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Elite Agent
Calling Australia Home
WHAT IS IT REALLY LIKE to start your life over in a new country with a new career? Two agents, Namir Mikha of Belle Property Newtown and Jessica Chea of First National Real Estate Waverley City, immigrated to Australia each for very different reasons. Here they tell June Ramli how they’ve made a successful home for themselves in Australia and…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
The Answer Housing Affordability Challenge Is To Increase Housing Supply:HIA
Australia needs supply not demand focused solutions to address our national affordability challenges, the Housing Industry Association said. HIA’s Deputy Managing Director, Graham Wolfe in a statement said any attempts to remove the demand for new housing would reduce supply, affordability and jobs. “While several measures announced today by Labor to address Australia’s housing affordability challenges provide a sensible approach…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Regional areas a draw for established buyers and retirees: Domain
Key Findings Regional resurgence in coastal areas including Tweed and Wollongong, with yearly price growth to date now 13-20 percent Richmond Valley records strongest quarterly growth, up 16.4 percent Median house prices in Dubbo, Orange, Wagga Wagga and Mackay are down over the quarter There are some major market movements in the March quarter and across the calendar year, with…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Master Builders Australia welcomes 457 visa program changes
Master Builders Australia say they welcome changes to the temporary skilled migration program which was announced by the Government on Tuesday. Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn said providing Australians with jobs, and training the younger generation for rewarding careers, has always been their priority. “However access to foreign workers to fill immediate skills gaps on projects where locals…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Melbourne’s median house price hits $800,000
Melbourne’s median house price has recorded its strongest quarterly price growth since 2013 to smash the $800,000 barrier for the first time, new data from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) shows. The citywide median increased 7.6 percent in the first three months of 2017 to a record high $826,000 – up more than $55,000 on December figures. REIV…
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FRANCHISE NEWS
Cobden & Hayson expands to six offices in Sydney
Boutique agency Cobden & Hayson is strategically growing through Sydney’s inner urban fringe with the launch of their fifth and sixth offices in the popular Marrickville and Surry Hills areas. The Marrickville office has just opened as a full-service real estate agency with both residential and commercial and industrial sales and property management departments. The creative force behind the inception…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Housing Affordability Records Improvement: HIA
The latest Housing Industry Association (HIA) report indicates that there has been a steady improvement in housing affordability during the opening months of 2017. HIA senior economist, Shane Garrett in a statement said that during the March 2017 quarter, the HIA Affordability index improved by 1.9 percent – and is 1.2 percent better than this time last year. “The improvement…
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FRANCHISE NEWS
Heath Dockary team joins Di Jones
The strategic expansion at Di Jones Real Estate continues with the Northern Suburbs team growing through the appointment of high-profile agent Heath Dockary and his support team. Dockary has been recognised in the top 25 agents across the McGrath network for several years and in the top five percent of all agents in NSW. Di Jones Real Estate CEO Rob…
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FRANCHISE NEWS
RE/MAX Australia Seeks Buyers from China with New Juwai.com Partnership
RE/MAX Australia and RE/MAX New Zealand have announced a new partnership agreement with Chinese portal Juwai.com for full Chinese translation of listings. Whilst RE/MAX listings will continue to be bulk uploaded to Juwai.com in English, the new partnership provides RE/MAX agents and their vendors the option to upgrade individual listings with full Chinese translation and a superior listing rank for…
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EPM: Supplier News
Aussie startup just became your ideal housemate
House sitting just got a makeover with My Home Watch (MHW), a GPS tracked, live streamed, paid-for service that helps homeowners do a range of things pertaining to their housing needs while away from the property. From putting the bins out and looking after pets and plants to taking the mail and papers in and checking for pest infestations, MHW…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Axing Of 457 won’t impact vacancy rates, say REINSW
The axing of the 457 visa schemes will only have some bearing on the rental markets in several parts of Sydney such as the iconic Bondi beach and upmarket suburbs like Manly, the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) said. REINSW president John Cunningham said there would be some areas in Australia where the banning of the 457…
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EPM: Supplier News
First National Expands Footprint
Cooperative brand First National Real Estate has expanded its network of offices nationally, opening 35 new locations in the past 12 months. Much of the growth, they say, is centred in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland. Chief Executive, Ray Ellis, attributes the rapid increase to First National’s operating model and its membership’s supportive culture. “First National Real Estate’s…
