OPINION
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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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Ultraviolet light can make indoor spaces safer during the pandemic – if it’s used the right way
Ultraviolet light has a long history as a disinfectant and the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is readily rendered harmless by UV light. The question is how best to harness UV light to fight the spread of the virus and protect human health as people work, study, and shop indoors. The virus spreads in several ways. The main route of transmission is through person-to-person…
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After COVID, we’ll need a rethink to repair Australia’s housing system and the economy
A new report from the New South Wales Productivity Commission (NSWPC) announces that “[higher] housing costs […] impose broader economic costs”. That chimes with our own newly published research. The implication is that Australia’s heavily capitalised housing market will weigh down economic recovery from the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic. A niche group of economists and epidemiologists had warned the world for decades that a…
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What would you do with an extra six-and-a-half hours each week?
You could make about 65 more cold calls. Or hold 13 more open homes. Or you could take a power-nap every day of the week. Unfortunately, there are only 24 hours in a day – you can blame the Egyptians for that one. So, if you can’t make more time, what can you do? You can save it.Enter CRM. A…
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Knowledge is power
Spring is one of the peak selling periods agents look forward to each year. Listings are often more abundant as many owners choose to sell when their property looks its best. If you could find a way to increase your clearance rates and reduce your days on market, would that make your spring selling period even better? One thing I…
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Turning lockdown lessons into productivity hacks
Ever since COVID-19 came along and changed the way we all work, every trainer, coach and franchise organisation has begun engaging in a wide variety of online training materials. From motivational content to real estate-specific skills, business development, personal resilience, team building and customer service alternatives, there’s been a host of information absorbed. We’ve been sponges because we know that…
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Automation made easy
‘The clock is ticking’ is a phrase well known to real estate agents. There always seems to be so much to do in so little time. Trevor Bragg takes a look at how agents can use automation to save them time and create more hours to spend with clients. Time – we all wish we had more of it. If…
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Common questions answered about Victoria’s new roadmap
The Victorian government’s roadmap out of pandemic lockdowns includes new provisions for single people living alone and single parents: the “single social bubble” system, which comes into effect on September 14. Under the new system, if you’re a single person living alone or a single parent with children under 18, you can nominate one other person to be part of your bubble. The…
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Have we just stumbled on the biggest productivity increase of the century?
One of the most striking responses to the COVID-19 pandemic has been the sudden shift of around half the workforce to working at home. In many cases, this was combined with an equally sudden shift to home schooling. Contrary to what might have been expected, working from home was one part of the pandemic response that went remarkably smoothly. Most…
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The personal touch – at scale
Email autoresponders cut through the obstacles which get in the way of responding to the many property email inquiries an agent receives all day. Bill Shields examines how they can help you boost your client experience. Many of us are thinking about how we will do things differently post-COVID-19 and, perhaps, what things will stay the same. While the market…
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Powers of persuasion
The power of persuasion is a valuable skill for real estate agents to have in their toolbox. Michelle Bowden explains precisely how to build your persuasive skills and make others take notice. When was the last time you had to persuade someone? Was it this morning when your children forgot to make their beds or needed to do their homework?…
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Trouble at the mall as landlords and tenants ponder mutually assured destruction
“This is not a bluff,” Scott Evans, the chief executive of Mosaic Brands, has said of his threat to permanently close 300 to 500 stores in Australia unless landlords reduce rents. Mosiac’s network of about 1300 apparel stores includes Katies, Noni B, Rivers, Rockmans, Millers and Crossroads. With stores shuttered temporarily due to COVID-19 restrictions, it posted a A$170.5 million loss in the…
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Take it or leave it: How to negotiate with irrational buyers
It’s safe to say we are living in interesting times and bearing witness to adversity and its related irrational behaviour. I’ve never seen anyone fight over toilet paper before. It can be hard to negotiate deals in such a climate. We need to question if this behaviour is really irrational? Many would answer a resounding “yes”, but I propose that…
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Why more companies are going dog friendly
Bringing pet dogs into the workplace is becoming increasingly common. Large companies like Google, Ticketmaster and challenger bank Monzo are just a few that have joined companies in the pet sector (like Pets at Home) that allow employees to bring their dogs to work. Dogs are even being labelled as a new “must-have accessory” in smart offices. But research shows that 64 per cent of workplaces do not…
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‘Meanwhile’ building use: another way to manage properties left vacant by the COVID-19 crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has temporarily shut down cities across the globe, resulting in abandoned buildings and deserted streets. How might we better use our own vacant buildings during the crisis and beyond? We can learn from the benefits and challenges of the UK’s “meanwhile” building use sector. Sometimes referred to as meanwhile housing or property guardianship in its residential forms, it’s a recognised property tenure solution for vacant…
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When houses earn more than jobs: How we lost control of Australian house prices and how to get it back
Real home prices across Australia have climbed 150 per cent since 2000, while real wages have climbed by less than a third. Sydney and Melbourne rank among the most expensive cities in the world. Australia-wide, home ownership levels have fallen from 70 per cent to 65 per cent in the last 20 years and home equity levels have fallen from 80 per cent to…
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Starting a rent roll the right way
So, you’re an amazing property manager. Your landlords love you. And now you’re ready to take the leap and start a rent roll of your own. There’s no doubt, owning a rent roll is one of the most rewarding things you can do in your property management career. But it comes with risks, potholes, and so many stresses that are…
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Shorter meetings but longer days – how COVID-19 has changed the way we work
One of the many things COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on is the way many of us work. Those fortunate enough to be able to work from home have been able to adapt to this new reality – and it certainly has been “new”. Perhaps the biggest question for both employers and employees is whether working from home has…
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Five ways to shift your mindset when times are tough: Chris
Life is complicated. In fact, it’s more complicated than ever with everything that society is going through with COVID-19, due to the lack of uncertainty of what life will look like coming out the other side. It is now more important than ever to think usefully. Here are five tips to help you do exactly that. 1. Positive thinking doesn’t…
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Consistent communication: Tara Bradbury
Customer service across property management has come a long way in terms of available technology, but people still want service from humans. Here are a few of my recommendations to help boost or reboot your service approach in 2020. Social media. If you build the profile they will connect – and at the times when…
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