National
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ActivePipe wins big at the Australian Business Awards 2018
For the second year running, Melbourne-based automated communications platform ActivePipe has been named a winner in the Technology Innovation, Marketing Innovation and Software Innovation categories of the prestigious Australian Business Awards. The win continues the growth the company has enjoyed over the last 12 months with their platform, which allows agents to streamline communication channels with their customers. According to CEO Ashley Farrugia,…
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August 2018: Interest rates on hold, Industry reaction
Yesterday (7th August 2018) the RBA Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.50 per cent for its 22nd consecutive meeting. “Conditions in the Sydney and Melbourne housing markets have continued to ease and nationwide measures of rent inflation remain low,” says RBA Governor Dr Philip Lowe. “Housing credit growth has declined to an annual rate of 5 1/2…
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Purplebricks hire high-profile COO to improve Australian operations
Purplebricks have hired Neil Tavender as their Australian Chief Operating Officer, giving him share options worth approximately $2.5 million. As reported by The Negotiator, Mr Tavender’s role will involve turning around the sales operations in Australia, especially after allegations from former employees about the agency’s profitability and work conditions. Purplebricks said recently their Australian operations would become profitable within 12…
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The Harcourts Foundation grants over $33,000
The Harcourts Foundation, the charitable arm of Harcourts Group Australia, announced grants to eight Australian charities during its most recent quarterly funding round. A total of $33,860 was donated across Australia to benefit charities serving the communities where Harcourts employees live and work. “Over the past six months, a total of $85,600 has been granted by The Harcourts Foundation,” said…
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Rent.com.au launches first mobile app
Rental property website rent.com.au have announced they will launch a mobile app for IOS and Android this week. In an ASX announcement, the company said the app would bring all the “unique and useful features” the platform already has alongside a range of “unique new features”. According to the announcement, 60 per cent of the current customers using the platform…
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Second generation Sydney agent recognised at Raine & Horne awards
Commercial sales agent Luke Smith, Co-Principal of Raine & Horne Commercial Inner West/South Sydney, has been named Top National Commercial Salesperson at the 2018 National Raine & Horne Awards held at The Star, Gold Coast last week. Luke Smith, along with his brother Nick, launched Raine & Horne Commercial Inner West/South Sydney in 2007. The Smith brothers had been previously…
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Winners announced in Openn Negotiation Excellence Awards 2018
Over 80 real estate professionals gathered on 26 July to recognise the best-performing agents and agencies at the inaugural Openn Negotiation Excellence Awards. Led by Peter Gibbons, Openn Negotiation Co-founder and Managing Director, it was an opportunity to celebrate not just the finalists and the winners, but all agents who had decided to embrace technology and the need for better…
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Industrial powerhouse signs on to Savills Australia
Savills Australia has appointed industry heavyweight Michael Fenton to head up the business’ national Industrial & Business Services division as part of a country-wide company restructure. Mr Fenton returns to Savills following more than nine years at JLL, where he operated as the company’s Australian Head of Industrial and New South Wales Managing Director. He brings with him more than…
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Sean Hughes and Jeanette Bates recognised for leadership excellence at Realmark 2018 Annual Awards
The Realmark 2018 Annual Awards event took place on Saturday 28 July 2018 at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. The evening recognised the achievements of those who have displayed excellence in practice, performance and passion within the industry. The top awards of the night went to Sean Hughes as Inaugural Practice Leader and Jeanette Bates for APRIL 2018. These awards…
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Leadership unpacked and top performers celebrated at RE/MAX Rally
RE/MAX Australia awarded its January to June 2018 top performers at its July Rally, held at the Victoria Park Golf Complex in Brisbane, where Franchise Director Joel Davoren said the number of new names in the top rankings showed the talent in the network’s growing platform. RE/MAX Bayside Properties was named top sales office for both commission and transactions, and RE/MAX Ignite,…
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Property Connect enter licensing agreement with Clearmatch for use of tech platform
Realty services group Property Connect Holdings has signed a minimum five-year licence agreement to us a technology platform from marketplace treasury company Clearmatch. Property Connect is aiming to use the technology as part of a plan to develop peer to peer lending products focused in the property sector, especially project development financing. The new lending products will generate revenue from…
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Kate Smith maintains standing as one of Australia’s best real estate agents
