Samantha McLean
Samantha McLean is the co-founder and Managing Editor of Elite Agent, Australia's leading independent platform for real estate professionals. Over 17 years, she and co-founder Mark Edwards have built Elite Agent from a print magazine into a digital media and technology company serving agents and property managers across Australia and New Zealand. Sam delivers AI training and keynotes to major real estate networks across the country, and has built multiple AI-powered products for the industry. She is a three-time Business Magazine Editor of the Year (Mumbrella Publish Awards) and holds a Bachelor of Business from UTS.
When no one’s watching – Stavros Ambatzidis on giving back to your community
A sign on a fence can tell a community who you are. Turning up to pack backpacks for displaced kids tells your team what you stand for.
Who does your customer want to become?
Use verified property features and real customer questions to explore aspirations and write more relevant advertising hooks.
Will AI finally kill cold calling?
A call between two AI assistants raises a better prospecting question: who would actually welcome the conversation?
REA’s CTO explains why faster AI needs better workflows
Steve Maidment says the value of AI depends on how work moves through a team, with REA’s FlowLab…
Cameron McIntyre says trust remains the agent’s AI advantage
REA Group’s CEO sees an opportunity for AI to give agents more time for the relationships and conversations…
Agent ideas put everyday problems at heart of Hackdays
Commercial marketing documents, rental inspection requests and listing preparation inspired the winning customer projects at REA Group’s 2026…
The wisdom of Leanne Pilkington – 30 lessons from the woman who learned to back herself
Leanne Pilkington spent years thinking of herself as “a great number two”. Then she bought into Laing+Simmons with…
Economists and markets split on September rate call
Ten of 12 tracked economists expect the RBA to hold, but market pricing implies a 54 per cent…
What buyers and vendors actually want from property marketing
Three agents, three marketing schedules, and the only real difference between them was the number at the bottom.…
The professor problem: Fiona Blayney on who is actually teaching your people
In Track 02 of The Edit, Samantha McLean, Chris Hanley and Fiona Blayney examine the gap between managing…
The wisdom of Claudio Encina – 30 lessons from the coach who still has a coach
He started at LJ Hooker Bondi Junction in 1995, learned soft skills at a Hollywood acting school on…
Hope is not a strategy: Chris Hanley on trust, truth and moving stock
In the first track of The Edit, Samantha McLean and Chris Hanley get past the easy answers on…
Winning is just the beginning for Barfoot & Thompson
Seven months after a history-making trifecta at the International Property Awards, New Zealand's largest family-owned real estate company…
Google won’t say what its new spam update is hunting (but we can probably guess)
The third spam crackdown of 2026 arrived on Tuesday 18 August with no blog post and no list…
The wisdom of Fiona Blayney – 30 lessons from the woman who banned the word busy
She started on a Woolworths checkout, changing out of her school uniform on the bus, and has been…
Dr Fred Grosse in his own words
In 2014 I called a rabbi to help promote an event. He spent 30 minutes working on me…
The wisdom of Matt Lahood – 30 lessons from a CEO who hasn’t had a desk in 20 years
The Agency's co-founder has sat down with Elite Agent eleven times since 2017, and this is the distilled…
Five AI-powered ways to prepare for your next listing presentation
Five practical AI strategies to test buyer needs, prepare for questions, plan a campaign and explain the next…
Domain’s parent posts first profitable residential quarter
A year after acquiring Domain, CoStar’s residential business has turned Adjusted EBITDA‑positive on the back of double‑digit revenue…
The house is listening – and it heard your vendor report
More than half of sellers in a new US survey kept the cameras rolling during open homes –…
The wisdom of Chris Hanley – 30 lessons from a man who’s never had a bad year in real estate
He's held 40 per cent market share in one of Australia's most watched postcodes for more than three…
21 reasons to send a press release – and the part AI still can’t do
Publicity wins listings, attracts good people, and builds a record you can't buy. The 21 moments worth pitching…
New data reveals what each generation wants from a new home
Boomers chase postcode and garage space while Gen Z and Millennials trade car parking for backyards and wellness…
Softer inflation weakens case for August rate rise as housing market cools
Australia’s headline inflation eased to 3.8 per cent in June, reducing pressure for another immediate interest rate rise…
The Investor Edit: Tracking Investor Trends Post-Budget
Investors pulled back after the Federal Budget, but the picture since then has been more complex. Drawing on…
Elite Agent launches Saved Articles, free for every reader
A new tool across EliteAgent.com lets readers keep the stories they want to come back to. Free for…
How To Build a Better Memory System for Your Real Estate Team
The transcript is the least interesting thing an AI meeting tool does. Here's the workflow and the prompts…
Up to 12 months for a hearing: Scotland’s tribunal backlog is a warning Australia shouldn’t ignore
Scottish landlords are waiting eight to 12 months from lodging an eviction application to getting a tribunal hearing,…
Let’s not stuff around: The weekend the Allan government made it personal
The Allan government has squeezed the industry for months. But Friday's letter naming the REIV chief executive, and…
Which Real Estate Jobs Deserve Claude Fable 5’s $1,000-an-Hour Brain
Anthropic's Fable 5 is the smartest model you can open in a browser, and from July 12 you'll…
The MacGyver factor – why you should hire people who “handle it”
The most important quality in your next hire isn't a skill. It's a disposition – and it turns…
From Hollywood luxury to doomsday prepping: why Josh Duhamel is fleeing LA for good
The reality star and cosmetics entrepreneur is offloading two Los Angeles properties as her sprawling Hidden Hills estate…
A royal-worthy retreat: Christchurch’s historic beachfront gem is up for grabs
A 1907 Edwardian home on Sumner Esplanade, restored and extended after the Canterbury earthquakes, is on the market…
Inside the Beach Boys’ US$43M ‘Good Vibrations’ oasis
The epic Nevada mansion, home to Mike Love's family for more than 40 years, includes 10 bedrooms, a…
‘You’re not in the property business’
Harvard professor Alison Wood Brooks explains why agents are in the human relationship business and why better conversations…