National
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Rental management platform Cubbi launches Instant Payments
Rental management platform Cubbi has launched instant rental payments as part of a series of new features aimed at offering an improved rental experience for owners and tenants. Cubbi’s co-founder and co-CEO, Jason Gilbert explained many in the rental proptech space were focussed on taking property management online, but Cubbi’s new features were designed to address common issues encountered by…
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Spirited rise in regional property markets
Distilleries are giving a spirited boost to the property markets in regional Victorian towns, according to an analysis by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria. REIV President Robyn Waters said the study showed that median house prices have soared over recent years in regional towns where distilleries have been established. “Victorians’ love affair with all things artisan has seen gin…
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More borrowers enticed to commit to a fixed term: Mortgage Choice
Demand for fixed rate home loans is on the rise as rates hit all-time lows and lenders target borrowers with aggressive discounting. According to Mortgage Choice’s national home loan approval data, fixed rate loans accounted for 22.47 per cent of all home loans written in May, and 21.81 per cent of all loans written in the past 12 months. Mortgage…
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Clock’s tickin’ – Qld and SA in recovery as NSW continues its decline, according to Herron Todd White
The Sunshine Coast and Bathurst are among areas sitting at the top of the property clock, bucking a trend which sees most of New South Wales in a steady decline, while much of regional Queensland begins its recovery. These are the latest insights from independent valuation and advisory firm Herron Todd White who also had some good news for much…
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The Agency achieves significant growth
The Agency Group has reported continued growth, notching up $402 million worth of property sales in April and May, and $34.8 million in year-to date Gross Commission Income (GCI) to the end of May, 2019. West Coast operations, which incorporate The Agency and SLP brands, achieved the highest GCI of $1.3m in May, while the group delivered a total of…
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McGrath predicts $6.5 million loss, appoints new CFO
McGrath Limited has announced the appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer as the company faces further losses in the final quarter of FY2019 if weak market trends continue. The company expects a full year EBITDA loss of up to $6.5 million for the year ended June, 2019, following on from an EBITDA loss of $4.5 million for the eight…
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Top sales performers recognised at the C21 Convention
At its annual Australasian Convention, Century 21 inducted Nickolas Dilles to its Hall of Fame and recognised top performers from within its network. Hamilton Island was the location of the 2019 Century 21 Convention, which saw attendees from across the business come together for three days of motivation, training, and networking. A key part of the convention was to recognise…
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Partnership gives renters a fair go with bond
Renters will be empowered with greater financial flexibility and convenience when funding their next rental bond thanks to a joint venture between Australia’s leading rental property website and a finance company. Fair Go Finance has partnered with rent.com.au to develop and fund convenient financial products aimed at more than 600,000 renters who visit RENT’s App and website each month. The…
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Agency director Sophie Lyon wins $60,000 to reinvent the rental experience
realestate.com.au has announced Jellis Craig Hawthorn Director, Sophie Lyon, is the winner of the inaugural Real Ideas Prize. The nationwide competition saw real estate industry professionals reimagine the rental experience in Australia and had a total prize pool of $100,000 up for grabs. Ms Lyon pitched ShowMeNow – an Uber style concept designed to make it easier for tenants looking…
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Simon Norris elected National President of the HIA
Housing Industry Association (HIA) National Vice President Simon Norris has been elected the industry body’s President following the recent departure of Pino Monaco. Mr Norris boasts more than two decade’s association with the HIA, including a former stint as Queensland President. “Simon’s involvement with the HIA has spanned over 20 years, in various roles including as Queensland Executive Committee member,…
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Short term growth forecasts for affordable suburbs
New research by research group sellorhold.com.au has uncovered 15 affordable suburbs around Australia, where they say buyers are tipped to make at least $50,000 in three years after offloading underperforming properties elsewhere. Head of Research Jeremy Sheppard said low growth forecasts were common in a number of suburbs in Darwin and Perth, which means that investors would likely be better…
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Crown Group property developers’ sales rebound
Australian property developer Crown Group says the Reserve Bank’s latest rate cut is welcomed by developers and is seeing a return of confidence among home buyers and property investors. Chairman and Group CEO Iwan Sunito said he had seen a surge in both confidence and buyer activity in the past two weeks, as a result of the federal election outcome.…