Leading SA real estate agent Kate Smith, Principal of Raine & Horne Semaphore was named Australia’s best at the 2018 Raine & Horne National Awards, held on the Gold Coast this week. Ms Smith scored gold in the competitive Top Salesperson (Principal) Number of Sales category beating home Sydney sales hotshots such as Ric Serrao, Co-Principal, Raine & Horne Double…
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Kingston Lane CEO to lead the stellar line up at The Business of Real Estate
The Business of Real Estate leadership event is open to all principals, leaders and managers in the real estate industry. This multi-speaker event features presentations from leading business minds within the Australasian real estate industry, as well as international guests. The program will see attendees walk away with key insights, knowledge and strategies which put them to the forefront of…
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DIAKRIT buys back majority shareholding from News Corp
Digital marketing solutions provider DIAKRIT have announced an agreement to buy its majority shareholding from News Corp Australia. The Swedish founded company will now be owned by its three original founders Fredrik Bergman (CEO), Dick Karlsson (Managing Director, Residential) and Martin Fritze (CTO), as well as Pontus Lindholm (Director, Sales Nordic), who will all continue to run the company backed…
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REA Group appoints Sam Boer as Smartline CEO
REA Group have announced the appointment of Sam Boer as CEO of Smartline mortgage broking franchise group. Mr Boer joins Smartline from Commonwealth Bank Australia, where he served as General Manager Third Party Banking in the Retail Banking Sector. REA group acquired an 80.3 per cent stake in Smartline in June 2017, strengthening its home loan offering, which also includes…
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Ouwens Casserly celebrates excellence at first recognition event
The 2018 Ouwens Casserly Recognition Event (OCRE) is the first of its kind for the agency and integrates all divisions (Sales, Property Management and Projects) into one event to recognise and acknowledge the efforts of the entire team over the past financial year. With the addition of two new offices, as well as expanding the team to over 100 members, the…
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First Australian property developer partners with digital co-ownership platform
Australian apartment builder Dyldam has partnered with Kohab to enable more buyers to get into the property market. Kohab is a digital platform and marketplace for co-ownership. The platform aims to enable more Australians to buy their own property through co-ownership and has partnered with Dyldam to provide maximum affordability for investors and first-time homebuyers. Kohab’s platform differs from fractional property…
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Co-working company WeWork announces a move into brokerage services
A year ago WeWork launched a real estate investment fund; now they’re furthering their interest in the space with a real estate advisory business offering brokerage services in the US. The company is piloting WeWork Space Services, which will act as a representative for companies to help them find office space outside of WeWork’s locations. Currently the plan is only…
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Purplebricks announces launch of Purplebricks Plus
Fixed fee agency Purplebricks have announced the launch of a new service for customers in the UK. In an interview given to the Press Association, the agency said it plans to secure 10 per cent of the agency market share in the UK and launch Purplebricks Plus by April 2019. No details of the product have been provided yet, other…
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First National agents support Ronald McDonald House
First National Real Estate has confirmed its sponsorship of Ronald McDonald House Charities’ 2018 Ride for Sick Kids in Northern New South Wales and South Australia as part of its overall national community support programme. The ride raises funds in support of Ronald McDonald Houses in Newcastle, Tamworth and Adelaide, Family Rooms in the John Hunter Children’s Hospital and Gosford…
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Compass announces it will license technology to other networks
US-based real estate brokerage Compass has announced it will begin licensing its technology to other firms. The company, which has been going through a strong round of acquisitions since receiving US$450m in funding in 2017, announced its first licensing deal last week, with Leading Edge Real Estate Group. The move will add another income stream to the growing brokerage, which…
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Bronte Manuel takes out REISA Auctioneering Championship
REISA’s fourth Auctioneering Championships has concluded with a Gala Presentation Dinner at the Stamford Grand in Glenelg. Toop & Toop’s Bronte Manuel was the winner for 2018 – his fourth win in a row – and will represent South Australia at the Australasian Auctioneering Championships in New Zealand in October. Simon Jones from Harcourts Plus finished in second place and…
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Rent Roll is ‘Untapped’ asset for agents
@realty says rent roll ownership is now one of the leading reasons agents are signing up to the national real estate network, which boasts more than 500 agents. @realty director JJ Taylor says rent rolls are an untapped asset for agents operating under a franchise model, which retains ownership if the agent leaves the company or transfers elsewhere. “Our agents…
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US brokerage Redfin announce plans to raise up to $239 million for technology and acquisitions
