INDUSTRY NEWS
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How an agent made the transition to principal after 15 years
New principal of Ray White Werribee Michelle Chick opened her own business seven weeks ago, and in that time her team has sold ten properties, listed another 15, launched a property management division and recruited two new members into her team. Chick, who has been in real estate sales operations for the last 15 years decided to take the leap…
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National auction volumes ease while preliminary clearance rates fall below 80 percent
Preliminary clearance rate remains strong, while auction volumes fall week-on-week after some record weeks of auction volume activity. National auction clearance results for the week ending 02/04/2017 courtesy of CoreLogic The combined capital city preliminary clearance rate remains in the mid-high 70 percent range for another week, while auction volumes decrease week-on-week. There were 2,646 properties taken to auction this week, down…
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Population Growth explodes in Victoria
Late last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) published demographic data for the September 2016 quarter, showing increases in population overall, most notably in Victoria. The data showed that at the end of September 2016 there were an estimated 24,220,192 persons living in Australia with the figure having increased by 1.5% over the past year. Vic was the population…
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Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz elected new President of Property Council
Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Mirvac Group, has been elected as the new National President of the Property Council of Australia. Lloyd-Hurwitz was a National Vice President to Mark Steinert who concluded his two-year term at this afternoon’s Board meeting. Lloyd-Hurwitz said she was honoured to take up the role. “The biggest challenges before…
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WA and Victoria records improved results for home sales: HIA
There was little movement in the total new home sales last month, but Western Australia (WA) and Victoria scored positive results, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) said in a recent statement. HIA chief economist, Dr Harley Dale said the association’s latest homes sales report comprising a survey of Australia’s largest home builders – revealed a bare movement of only…
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Agents Get Together For The Second Time For Real Estate Sleep Out
Auctioneer Damien Cooley is calling for the real estate industry to sleep on the iconic Bondi Beach for one night on July 24 to help raise $500,000 for charity. Known as the Real Estate Sleep Out and held for the second time, this year’s event is looking at getting 500 agents to raise half a million dollars for Father Chris…
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Bye Bye Banks And Hello New 1.5B Foreign Investor Fund
Chinese buyers with no Australian residency or local family connection can still get property loans here thanks to a newly established billion dollar fund that caters specifically towards their needs. Victorian-based brokerage firm Lending HQ launched its funding options on Monday at Investorist’s China Connection Roadshow in Shanghai and Shenzhen held from March 27 – 31 with in excess of…
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NSW state government still has its work cut out, says Property Council
Despite the good work, the New South Wales (NSW) government still has its work cut out for them when it came to all things housing, Property Council of Australia has said. The council’s executive director Jane Fitzgerald said the government should be congratulated for strong economic growth, infrastructure investment and a renewed focus on the regions, yet housing affordability, a…
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Century 21’s owner now Property Connect chairman
ASX-listed Property Connect has appointed the chairman and owner of Century 21 Australasia Charles Tarbey into the same role in its organisation, effective immediately. Tarbey’s appointment as chairman of Property Connect comes together with an agreement that several Century 21 offices in Victoria and Western Australia will undertake a trial of the LiveOffer technology in Australia from April 2017. In…
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Regional Queensland is the next hotspot for investors says Raine & Horne
Regional Queensland’s property affordability, high-yielding returns and low vacancy rates meant that it was time for investors to ditch Sydney and Melbourne and start looking at investing in the sunshine state, Raine & Horne Queensland said. Its general manager Steve Worrad said towns such as Rockhampton, Nanango, Bundaberg, Kingaroy and Hervey Bay had loads of quality rental properties as low…
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Ausnet expands its foothold by acquiring Beaufort Realty
ASX-listed Ausnet Financial Services Limited is expanding its reach in Western Australia with the acquisition of Mount Lawley real estate agency, Beaufort Realty. Ausnet’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Ausnet Real Estate Services entered into a share sale agreement to acquire all of the issued shares in Beaufort Realty from its shareholders Jonathan Adams and Pamela Herron, Christine Kirkness and Dosta Buckovska. The exchanged…
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RE/MAX agent launches book, available for free on website
