🤠 How to sell a 10-bedroom house with 2 toilets

GOOD MORNING FROM ELITE AGENT 👋

TRUE OR FALSE?

There is a luxury property market where you can sell a multi-million dollar mansion, but local laws strictly ban you from listing it with more than two toilets, no matter how many bedrooms it has.
(Scroll to the bottom for the answer!)

In today’s edition of The Brief

• Forget goals ‘marry the process’ in tight markets

• NSW axe tax on foreign housing build

• VIC off-the-plan enquiries skyrocket post-Budget

Today’s read time: 4 minutes, 50 seconds

New to The Brief? Join us for free 🤝

AGENT STRATEGY

Why top agents win by mastering process

In a tightening market, Ray White NSW Head of Performance Callum Hogan argues that most agents make the same mistake: they respond to pressure by “doing more training and coaching” or simply increasing activity, when the real lever for success is ignored.

His core belief is that “there are simple and repeatable processes at the core of everything that deliver outcomes,” and that agents should stop chasing performance spikes and instead “divorce the goal completely, marry the process.”

For Callum, sustainable results come from structure, not urgency, because plugging high performers into broken systems only creates short-term relief, not long-term change.

That thinking flows through how he builds and leads teams, where he prioritises “processes first, people second,” reversing the industry habit of hiring talent and then trying to fix systems around them.

He also warns against snap judgements in leadership, insisting you need “at least three months before you can really understand where the deficits are,” using that time to observe rather than overhaul.

Underpinning it all is a shift in focus toward buyers, with Callum suggesting that while “sellers are the people that give us the business, buyers are the people that keep our business alive,” especially in uncertain conditions where disciplined, incremental improvement.

“Being able to be 1% better than what you were yesterday” becomes the real competitive edge.

What you'll learn in the full article:

• The process-first sequence: Why hiring talented people before building systems is "a big pitfall" for scaling businesses

• The fly-on-the-wall method: How to diagnose real problems versus surface symptoms in your business

• The 1% framework: Callum's approach to incremental improvement that compounds over time

• The buy-in strategy: Why quick fixes fail and how patience builds lasting change

Sustained performance comes not from bursts of activity, but from systems that keep working when conditions don't cooperate.

Read the full article

ICYMI last week: The power of restraint in property sales

TOGETHER WITH ELITE AGENT

Two small jobs that quietly eat at your week

First: you sell something great, and the result never gets marketed – because who has time to sit down and write it up? Tell Ailsa about it instead!

Ailsa captures the story with you; we draft it, and once you approve it, it gets published on eliteagent.com. (And no AI slop!)

Second: an opportunity for an appraisal lands, and you prep on the fly. But Ailsa+ can hand you property research, vendor research and "Before We Meet" brief and your listing copy before you've poured a coffee. FYI - She’s also great at reinvigorating listings that may be languishing a little by identifying potential buyer cohorts and opportunities and rewriting the copy.

Elite Agent Insiders is both. It's tax-deductible this year, and this is genuinely the last time it's $297, not $397 (no coupon needed!).

POLICY REVERSAL

NSW scraps foreign investor surcharge on new housing

The 9% foreign purchaser duty on eligible build-to-rent and retirement living projects is gone. HIA Chief Economist Tim Reardon called the tax one of Australia's "worst own goals," noting foreign investors have been barred from buying established homes since 1975 – their capital funds new construction. He's urging every other state to follow suit.

NEW APARTMENT SALES

Victoria leads apartment enquiry after Budget

Investor enquiries for off-the-plan apartments jumped 65.6% nationally in the week after the Federal Budget, with Victoria seeing the sharpest rise at 151%. The spike, tracked by apartments.com.au, reflects how quickly investors have responded to proposed negative gearing and CGT carve-outs for new builds.

HOW IT SOLD

Three renos, seven offers, one street record

A Caboolture four-bedroom home hadn't been touched in 20 years. Narelle Cordaro recommended three targeted updates – new kitchen, unified flooring, and a full repaint – lifting buyer interest by 70% and drawing seven offers within a week. The property at 25 Tullawong Drive sold for $980,000, setting a new street record.

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

CELEBRITY HOMES

Jacinda Ardern lists her Auckland family home, as she settles into life across the Tasman

Former NZ PM Jacinda Ardern and husband Clarke Gayford have listed their Sandringham bungalow for auction, marking a clear chapter close as the family bases itself in Australia. Bought for NZ$1.74 million in 2018, it's now estimated at NZ$2.21 million.

MOVERS + SHAKERS

DiJones beats AML red tape with new tech

DiJones has launched a centralised digital platform ahead of the reforms, turning complex AML compliance into a system that lets agents secure agreements in minutes. More here.

Urban Real Estate Opens New Calderwood Office

Urban Real Estate has opened its 17th NSW office in Calderwood, welcoming Team Taylor to strengthen its presence across the Illawarra growth corridor. More here

SERHANT. launches in Texas

Ryan Serhant's brokerage enters Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio at once. 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

If your buyers can't handle a casual red light and a clipped curb, do they even want the house? 🚗💨

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

TRUE OR FALSE:

There is a luxury property market where you can sell a multi-million dollar mansion, but local laws strictly ban you from listing it with more than two toilets, no matter how many bedrooms it has.

And the answer is …

TRUE. If you're dealing with high-end clients looking at Waldron Island (Washington, USA), they’ll have to compromise on the plumbing.

Under San Juan County Code Section 16.36.060, all residential builds are strictly capped at a maximum of two toilets that use potable water.

Local planners explicitly keep this active law on the books as an anti-development shield to prevent mega-mansions from draining the island's fragile underground freshwater supply.

Wishing you a productive day!

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