Online-centric brokerage Redfin has announced a plan to raise up to US$239 million (AU$322 million) through a combined stock and debt offering. The funding will take place in In two separate offerings; initially through selling 4.025 million shares of stock at a price of $23.69, totaling $95,332,125, before selling $143.75 million in “convertible senior notes,” which can later be converted…
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City planning and management needs to step up to meet the growing population: Property Council of Australia
While Australia’s cities are growing fast – three quarters of our population growth is occurring in just our four largest cities – so are many other international cities and we need to learn lessons of how to grow cities successfully. “Population growth, including immigration, has been an essential part of the Australian story and has delivered real economic and social…
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First National takes part in Young Achiever Awards
First National Real Estate, in conjunction with the Seven Network, has proudly announced its coast-to-coast sponsorship of the Seven News Young Achiever Awards. Conducted on a state-by-state basis, the awards highlight and acknowledge the achievements of young Australians, providing motivation, encouragement and role models for young Australians at all levels in their chosen field of endeavour. Last year, the network’s…
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London-based startup to give loans based on future house prices
Proportunity, a startup based out of London, aims to help first home buyers with loans based on the forecast future price of their house. The company, started by entrepreneurs Vadim Toader and Stefan Boronea, uses machine learning to accurately forecast property growth, and will soon begin to offer equity loans allowing FHBs to increase their deposit. The UK already has a…
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Industry supplier recognised for exceptional customer service
Industry supplier Rockend have been recognised for their exceptional customer service by the Customer Service Institute of Australia (CSIA). The company was named a finalist in six categories at the CSIA-run Australian Service Excellence Awards (ASEA). The categories include the highly-contested Customer Service Organisation of the Year – Medium. It isn’t the first time Rockend has been recognised by the…
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Jordan Catalano and Tom Hywood launch real estate listings website
The sons of ex-Domain CEO Anthony Catalano and Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood have furthered their property ambitions with another niche portal. The third website for the duo, and second property portal, is House and Land Developments – a portal aimed at developers and investors looking for suburban house and land packages. From their AD Group Catalano and Hywood have…
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Fearless entrepreneur to speak at Ray White’s Connect 2018
Entrepreneur Holly Ransom is a guest speaker at this year’s conference which brings together the White family businesses of Ray White, Loan Market, Wealth Market, Home Now, Living Here, White & Partners, and Concierge. Ms Ransom is the founder and CEO of disruptive marketing agency Emergent, a company specialising in the development of high performing intergenerational workforces. From interviewing Barack…
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Residents say ‘goodbye’ to capital city suburbs
Long-time residents are moving away from capital city suburbs, with many shifting to regional Australia, according to analysis by buyers’ agency, Propertyology. A deep dive by the firm into ABS data revealed tens-of-thousands of big city residents are deciding it’s time to move on to areas such as Bendigo, Cairns, Tamworth and Wodonga. The numbers uncovered 33 regional locations where…
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Barry Plant team talk leadership strategies in Danang, Vietnam
The annual Barry Plant conference, held from July 1-6 in Danang, Vietnam, saw delegates benefit from first class guest speakers, receive relevant and up to date training and exchange ideas. The annual Leadership Conference provides senior people in the Barry Plan group to strategise ways to revitalise their businesses and take them to the next level of success. The conference…
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Realmark agent surprises clients with $10,000 holiday voucher
Realmark Urban agent Paul Tonich took a different approach to thank his past and present clients last week by offering them the chance to go into a $10,000 holiday prize draw. Any client who had previously bought or sold with Mr Tonich in the last 20 years just had to contact him and put their name on the list to…
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Barry Plant Sunbury recognised for outstanding customer service
A testament to the Barry Plant Group’s focus on customer service, the real estate network has once again been recognised by the 2018 Australian Achiever Awards with a group certification for customer service. For the 14th year in a row, every Barry Plant office achieved a ‘Highly Recommended’ status for customer service, with Sam D’Angelo and the team at the…
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Amber Werchon Property celebrates 10-year anniversary
More than 100 guests packed The Dock Mooloolaba on Friday evening to celebrate Amber Werchon Property’s 10-year anniversary. Amber Werchon addressed the crowd and thanked her longstanding clients, as well as her supportive family and award winning team, saying that without their support the company wouldn’t be where it is today. Amber Werchon Property began in 2008 and has grown…
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