘Zoom portal’ started to change. The make-up was removed and the coffee levels increased. The language being used, the rhythm of the dialogue, the speed of decision making, the questioning of self, the level of support required, all slowly started to resemble that…
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Hayley Baxter: The traits of top property management teams
The most successful teams (you guessed it) actually work as a team Competitive cultures can work for some professions, but property management is not one of them. Possibly the most important aspect of customer experience from a landlord’s perspective is the feeling that their investment is in good hands, and that everyone in the team knows what’s going on. If…
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2021 Market Outlook: Leanne Pilkington
All things considered, 2020 closed on a high. House prices are showing a mild increase month-on-month in metropolitan and regional locations, which provides some comfort to consumers as Australia embarks upon a long-term economic recovery. In an unusual but appropriate move for the times, the Reserve Bank has confirmed interest rates will remain low for the next few years, which…
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Hit the reset button: Nick Brown
Being a property manager has likely never been tougher than it was in 2020. Nick Brown takes a look at what you can do to reset, recharge and make the best of things in the future.
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14 property and finance predictions for 2021: Rebecca Jarret-Dalton
Just as we are about to close the door on 2020, many of us are watching the property market and economy hoping to anticipate what opportunities are likely to present themselves in 2021. Based on recent events, the state of the nation and our current appetite when it comes to…
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The QR code comeback: Bill Shields
Then, the pandemic hit and the QR code was suddenly everywhere. Bill Shields explains how the QR code should be harnessed as an open house tool. If you've been to a cafe or restaurant lately, you'll have noticed QR codes have suddenly become synonymous with checking-in. Just scan the code…
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Convenience in 2021: Agent checklist
The concepts of good service and convenience are now synonymous. You can’t have one without the other. If you’re not providing your customers convenient, easy and flexible ways to work with you, through channels they wish to engage in, at times suitable to them, then you can’t claim to be offering a good service. Convenience means providing customers the choice…
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Struck down by tinselitis? Here’s what to do
A serious case of “tinselitis” is about to sweep the nation. It happens every year, when the last of the Halloween candy is cleared from the shelves to make way for Pavlova Magic and extra large, festive-size boxes of Favourites. With every Bublé song, more and more of us become infected – and there’s no cure till Boxing Day. Around…
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Is this the beginning of Australia’s biggest rental boom?
Possibly the most important story for Australian real estate in 2021 will be an all-time record high increase in household rents and a dire shortage of accommodation for people to live in. Australia will not experience a real estate Armageddon but the biggest rental boom in living memory is currently…
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Learning through a crisis
While the complete fallout of the pandemic is still unknown, it is safe to say that it has fundamentally changed the way we all do business. It is also safe to say that the social and economic impacts have been wide-ranging and far-reaching, and few have remained unscathed. However, the prioritisation of innovation during the COVID-19 crisis has been key…
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Handling negative social media reviews
A bad review is not necessarily a bad thing, according to media coach Imogen Callister. It's what you decide to do next.
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How to win the pre-Christmas sales rush with digital marketing
Christmas can really throw out the selling cycle. I wouldn’t be surprised if the downtime period was extended this year, as families cross borders to reunite for the holidays. Are you prepared for that?
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Renters in Victoria soon won’t have to deal with dodgy heaters and insulation
Renters will no longer have to contend with poorly insulated homes and Victoria will move closer towards 7-star home efficiency standards under a A$797 million plan announced this week. It’s purportedly the biggest energy efficiency scheme in any Australian state’s history. Energy efficiency essentially means using less energy to perform the same job. It’s…
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The benefits of working with a buyer’s agent
The relationship between listing agent and buyer’s agent can be a dynamic one in the real estate industry. When built on mutual respect and understanding, working together can actually be quite powerful - allowing for results which are mutually beneficial and providing the potential for a win-win situation allround. With…
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2021: The year of people-driven leadership
As we move into 2021, there are still so many questions to be asked, and answered, about the lasting impact of 2020.
