🎵 A divorce sale, a $1.2M price drop, and a client who wrote her a song

GOOD MORNING FROM ELITE AGENT 👋

TRUE OR FALSE?

Quitrent is a modern Australian property fee where landlords charge tenants a small annual payment in exchange for reduced maintenance obligations on the rental property.
(Scroll to the bottom for the answer!)

In today’s edition of The Brief

• A divorce sale, a $4.5m deal, and a client’s hit single

• Could house prices flatline for 20 years?!

• AI search is changing where listings are won

Today’s read time: 7 minutes, 10 seconds

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CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

Better than flowers: the agent who received a client-written song after a divorce sale

Most real estate agents finish a sale with a thank-you card or a bottle of wine. Michelle Galletti of Cunninghams finished one with something far more unexpected, an original song written and recorded by a client she had just guided through a difficult divorce sale in a falling market.

The campaign played out under intense emotional and financial pressure, with expectations repeatedly adjusted as conditions shifted. A property that might once have been a strong performer ultimately sold for $4.5 million, compared with $5.7 million achieved by a smaller nearby home during the previous boom.

“The price just had to keep being pulled down, unfortunately,” Michelle said.

Michelle had previously sold for the same clients during Sydney’s post-pandemic surge, when demand saw buyers lining the street. This time, the contrast was stark.

“The last place I sold for them was during that period where everything went ridiculous,” she said. “This time it was the total opposite.”

Because the sale involved a separation, Michelle focused heavily on clarity and communication between both parties, keeping conversations consistent and transparent.

“In divorces, I find that having two separate conversations is not ideal because things can be misconstrued,” she said.

Her approach centred on shared updates and direct communication so both vendors always had the same information at the same time; the emotional weight of the campaign carried through to the outcome, not just in price, but in how the clients responded afterwards.

Instead of frustration, one of the vendors, a creative professional, wrote a song capturing the experience of the sale and the support he felt throughout the process.

“You did not need to go that hard, but you did, and that’s why you’re a star,” one verse read.

For Michelle, the gesture highlighted a side of the job that is rarely seen from the outside, the emotional labour involved in guiding clients through major life transitions.

“People think you just open the door and get paid,” she said. “But you’re counselling people. It emotionally takes its toll if you actually care.”

What you'll learn in the full article:

• The WhatsApp framework: How Michelle structures divorce sales communication to prevent misconstrued messages

• The difficult conversation approach: Why avoiding hard market conversations is where agents "fall down"

• The $1.2 million gap: How she managed expectations when the numbers didn't match

• The emotional toll: What caring too much costs – and why it matters anyway

The song was unexpected. But the trust that earned it? Built one honest conversation at a time.

Read the full article

ICYMI last week: Is hustle culture dead?

TOGETHER WITH REAPIT

Queensland outperforms national market across key agent performance metrics

Reapit’s Real Estate Intelligence Report 2026 shows Queensland as the only state to outperform the national average across all three key indicators in the six months to February 2026: average commission per sale, offers per listing, and days on market.

The report states Queensland recorded a 2.33% average commission, compared to the national average of 1.95%, alongside 1.98 offers per listing and 52.5 days on market, positioning it ahead of broader national performance benchmarks.

Victoria was the only state to fall below the national average across all three measures, while Western Australia recorded the fastest selling conditions nationally at 38.17 days on market, and the Northern Territory recorded the highest average commission at 2.39%.

The findings are based on anonymised operational data from Reapit’s platform, used by more than 52,000 real estate agents across Australia and New Zealand, tracking transaction and listing activity between September 2025 and February 2026.

“There is limited competition between agents in the Northern Territory, which is why we typically see the country’s highest commission rates there, said Reapit General Manager ANZ Simon Berglund. “Queensland again outperformed the national benchmark at 1.98 offers per listing, indicating consistently strong buyer depth.”

Read the Reapit report highlights here.

HOUSE PRICES

Macquarie sees two decades of flat growth

Australia's 160% real price surge since 1980 may not happen again – Macquarie's latest analysis suggests property growth could stall for the next two decades. The structural forces that drove the boom (falling rates, deregulation, tax incentives) have largely run dry, and investor flows could drop more than 50% after the budget changes. The report details the peak-to-trough declines since 1980.

AI

Your next listing could be won at 11pm

That's when a potential vendor – unable to sleep, worried about timing – opens ChatGPT instead of the portals. One in three people globally now use AI monthly, and Samantha McLean's Week 3 of the AI Sprint shows how to become the answer when they search. Includes why the average prompt runs to 60 words, a DIY case study template, and a 2026 inbound checklist.

Catch up on Week 1 and Week 2 of the AI Sprint on YouTube now!

CELEBRITY HOMES

Hidden Batcave, £30M Price tag: Inside a wild mega-mansion

A £29.95 million Hampstead mansion (A$53.3 million) has hit the market featuring a secret basement studio accessed via hidden stairs and retracting floorboards, inspired by The Dark Knight. Owned by tech entrepreneur Sergey Frolovichev, the vast neo-Georgian estate is being sold unfinished, giving buyers the chance to complete one of London’s most cinematic luxury homes.

MOVERS + SHAKERS

Sean Scoffield joins Real+ as General Manager

He brings over 20 years of business leadership experience to support the national business's next phase of growth and operational maturity. More here.

Mark Durran joins HTL Property as Managing Director Hotel Capital Markets APAC

The former business development manager has stepped into franchise ownership with a new office in Willetton. More here.

Fahim Kabir launches REMAX Proactive

The former business development manager has stepped into franchise ownership with a new office in Willetton. More here.

Success doesn’t rest on weekends! 
Get the latest on top agent and agency moves every Sunday with our weekly roundup in Movers & Shakers. Subscribe now.

AGENTS ON SOCIAL

Being a teen with a real estate mum is so much fun … especially when you become her unpaid assistant and “just one quick shot for socials” director. 😬🎥

Seen an Agent On Social we should include? Let us know here (email link)

TRUE OR FALSE:

Quitrent is a modern Australian property fee where landlords charge tenants a small annual payment in exchange for reduced maintenance obligations on the rental property.

And the answer is …

False. Quitrent was actually a historical feudal payment; it was a small fee tenants paid to a landowner to be “quit” (released) from obligations like military service, labor, or other feudal duties. It has nothing to do with modern rental agreements or property management in today’s real estate market.

Wishing you a productive day!

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