🤬 Has another agent jumped your sign?

GOOD MORNING FROM ELITE AGENT 👋

OPINION

The seller jumped the sign, and that’s OK

Three signboards, one lawn, two of them screaming FOR SALE. Avi Khan recounts a moment from early in his career that speaks directly to the industry's least favourite talking point right now. While group chats run hot over stolen listings and broken loyalty, Avi argues we're pointing the finger at the wrong person entirely – and asking the wrong question.

What you'll learn in the full article:

• The wrong question: why "who took it?" is the wrong thing to ask when a board changes hands, and what to ask instead.
• The vendor's real motive: what's actually driving sellers to switch agents mid-campaign, and it's rarely about a rival's charm.
• The lawn test: a blunt three-question self-check for working out if a lost listing was ever really yours to keep.

Read the full article →

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DEPT OF MONETARY POLICY

Softer inflation weakens case for August rate rise as housing market cools

Inflation just came in soft for the third month in a row, and it might have changed the conversation ahead of the RBA's August meeting. Michele Bullock says the housing market has already cooled more than the bank expected, with Sydney and Melbourne back near pre-hike levels. Matt Bell reckons this pushes the next rate cut out to late 2027 – but at least budgets stop shrinking for now.

DEPT OF RENTALS

Rent.com.au's RentBond passes $10m in loans

Ten months after launch, RentBond has written over $10 million in bond and moving-cost loans, helping push Rent.com.au to its strongest quarter yet – $1.35 million in revenue, up 48% year-on-year. CEO Jan Ferreira says the company's on track to break even by December, with existing customers now converting at nearly five times the rate of new ones.

DEPT OF HIGH ACHIEVERS

The Agency posts record GCI, 43 hit Altitude

The number that caught our eye isn't the group's $151.7 million GCI, up from $125.2 million – it's that 85 agents who'd been there two years or more posted their best year yet. A record 43 agents reached Altitude status, and 27 of those set personal bests.

As Executive Chairman Andrew Jensen put it, "That tells us the platform is working."

Read the full article →

Also… did you see

• Mayor of London commits to training builders
• Tracey Fellows lists Melbourne Terrace (AFR: Paywall)

HOW IT SOLD

Solar panels and parking sealed this $825k sale

Karen Magnotta cast a wide net for 41 Trafalgar Drive, Prospect Vale, reaching out to interstate agent networks while spruiking the family-friendly, flat block. After 45 days, it was a local buyer who bit, drawn by the double garage, three extra car spaces and 36 rooftop solar panels.

Find out the story behind how it sold →

Stories like this build your online reputation long after the sold sticker comes down. Want yours told? getailsa.com →

CELEBRITY HOMES

Mexican peninsula lists at $161M with two blueprints

Pick your own adventure: this 140-hectare Yucatán peninsula comes with consent for either a 64-villa resort worth $742 million, or a single 40-bedroom billionaire's palace. It's the first time the estate has changed hands in 30 years, and it comes with flamingos, a pink lake, and room for a private runway.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Charity home auction raises $1.06m for domestic violence survivors

Four registered bidders pushed hard on a brand-new Banya home this month, knowing every dollar above reserve was headed straight to families escaping domestic violence. Jodi Price, principal of LJ Hooker Mooloolaba | Mountain Creek and a SunnyKids board member, took it to $1.06 million under the hammer, funding six transitional townhouses and continuing her office's 12-year run of fundraising for the charity.

Harcourts Foundation names its first Sneaker Day winners Corporate shoes stayed in the cupboard across Harcourts offices for a good cause, and Wendy Lenaghan and the team at Harcourts Broadbeach | Mermaid have taken out the inaugural Sneaker Champion title. Aimee Garside of Harcourts Dapto, Harcourts Melbourne City, Harcourts Alliance and Harcourts Mandurah also picked up category wins, in a fundraiser for homelessness charity Orange Sky.

Virender Kaindal launches First National Empire in St Albans St Albans has a new independent player in Melbourne's western suburbs. Virender Kaindal, who moved into real estate in 2019 after running his own hospitality business and building experience across several agencies, has launched First National Empire, offering residential sales, property management, commercial, rural and lifestyle services, and auctions across the region.

Carmen Christie builds success on honesty and expert negotiation Twenty listings at a time, decades of negotiation runs from Cairns to Warragul, and a reputation for telling vendors the truth even when they don't want to hear it – that's the track record Carmen Christie brings to her move to Area Specialist. The Victorian agent, who covers the patch from Drouin to Trafalgar, made the switch last year chasing more time for her clients and less time on admin, and says the change has delivered both a better lifestyle and stronger results.

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AGENTS ON SOCIAL

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TRUE OR FALSE:

The famous rotating house near San Diego completes a full 360-degree rotation using a 1.5-horsepower motor (that's roughly the power of your average ride-on lawn mower)

And the answer is …

It's true! The Spinning House in La Mesa, California – which hit the market in 2024 for $5.3 million – rotates on a custom turntable powered by a mere 1.5-horsepower motor. It spins an entire two-storey home with all its plumbing, gas, and electricity intact. The rotation can be set anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours per full circle. Proof that in real estate, it's not always about power – it's about knowing when to turn. via Architectural Digest.