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Overcome what is holding you back
Can you remember when you first started in this wonderful industry? You got your qualification, you did your induction training and you were feeling fired up and ready to take on your patch and be the next number one. On your first day in the real world of real estate, your principal would have said something along the lines of,…
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$1 billion per year (or less) could halve rental housing stress
COVID has shown us what’s possible when it comes to alleviating poverty. For six months JobSeeker payments were doubled and then maintained at a level 50 per cent above normal. When the bonus finishes at year end it is likely to be permanently increased for the first time in almost 30 years. Commonwealth rent assistance could do with the same sort of attention. Rent assistance…
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The 4 Cs of a successful real estate agency in 2021
No matter how your agency pivoted during lockdown, the reality is that remote work has become the new normal. Some companies, like Twitter and Square, are allowing staff to work from anywhere – all the time – wherever they feel most creative and productive. Others are offering a 50/50 split, or another mix. Whichever direction you’ve decided to go, remote…
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The suburbs are the future of post-COVID retail
The COVID-19 pandemic delivered a body blow to CBD retailers, but it’s just the latest of their challenges in recent years.
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Healthy housing agenda needed
The World Health Organisation has always been interested in housing as one of the big “causes of the causes”, of the social determinants, of health. The WHO launched evidence-based guidelines for healthy housing policies in 2019. Australia is behind the eight ball on healthy housing. Other governments, including in the United States, United Kingdom and New…
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How to make your display suite an ‘Instagrammable moment’
Every time someone visits your display suite presents a huge opportunity to reach a whole community via their social media platforms. How? By creating ‘Instagrammable moments.’
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Foreign real estate investors tipped to favour Australia over UK and US
“Australia’s reputation has been buffed and shined to a new level of polish.” Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board has released data on foreign buyer transactions in 2018-19 that reveals where foreign investors buy residential real estate, and what types of properties they prefer.Insights into foreign purchases and sales of residential real estate 2018-19 shows that during FY19, the total number…
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The social science behind auctions
More than ever before, auctions shape the economy. Sites such as eBay have made them an everyday transaction. The placement of every Google ad is priced by an instantaneous mini-auction. Governments use them to allocate radio spectrum and to run emissions trading schemes. The 2020 Nobel Prize in economics has been awarded to two Americans, Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson, for their work in analysing…
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COVID impacts demand a change of plan: from commuting to living locally
Long-term planning has delivered mass transit systems to cater for high-patronage, hub-and-spoke transport systems. Unfortunately, this has left many city residents without basic access to public transport services. And we could never have planned for the impacts of COVID-19. Our previous plans were based on the best available data at the time. Today, these plans must be critically reviewed using new…
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5 principles to make change stick
If you’ve ever wondered why it’s hard to make a change in your agency, or why innovation and tech adoption seems to lag in the real estate sector, it might be a problem of scale. Real estate constitutes Australia’s largest market, worth about $7.1 trillion, with the next largest being superannuation at $2.1 trillion. CoreLogic data shows residential sales this…
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Leading the revolution
Starting a new business can be a daunting task. John Knight shares the lessons he has learnt on developing a vision, empowering others to follow you and forging towards success as a team.
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From troublesome to trailblazing
Growing up, Tiffany Bowtell's big ideas were often misconstrued as poor behaviour. Never one to give up, she's gone on to forge a successful and innovative career in the property management industry, as she explains here.
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Ramping up regional service
With city dwellers buying up in nearby regional cities and towns, Mark Nunn says offering top customer service and meeting industry demands has never been more important. With an upswing in metropolitan families moving to regional areas in recent years, a strong standard of customer service has never been more…
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Build a business where sellers call you
One of the most rewarding parts of my role is identifying agent pain-points and finding solutions for them. I’m talking about those roadblocks that stop you from performing at your peak and living your best life. The kinds of things that eat into your income and time. By working through those and identifying solutions that smooth the path to success,…
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Emotional rescue: building a strong workplace
Building a strong workplace culture requires a lot of work by leadership. But the rewards are great - it can pull the business through the toughest of times - even a global pandemic. But sincerity…
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Pandemic sheds light on landlord insurance myths
The global pandemic has taught us a lot, but not all of it is about hand hygiene and social distancing. COVID-19 has also highlighted important misconceptions about landlord insurance. The insurance industry is already complex…
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The easing of regional Victoria’s restrictions signals hope for Melbourne too
Regional Victoria will take the third step out of COVID-19 restrictions.
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Why COVID-19 might not change our cities as much as we expect
What will be the normal way of urban living when the COVID-19 crisis passes? What aspects will remain with us and what will disappear? The coronavirus pandemic has thrust us into a moment of rapid change. Like all change, it is difficult to predict. But lessons from history provide us with two important insights. First, temporary change sometimes has remarkably…
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