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The best of the best on show at AREC’s Australasian Auctioneering Competition
After the resounding success of last year’s inaugural competition, the AREC Australasian Auctioneering competition has now established itself as an integral part of the Australian Real Estate Conference. Under the direction of AREC founder John McGrath, the competition was judged by an independent panel of four, who awarded the AREC 2019 Australasian Auctioneer to New South Welshman, Jason Andrew from…
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Housing affordability improves while rental affordability declines: REIA
Housing affordability marginally improved across the country in the March quarter of 2019 with the exception of the Northern Territory, according to research from the Real Estate Institute of Australia and Adelaide Bank. REIA President Adrian Kelly said the March quarter 2019 edition of the Adelaide Bank/REIA Housing Affordability Report found New South Wales had the largest improvement in housing…
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Stanton Hillier Parker relaunches Australian real estate arm
Stanton Hillier Parker has announced it will re-open its real estate arm in Australia. The business will be under the guidance of new management, offering boutique property advisory services to a diversified range of clients Australia-wide. Stanton Hillier Parker was originally formed via the merger of Hillier Parker, first established in 1896 in the United Kingdom, and Stanton & Sons…
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UniLodge signs with Cohort Go to simplify student accommodation payments
International edtech company Cohort Go has partnered with UniLodge Australia to roll out custom-built payments software that will make it easier for students to pay for their accommodation. UniLodge, a specialist accommodation provider for universities, colleges and TAFEs, manages over 70 properties across Australia. The partnership enables UniLodge to eliminate manual reconciliation of fortnightly student payment records, thanks to the…
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RBA cuts cash rate to 1.25 per cent – industry reacts
In what was a widely expected move, the Reserve Bank of Australia has cut the cash rate to an all-time low of 1.25 per cent. At their monthly meeting on June 4, the Board elected to lower the cash rate by 25 basis points, explaining the decision was aimed at supporting employment growth and providing greater confidence that inflation would…
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Sales activity falls in all Australian regions: CoreLogic
The latest CoreLogic Regional Report reveals challenging property market performance across Australia’s regions, with falling sales activity in the 12 months to February 2019. Commenting on the regional report findings, CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher said: “The regional markets are taking their lead from the capital cities, with the annual rate of value growth winding down across most regions. While…
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Housing downturn losing steam: CoreLogic
The CoreLogic May 2019 home value index results have shown national dwelling values were down 0.4 per cent, the smallest month-on-month decline since May 2018. Although at a broad level dwelling values are still trending lower across the regions of Australia, the pace of declines eased further in May, continuing a trend that has been evident since the beginning of…
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End to part-time work for commission-only employees
Part-time commission-only real estate employment is set to be phased out following a recent decision from the Fair Work Commission (FWC). What has changed? Senior Employment Relations Adviser from Employsure, Sophie Joselyn said the Real Estate Industry Award 2010 was thrown into the spotlight during the FWC’s four-year review, which ruled that part-time commission-only employment was ‘neither useful nor relevant’.…
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Harcourts announces top national performers
Harcourts Group Australia capped off its annual conference with a black-tie awards gala to celebrate top performers in residential and commercial sales, property management and business achievements. Julianna Forsyth Baker received the company’s top accolade by being inducted into the Harcourts Hall of Fame. Harcourts Group Australia CEO Marcus Williams expressed his pride in the network for their work over…
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First National recognises more young leaders
First National Real Estate has recognised four more young Australians for their community leadership by presenting them with the First National Real Estate Leadership & Innovation Awards through the 2019 Seven News Young Achiever Awards. The winners announced across four states at separate awards functions included: Victoria – Yasmin Poole, 20, of Williamstown (First National Leadership Award) Yasmin is the…
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Lessons from Purplebricks: A New Zealand perspective
After two-and-a-half years of trading in Australia, the UK-based real estate start-up Purplebricks announced on 7 May this year that it was exiting the market. There is a lesson here for the real estate industry generally, and not just in Australia. It’s a lesson in real estate modelling. Take notice of what happens when the discount model comes to play…
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New leadership for Savills Project Management
Savills Australia has announced the appointment of Ken Ng as new National Head to lead its Project Management division. Ken is charged with the position after 15 years with Savills, having joined the team as a Project Director in 2010 when the business acquired Incoll. He was appointed to Queensland State Director in 2015 and Savills Australia CEO Paul Craig said…
