A $1bn restart, a pink rebrand, and a town moved on rollers (mostly) 🚚

GOOD MORNING FROM ELITE AGENT 👋

TODAY'S FEATURE

Why the $1 billion agent switched brands anyway

Eleven years running as Australia's top-ranked agent, more than $1 billion in annual transactions, a business built over two decades – and Alexander Phillips still walked away from it to start again under a new banner. The move to launch Ray White Phillips & Co wasn't about chasing a bigger number. It was a bet on where buyer behaviour, data and technology are about to take prestige real estate, and Alexander explains exactly what convinced him to risk a winning formula.

What you'll learn in the full article:

• The non-negotiable clause: Alexander made one condition central to the entire deal before he'd sign anything – and it wasn't about money.
• The buyer-behaviour bet: why Alexander thinks the way vendors choose an agent is about to change, and what he's doing now to stay top of their list.
• The twenty-year target: Alexander's real measure of success five years from now has nothing to do with sales volume.

Read the full article →

DEPT OF DATA

Housing stock loses $34bn, first fall since 2022

NSW and Victoria did the damage: their combined losses of over $137 billion dragged the national dwelling stock down 0.3% for the June quarter, the first fall since September 2022. The mean dwelling price slipped $8,200 to $1.1 million, even as 54,400 new homes joined the tally. Every other state still posted gains – annual value nationally is still up 8.5%.

DEPT OF DISPUTES

NSW Opposition to test stamp duty in court

Billions could be owed if this goes the Opposition's way: it's now committed to referring NSW's stamp duty indexation rules to the Supreme Court. REINSW says Revenue NSW has applied two different interpretations of the same provisions since they began, and wants the Chief Commissioner to seek clarity rather than keep collecting under doubt.

DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Dubai home prices fall for first time in five years

Dubai's five-year run has broken: average residential prices dipped 1.7 per cent year-on-year in August, the first annual fall since 2021. Around 180,000 new homes are due for delivery by 2028, double the historical build rate, which is what's really driving the shift.

Ronan Arthur from Cavendish Maxwell says the market is "entering a more mature cycle" rather than a downturn.

HOW IT SOLD

One buyer, one auction, $70k above ask

A late withdrawal left just one bidder before Saturday's auction in Brighton-Le-Sands. John Moustacas of McGrath ran the process anyway, negotiating the remaining buyer up from $870,000 to $940,000 – well above the suburb's $907,500 median.

Find out the story behind how it sold →

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Rachel Buglisi – building success from the ground up in the Latrobe Valley

Traralgon's property market is tight, and Rachel Buglisi is holding her own against multi-agent agencies as a solo operator. Twenty-two years after starting on reception, and nearly four years after going independent with Area Specialist, she's now planning a physical office in the CBD.

Tayla Long appointed Harcourts Tasmania operations manager Harcourts business owners across Tasmania have a new port of call – Tayla Long has been appointed Business Operations Manager for the state, moving up after building relationships across the network during her time with Harcourts Launceston. In the role, she'll work directly with business owners and their teams, offering operational support, coaching and guidance to help offices grow.

Adrian William gives its brand a refresh Six years after launching in Sydney's Inner West, Adrian William has given its marketing a refresh, leaning further into the pink drawn from its heritage-listed Newtown office and the custom hand-lettering that's marked the brand since day one. General manager Leilani Shephard says the update reflects how far the agency has grown, as it extends its footprint from the Inner West into the Inner City.

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TRUE OR FALSE:

In 1919, the entire town of Hibbing, Minnesota, was relocated two miles south to make way for iron ore mining – including its brick and stone buildings, which were pulled on steel rollers.

And the answer is …

False – but it's almost right. Hibbing really was relocated two miles south between 1919 and 1921 to make way for the Hull-Rust-Mahoning open pit mine, and nearly 200 structures made the journey. But only wood-frame buildings were moved; brick and stone structures were considered too heavy and too dangerous to transport. The town's new brick city hall, power plant, and other masonry buildings – many only a few years old – had to be abandoned and demolished. The mining company later financed lavish new brick buildings in the new town site, including a high school so opulent it helped trigger a state cap on per-capita spending. Imagine explaining that insurance claim: 'Yes, the hotel fell off its skids mid-move' – which actually happened to the three-storey Sellers Hotel in January 1921. via MNopedia – Minnesota Historical Society.