A Gold Coast property agent has launched a book for consumers with a title that encapsulates her indomitable spirit. “Fighting for YOU’ by RE/MAX agent Lana Faulkner is an easy-to-read ‘insider’s look’ at how to best position property to sell, including her tips for consumers to sell their property at the highest price in any market, based on more than…
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Ray White Indonesia celebrates 20 years of success
The Ray White Indonesian network recently celebrated its 20th anniversary this month, recognising the 160 offices that turned this notable Australian franchise into a market leader across the country. Led by the original founding partners, Johann Boyke Nurtanio and Sari Dewi, Ray White Indonesia were pioneers in establishing auctions since it first started trading under the brand name in 1997.…
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Bob Wolff gives his take on the challenges facing real estate businesses today
Bob Wolff, one of the very first speakers from the first AREC is due to return for AREC’s 20th Anniversary, providing more tips and strategies to achieving superstar success. Bob Wolff from the US was the very first speaker at AREC in 1997 where he shared his strategies that have become the foundation for many real estate agents in Australia…
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National auction volumes close to record high while preliminary clearance rates continue to run hot
Australia’s largest auction markets are continuing to run hot, with CoreLogic’s preliminary auction clearance rate nudging higher over the week, while the number of auctions held surges to the second highest weekly level over the year to date National auction clearance results for the week ending 26/03/2017 courtesy of CoreLogic The amount of auction activity across the capital cities increased this week,…
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LocalAgentFinder survey finds 2017 is a good time to buy and sell properties
62 percent of Australian property owners say 2017 is a good year to buy 73 percent say it’s a good year to sell 81 percent of NSW residents and 82 percent of Victorians believe 2017 is a good time to sell Research commissioned by LocalAgentFinder has found that homeowners believe that 2017 is going to be a good year to…
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ANZ joins 13 other lenders by raising interest rates
ANZ has become the latest Australian bank to join the bandwagon of lenders who have decided to raise interest rates despite it being at an all-time historic low of 1.5 percent. On Friday, the bank announced that its new interest rates would be up by 0.36 percent and would only apply to property investors and not owner occupiers. Mozo director…
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REIA celebrates its most outstanding performers
The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) recognised the industry’s most outstanding talents at its 12th annual REIA National Awards for Excellence held at a 5-star hotel in Canberra last Thursday. REIA president Malcolm Gunning said more than 250 real estate professionals showed up at the event to celebrate winners across sixteen categories. “Competition was fierce across all award categories…
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Tougher home lending conditions not the answer for WA
The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) and Urban Development Institute of Australia WA Division (UDIA WA) have slammed talks of authorities wanting to tighten home lending conditions across the country. REIWA President Hayden Groves said this was a knee-jerk reaction to market conditions on the east coast, in particular, the Sydney and Melbourne markets, and did not take…
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Aussie long-term rental start-up Cubbi.com gets fresh new round of funding
Melbourne-based Cubbi.com, which offers tenants long-term rentals anything ranging from three months to two years, has just announced a $300,000 seed round of funding from a consortium of investors led by 1Form co-founder Chad Stephens. Co-founder and co-Ceo Jason Gilbert who runs the company with his older brother Michael told Elite Agent that the seed funding received from Stephens was…
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Transitioning from agent to principal: how Eric Li of Ray White made it work
Eric Li was only two years into his real estate career when he opted to take the challenge to take charge of Ray White Sunnybank Hills last November and has hit the ground running and sold seven properties in his first month as a principal. In five months, the office has grown from three team members to 11, and Li…
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Stone real estate to expand to 30 offices by year-end: CEO Peter Mumford
Sydney-based Stone Real Estate plans to grow its offices from current 13 to 30 by the end of the year, its CEO and founder Peter Mumford has said. Mumford, a former McGrath agent who started the business two years ago with the first office set up in Lane Cove, said this year’s expansion plans would be executed throughout various parts in…
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Let foreign buyers purchase Australian properties like the good old days says iBuyNew
ASX-listed online property agency iBuyNew Group Limited said the federal government plans to restrict foreigners from buying more than half the homes or apartments in any new development will only discourage offshore developers from doing business in Australia. iBuyNew founder and chief executive Mark Mendel said the proposal pitched as one of a raft of possible measures in the May…
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Demand for Darwin rentals returning to all-time highs
