 |
GOOD MORNING FROM ELITE AGENT 👋 Good morning, and welcome to The Brief for Thursday 8 October 2026. |
TRUE OR FALSE? In 1915 an English estate was auctioned off in lots at a theatre in Salisbury. A local man went along, legend has it, to buy a set of dining chairs. He walked out with Lot 15 instead – Stonehenge, for £6,600 – and his family owns it to this day. (Scroll to the bottom for the answer!) |
In today's edition of The Brief - Thinking of switching to private treaty while buyers are quiet? Auctioneer Clarence White thinks that's backwards – and explains why.
- Katrina Driessen had an offer before her listing went public – and the vendors' fire pit marshmallows did plenty of the selling.
- Investors pushing for an increase? Vacancies are razor-thin, yet rents have hit a ceiling (Darwin, apparently, didn't get the memo).
|
|
|
 |
TODAY'S FEATURE  Why auctions matter more when buyers go quietWhen a market falls flat, some agents walk away from auctions and switch their listings to private treaty. Auctioneer Clarence White argues the opposite. With no asking price, an auction lets you find where buyers see value without burning the campaign, typically within 28 days. He also says most campaigns are attracting just one committed buyer right now, and his three fundamentals reshape your price conversations, your vendor talks, and how you read every buyer through the door. |
|
 |
What you'll learn in the full article: - The value-first price guide: Why a guide that looks fair to your vendor can leave buyers cold when they're already factoring in future price falls.
- The early vendor reset: When to move your vendor's thinking from yesterday's prices to today's, so they make a good call when a decent offer or competitive bidding arrives.
- The curious-vs-committed check: Most campaigns have one serious buyer and a fair share of window-shoppers, and this is how Clarence tells them apart before auction day, no crystal ball required.
Read the full article → |
|
TOGETHER WITH PROPERTYME  PropertyMe connects Claude and ChatGPT to the market-leading platform 6,500 real estate agencies run their business onPicture your Monday: instead of clicking through screens or wrangling spreadsheets, you ask Claude or ChatGPT what needs your attention this week, and the answer comes straight from your live PropertyMe data. That's AiMe Connect, which links the AI assistant you already use to the platform 6,500 agencies run their business on, turning questions about renewals, inspections, and maintenance jobs into tables, charts, or dashboards. It's read-only to start (your AI can look, not touch), respects your existing permissions, and arrives today for customers on the Manage PM Advanced tier or above. Take a look at how it works. Learn more → |
|
 |
DEPT OF PM  Rents stall even as vacancies stay razor-thinPerth and Adelaide vacancies sit at just 0.4%, yet asking rents didn't move an inch over the September quarter. Domain's Dr Nicola Powell reckons tenants have hit an affordability ceiling (Darwin, with house rents at a record $800 a week, didn't get the memo). The busier changeover season will show whether the slowdown sticks. |
|
DEPT OF BUILDING  Accor checks into Sydney build-to-rent with FreecityHotel-style service is coming to Sydney rentals: Freecity has signed Accor to run leasing, marketing, and resident services across a pipeline of about 6,000 homes. It's Accor's first move into purpose-built rental housing, though tenants will see Freecity's name on the door. Next to watch is Freecity's first approved build-to-rent project, 548 homes opposite Rouse Hill Metro. |
|
 |
DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS  Overseas money flows back into German housingForeign investors made up about 38% of German residential investment in the September quarter, more than double their share a year earlier. Total volumes dipped, but the money is pooling into big portfolios. The reason will sound familiar (hint: supply). |
|
HOW IT SOLD  Marshmallows, a fire pit and a six-day saleA private preview for database buyers kicked off the campaign, generating an offer before the property even hit the open market. Katrina Driessen's listing in Kingston, Tasmania sold for $1.11 million in six days, with a lifestyle video – featuring the vendors roasting marshmallows at the fire pit – doing much of the selling before buyers arrived. Find out the story behind how it sold → How's your findability on AI? The agents who turn up have more content out there. getailsa.com → |
|
 |
MOVERS & SHAKERS  Jellis Craig targets $100,000 in first Foundation MonthAround 300 Jellis Craig team members, with families and pets in tow, took on the 5km and 10km courses around Albert Park Lake on 2 October to launch the network's first Foundation Month. The aim is $100,000 for the Jellis Craig Foundation and five charity partners, with donation materials at every October open for inspection.  Chris Perrone joins Knight Frank's industrial tenant teamIndustrial occupiers have another adviser in their corner – Chris Perrone is Knight Frank's new Associate Director, Tenant Representation – Industrial, based in Melbourne. He brings more than a decade across commercial property, logistics, and business ownership, with clients ranging from local businesses to Fortune 500 occupiers. He'll work alongside partner Richard Trumbull to grow the firm's offering for businesses seeking industrial and logistics space across Australia. |
|
|
Success doesn't rest on weekends!
Get top agent and agency moves every Sunday in Movers & Shakers. Subscribe now. |
|
 |
AGENTS ON SOCIAL When the deal’s done but you’ve already spent the commission in your head. 💸🕺 |
|
|
TRUE OR FALSE: In 1915 an English estate was auctioned off in lots at a theatre in Salisbury. A local man went along, legend has it, to buy a set of dining chairs. He walked out with Lot 15 instead – Stonehenge, for £6,600 – and his family owns it to this day. And the answer is … False. Cecil Chubb kept it for three years, then gave it to the nation. He got a knighthood for it, and the local nickname ‘Viscount Stonehenge’. via English Heritage. |
|
|
 |
