GOOD MORNING FROM ELITE AGENT

On June 25, 1847, Melbourne was officially proclaimed a city by Queen Victoria, a recognition of its rapid growth from a modest settlement to a thriving urban centre. It’s a good reminder that real estate is a lot more than just houses and buildings. It’s what shapes cities.

As professionals, we’re often part of that transformation too, whether it’s helping families settle into new communities, assisting investors to diversify, or guiding developers to create better projects.

So today, take a moment to think big. What are you building that could transform a neighbourhood, even a city, in the decades ahead?

Today’s read time: 5 minutes, 47 seconds

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MINDSET

Redefining property management starts with you

Kylie Walker believes it’s time to take personal responsibility if we want the property management industry to evolve.

From chaos to clarity

The iThink Property co-owner and creator of the Property Mum says her early years in property management were marked by chaos and missteps. She lacked systems, leadership experience, and a clear vision, leading to burnout and a revolving door of staff. By her own admission, she “completely winged it” and failed more than once.

But through those failures, she learned valuable lessons that she now urges others to consider. Many professionals in the field are still improvising their way through, and that lack of structure and self-awareness continues to undermine the profession.

Why property management is about people

Kylie challenges property managers to reconnect with the deeper purpose of their work. This isn’t just a job about leases and inspections; it’s a role that helps people secure one of life’s most fundamental needs: shelter. Having recently experienced housing insecurity herself, she reminds readers how frightening and destabilising that uncertainty can be. Empathy, she believes, is central to the job.

No more excuses

Technology and training, while important, are not the core solution to the profession’s public image problem. At a recent Gold Coast RE BarCamp, industry leaders asked how to improve the way the public perceives property managers.

Kylie believes the change must begin with how property professionals treat each other, their clients, and themselves. No amount of proptech or policy updates can compensate for a lack of compassion, leadership, or personal accountability.

Leadership means doing the inner work

She also challenges the common excuse of being “too busy.” Drawing a parallel to surgeons who do not get to opt out of their responsibilities, Kylie stresses that property managers must stop using busyness as a shield and start leading with intention and care. Leadership, she says, begins with internal work, including developing self-awareness, managing emotional reactions, and making choices based on empathy rather than efficiency alone.

Read the full article here.

ICYMI, yesterday we unpacked the new superpower in real estate.

TOGETHER WITH FOUNDIT

FOUNDIT aims to flip the buyer-seller dynamic

Australia's property market is getting a tech upgrade with FOUNDIT, a new platform that just secured $2M in pre-seed funding. The Melbourne-based startup connects property buyers with buyers’ agents and market intelligence, addressing the imbalance where "buyers carry most of the risk but have historically had the least support."

With backing from major real estate tech players and a national consumer launch planned for August, FOUNDIT aims to make buyer representation the norm rather than the exception.

Read more about FOUNDIT here.

BATTLE OF THE STATES

Queensland becomes the new investor hotspot

The Sunshine State has overtaken Western Australia as Australia's leading property investor market, with a 24 per cent annual growth in investor loans. Queensland now accounts for nearly a quarter of all investor loans nationally, surpassing Victoria's 22 per cent. Experts put this shift down to strong investor confidence in Queensland's long-term growth potential and the approaching Brisbane Olympics

RENTVESTING

Young Australians turn to 'rentvesting'

Millennials and Gen Z are being forced to look at new options to get into the market, with many now purchasing investment properties while continuing to rent where they live. Only 55% of millennials own homes today, compared to 70% of boomers at the same age in 1991. Remarkably, over half of property investment purchases last year came from these younger generations, with some regional areas offering rental yields as high as 21.9% in Mallacoota, Victoria.

UK NEWS

UK housing market shrugs off stamp duty changes

The UK property market is holding strong despite experiencing its largest monthly price drop in four years this April. While prices fell 2.7% following changes to stamp duty thresholds, annual growth remains healthy at 3.5%, with the average home now worth £265,000 (AUD $505,000) . Rural areas continue to outperform urban locations, and analysts remain optimistic, with Knight Frank recently upgrading its 2025 growth forecast to 3.5%.

CELEBRITY HOMES

Jake Paul's $39 million boxing payday purchase

YouTube star and boxer Jake Paul has used his Mike Tyson fight winnings to fulfil a 15-year dream, purchasing the historic 5,653-acre Southlands ranch for a record US$39M. The sprawling property features an eight-bedroom lodge, horse stables, and five miles of spring creeks with waterfalls. Paul plans to transform the plantation into his personal playground for watersurfing, hunting, and even building a racetrack.

MOVERS + SHAKERS

REMAX elite gather in Vietnam for Platinum+ Forum

About 50 top performers attended the exclusive event at Hyatt Regency Da Nang, featuring insights from industry leaders Ben and Nola Kloppers, Alex Porter, and endurance athlete Tim Franklin. More here.

Success doesn’t rest on weekends! 
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AGENTS ON SOCIAL

Real estate agents: 97 tabs open in their brain, three deals about to fall over, but still smiling and saying, “No worries at all.” 🧠💼

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

Wishing you a productive day!

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