Demand for Darwin rental properties appears to be booming, with Raine & Horne Darwin saying they have leased more than 60 properties in February this year. “This result follows the 60 properties we leased to tenants in January,” Glenn Grantham, General Manager, Raine & Horne Darwin said. “Consequently, rental yields for Darwin houses have improved and are currently 5.1 percent, which…
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New Zealand Real Estate GM Wins Global Award
RE/MAX New Zealand general manager Corinna Mansell has ousted real estate leaders from regions around the world to win the RE/MAX Director of the Year Global Award. Mansell was announced the winner in February at the RE/MAX R4 Convention in Las Vegas, which drew more than 6000 delegates from around the world, and was presented with her award by Larry…
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Let first home buyers access their super says REIA
Australians should be given a choice to access their super account for home buying purposes, said Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) president Malcolm Gunning. Gunning said Australians being allowed into to purchase their first home was not a radical idea as the use of retirement savings for a first home purchase has already proven to be successful in Canada,…
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Purplebricks launches into Perth’s real estate market
Flat fee real estate agency Purplebricks has landed on West Australia shores and commenced trading on Monday. The UK-headquartered real estate tech disrupter which charges a flat fee of $4,500 for any home sale transaction said it expects to save residents in Perth close $10,000 per sale in commissions, giving locals the first ever alternative to expensive commission fees when…
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More banks to follow suit on rate hikes after NAB and Westpac
It is just a matter of time before all top Australian lenders such as CommBank and ANZ start increasing their interest rates and passing on the extras to consumers, Mozo director Kirsty Lamont has opined. Hot on the heels of NAB’s out of cycle home loan rate hike last week, Westpac has just announced that it borrowers too will be…
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Real Estate Industry Heads Down The Professional Path
The Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) has lauded the New South Wales government for provided the institution with the education foundations to pursue a profession recognition. REINSW president John Cunningham said the need for greater accountability and transparency in the ever increasing complexities of property transactions has led to a clear need for recognisable property professionals who…
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Housing affordability crisis cause by a broken system, experts say
New South Wales (NSW) opposition party’s Labor claim that foreign nationals have purchased up to 11 percent of properties from July to September last year does not hold water and is a distraction from the real need to find proper solutions on housing affordability within the state. Property Council NSW executive director Jane Fitzgerald said residential land related transfer duty…
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The REA Group AREAs announces a new award for 2017
This year’s REA group Annual REA Excellence awards (AREAs) has a brand new award being introduced this year – Gold AREA – agency of the year award. The agency of the year award will recognise agencies who work hard to set themselves apart from competitors and excel in all three award categories. The AREAs will also honour the most innovative,…
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Airbnb vague about its plans on long-term leasing
Airbnb has no immediate plans to offer long-term rentals just yet after a Bloomberg report said it was conducting due diligence on the matter in hopes of providing the service to the market soon. In a statement to Elite Agent on Friday, an Airbnb spokesperson said: “Examining different parts of the market is standard operating procedure, and we don’t have…
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Too little supply and ample demand is the main reason why rentals are hard to find:REINSW
Residential vacancy rates have slipped across the Sydney market with many finding it more difficult to secure a rental accommodation, the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) has said. It’s president John Cunningham said the REINSW vacancy rate survey in February saw the Sydney metropolitan market down 0.2 percent to 1.9 percent. “Inner Sydney led the fall in…
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Infrastructure boom will reduce Sydney’s “door-to-desk” times, predicts Raine & Horne
With tens of billions of investment dollars making NSW a world leader in infrastructure, faster commutes are set to boost property values, and quality of life, Raine & Horne, executive chairman Angus Raine said. “Major infrastructure projects such as the Sydney Metro Northwest, WestConnex, NorthConnex and the upgrades to the Princes Highway on the NSW south coast are set to…
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Preliminary clearance rate and auction volumes increase across the combined capital cities
Preliminary clearance rate and auction volumes increase across the combined capital cities National auction clearance results for the week ending 19/03/2017 courtesy of CoreLogic The capital city clearance rate increased this week, with preliminary results showing that 76.2 percent of reported auctions across the combined capital cities were successful, compared to 75.1 percent last week and 68.8 percent one year ago. Auction…
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