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SA
Turner Real Estate Appoints Two New Leaders
One of South Australia’s largest independent and family-owned agencies, Turner Real Estate, has added to its leadership team with new appointments for Lachlan Turner and Emma Slape earlier in the month. Lachlan Turner, now Managing Director, will take over from his father Robin Turner, who in addition to running this business is also a long time serving president of the Real Estate…
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NEWS
The demographics of a typical Australian as revealed by ABS Census Data
What makes an average Australian? The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released preliminary results ahead of the overall result due in June. In the meantime, the 2016 Census has revealed the ‘typical’ Australian is a 38-year-old female who was born in Australia and is of English ancestry. She is married and lives in a couple family with two children and…
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NEWS
Permit Ready Rebrands To Development Ready In Time For Expansion
Two years after its launch, Permit Ready has announced the renaming and rebranding of its platform to Development Ready, to coincide with an expanded service offering across Australia’s east coast. Development Ready is a buying and selling hub exclusively for development sites, instantly connecting real estate agents with qualified buyers sourced from developers and investors nationwide. They say the site…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Treasurer’s pre-budget comments considered positive by industry experts
In a key pre-budget address to the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Treasurer Scott Morrison reaffirmed the Coalition’s strident opposition to changing negative gearing tax concessions, plus a drive to increase private investment in the supply of housing. Key points in Morrison’s Address No disruption to current negative gearing policies (as this would come at a cost to renters)…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Young Aussies still behind when it comes to homeownership, says HSBC study
83 percent of Australian millennials intend to purchase a home in the next five years Less than a third of millennials own a home in Australia Only 17 percent of Australian millennials have a precise budget for buying a home Eighty-three percent of Australian millennials having intentions of owning a home in the next five years, but the number of…
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NEWS
ABS data highlights moderating investor housing finance:REIA
The latest housing finance figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Monday confirmed that funding approvals for investor housing are moderating, the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) said. The value of investment housing commitments increased by a modest 0.7 percent in February in trend terms and decreased by 5.9 percent in seasonally adjusted terms which are…
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NEWS
CoreLogic appoints Geoff White as State Director For Victoria & Tasmania
The former head of Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) Geoff White has been named as CoreLogic newest state director for Victoria & Tasmania. His appointment takes effect as of today. In a statement on Monday, White said he was elated with the opportunity as this will enable him to assist thousands of SME businesses to grow and improve their…
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NEWS
Crystalknows, a software that helps a person write emails the correct way
US-based software Crystalknows is an AI type software that helps users write emails in a tone that would connect more specifically to their recipients. Email app Crystalknows thinks it knows how you like to be spoken to, and also knows how others like to be spoken to. The software looks at characteristics of a person according to the public information…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Airbnb War Needs Government To Legislate A Truce Says Industry Expert
The war between Airbnb and apartment owners is only going to get worse unless the government takes decisive action to regulate the short-term letting industry, said strata industry expert Paul Morton. The New South Wales government is due to give its response to the report of the Parliamentary inquiry into Airbnb next week and Morton, the managing director of Lannock…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Master Builders Australia welcomes government’s decision on company tax cut
Master Builders Australia has praised the senate’s decision in passing the Government’s company tax cut for businesses turning over less than $50 million, adding that it was a win for the building and construction industry, the economy and the community. MBA’s first woman CEO Denita Wawn said this was a big win for 121,000 small and medium building businesses and…
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FRANCHISE NEWS
Regional SA and Adelaide Offices Dominate Real Estate Industry Awards
The expansion of Raine & Horne in South Australia was underscored by the significant wins of its leading city and regional offices at the franchise’s state awards held last month at the National Wine Centre. Raine & Horne Salisbury, led by Andrew Harvey, won the group’s top office category for South Australia and Best City Office. Adelaide property professional Kate…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Cooling measures do little to stem property demand says REA, prices will continue to rise in April