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Finalists for national property management awards announced
The nation’s top property managers have been revealed, with 60 contenders listed as finalists in the PPM National Property Management Awards. The awards are renowned as the property management sector’s ‘night of nights’ and this year’s event will take place on 23 June on the Gold coast, in conjunction with the PPM Group’s National Property Management Conference. More than 120…
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Agents safer in the field thanks to ground-breaking technology
Fully integrating workforces in the field with head office management and keeping tabs on vehicles and assets has always been problematic. Inputting operational field data into IT systems has been mired by the lack of real-time information, often being reliant on paper forms and regular data entry. It also comes with problems like non-compliance, inaccuracies, and week-long delays, leaving management…
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One Agency reports strong start to 2019
Sydney-based Trans-Tasman network, One Agency, has reported a strong start to the year, already adding a dozen new members to the network with more on the way. CEO and Founder Paul Davies said the group continued to attract former franchised offices seeking a less constrained, more cost-efficient environment. “In both New Zealand and Australia we are also seeing a number…
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New software solution launched with Jeffery Gray as CEO
Jeffery Gray has been appointed the CEO of a new end-to-end real estate software solution called Propic. Mr Gray has previously worked with companies such as Dexar Group and will now work alongside Propic COO Peter Hutchison, leading a team of 40 with offices in Sydney and Melbourne. In a statement, the company noted that to date, Software as a…
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First National Real Estate honours top achievers at General Excellence and Marketing Awards
First National Real Estate’s highest achievers have been recognised at the General Excellence and Marketing Awards held at Singapore’s Flower Dome. The black-tie awards dinner brought recognition to the network’s top 2018 salespeople, property managers and administrators, attracting more than 300 delegates from Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. The event capped off a year of strategic technology and…
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Property Exchange Australia recognises leaders in digital property settlement
The annual PropertyX Awards, presented by Property Exchange Australia (PEXA), have recognised some of the best digital property settlement players in Australia. Now in its second year, the event saw property developers, conveyancers, lawyers and lenders come together to celebrate businesses leading the digitisation of property settlements. Awards were given to businesses that have demonstrated leadership, innovation and customer-centricity in…
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APRA proposes loan providers to set their own floor rate, allowing bigger mortgages
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has announced a possible revision to its 7 per cent ‘stress test’ buffer on home loans. In a letter issued to authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs), APRA has proposed removing its guidance and allowing ADIs to review and set their own minimum interest rate floor for use in serviceability assessments. In the letter, the regulator…
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The future of rent – Real Ideas Prize finalists revealed, it’s time to cast your vote!
The competition to discover inspiring ideas that move the rental experience forward has now entered its final phase, with the public invited to have their say on who should win the Real Ideas Prize. Five entries were chosen to make the shortlist for the award after an overwhelming amount of entries were received nationwide. These finalists were recently given the…
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International House Sydney: Rider Levett Bucknall Australian Development of the Year
Lendlease has claimed the nation’s top property prize, receiving the Rider Levett Bucknall Australian Development of the Year award for their innovative timber marvel, International House Sydney. Lendlease was presented with the accolade at the Property Council of Australia / Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation and Excellence Awards in Sydney on Friday. “International House is not only a construction industry ‘game…
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Catalano backs proptech advertising platform startup
Former Domain Chief Executive Officer, Antony Catalano, has announced his involvement in The Today Business, a media and proptech company designed to enable clients to make better property marketing decisions. Mr Catalano, who recently purchased Nine’s regional newspapers has taken on the role of Chairman of the new company and told Fairfax that the platform had cost about $1 million…
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Belle Property launches Facebook-hosted coaching program for junior agents
Belle Property has launched a Facebook-hosted training and coaching program to help new agents bridge the gap between registration and commencing their career. Developed by Belle Property’s Academy Advantage training department, ‘Fast-Track’ is geared towards agents with less than 12 months experience and covers prospecting, building a database, and maintaining database health. “One of the major weaknesses of the real…
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