Queensland concerns – drop in rental demand suggests the market will take time to absorb current supply Demand for rental properties on realestate.com.au hit a record high in March Buyer demand for NSW units weakened in March – affordability issues beginning to impact the state Victorian first home buyer measures have further accelerated demand Cooling measures pushed through by Australian…
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NEWS
Harcourts International seeing positive results with auctions in the US
Australian-headquartered real estate group Harcourts has found much success in the United States in recent months with the introduction of the their new auction platform. The group which has over 30 offices in the USA began trialling the Australian auction process throughout Southern California late 2014 and to their surprise with overwhelming response. This was a far cry from the…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
REINSW welcomes changes to give grants for first home buyers to buy established homes
Reports that the New South Wales government is considering changes for first homebuyers including subsidies for the purchase of existing homes, as well as new ones and amendments to stamp duty, is consistent with effort taken by the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales for months on end. REINSW president John Cunningham said the institute had been highlighting the…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
REIA President: Pest And Building Reports Ought To Be Compulsory In All States
All Australian states should make it mandatory for prospective buyers to obtain a pest and building report from the current owner of the properties and not have to pay for those reports individually. Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) president Malcolm Gunning noted at present only Canberra and Tasmania made it compulsory for sellers to offer these reports to their…
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NEWS
New Home Approvals Hits A Six-Month High: HIA
New building approvals for February has hit a six-month high the Housing Industry Association (HIA) said in a statement on Monday. HIA senior economist Shane Garrett said new dwelling approvals for February reached its highest level since August of last year, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In seasonally-adjusted terms, total new dwelling approvals increased by…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
RBA leaves cash rate unchanged at 1.5 percent
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.5 percent after its monthly meet on Tuesday. RBA governor Philip Lowe said the Australian economy is continuing its transition following the end of the mining investment boom. “Recent data are consistent with ongoing moderate growth. Most measures of business confidence are at, or above,…
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National
R&W Opens New Illawarra Office
The Richardson & Wrench group has opened a new office in the fast-growing Illawarra region which will start trading on Monday. Known as R&W Dapto, the new office marks the return of the franchise to the Illawarra region after an absence of many years. R&W Managing director Andrew Cocks said the combination of Sydney’s growing population and housing affordability pressures…
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NEWS
Liverpool real estate agency merges with Starr Partners
In a statement made by the company on Monday, Liverpool-based Metro Professionals, following a recent rebranding, will now be known as Starr Partners Liverpool. Company director Gavin Belci said the name change comes after it had merged with Starr Partners earlier in the year to future-proof its business further which has been operational for the last 20 years. “Joining Starr…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Kitchens And Bathrooms Now Worth A Whopping $11 Billion A Year
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) revealed on Tuesday that the installation of new kitchens and bathrooms in Australia is now worth a whopping $11 billion a year. With that in mind, the association decided to launch the HIA-GWA Kitchens and Bathroom Report for 2016/17 to study the trend further. “The installation of new kitchens and bathrooms in Australia is worth…
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Raine & Horne Rural Sydney appointed by private agribusiness funds to secure quality assets
Raine & Horne Rural Sydney has won the bid to identify and secure primary production agriculture assets on behalf of several local and global agribusiness funds. To facilitate the engagement, Raine & Horne Rural Sydney has finalised a joint venture with aviation firm, Fleet Helicopters, to help transport its high-profile clients and investment fund managers to property inspections across Australia.…
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NEWS
Leading agent joins Ray White Menai
Attracted to the team culture and business values, well regarded local Menai agent Lene Mitchell has joined the Ray White team. After nearly ten years of owning and operating her own real estate business, Lene brings with her extensive experience across both sales and property management. “I really respect Matt and Gavin and what they’ve built – they’ve got a…
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Home Values Rise To Unprecedented Levels says CoreLogic March Report
Best performing capital city: Hobart +5.6 percent Weakest performing capital city: Darwin -3.1 percent Highest rental yields: Hobart & Darwin with gross rental yield of 5 percent and Hobart units at 5.6 percent Lowest rental yields: Sydney & Melbourne houses with gross rental yield of 2.7 percent and Sydney units at 3.7 percent Most expensive city: Sydney with a median…
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