👍 If everyone agrees with you, there could be a problem

GOOD MORNING FROM ELITE AGENT 👋

TRUE OR FALSE?

Frankalmoign was a medieval land tenure system in which land was granted to a religious institution without any secular obligations such as rent - instead the only “consideration” required was the performance of spiritual services, which was typically prayers for the donor’s soul.
(Scroll to the bottom for the answer!)

In today’s edition of The Brief

• The silence holding teams back

• Victorian agents face $49k penalties

• Sydney no longer Australia's priciest unit market

Today’s read time: 5 minutes, 10 seconds

New to The Brief? Join us for free 🤝

LEADERSHIP

The silence inside high-performing real estate teams that's costing you

The agent who spots a flaw in your listing strategy but says nothing.

The property manager with a better process who assumes no one wants to hear it.

Mitch Green, Harcourts Head of People and Culture, has spent fifteen years studying why these silences happen, and why real estate breeds them more than most industries.

The dynamics are specific to the sector and even in collaborative teams, an underlying tension determines what people say out loud.

"If I help the rest of the team become too good, what if they end up cutting my grass?" Mitch says this belief quietly governs more offices than leaders realise. Add an informal hierarchy that forms around revenue, and fresh perspectives become your most silenced ones.

The instinct is to tell people to speak up, but Mitch believes that actually doesn't work.

"It's never going to work if you just say, 'Alright everyone, we're going to feel safe to speak up now.'" Leaders have to model it first, by sharing their own mistakes before asking anyone else to.

His recommended framework involves a specific meeting format, a rule about who speaks first, and one element that must be kept completely separate, because when it isn't, the whole thing collapses.

What you'll learn in the full article:

• The debriefing framework: How to structure meetings that surface hidden insights without creating defensiveness

• The "leader goes first" rule: Why vulnerability from the top unlocks team candour

• The separation principle: Why debriefing and accountability must never mix – and what happens when they do

• The two questions that matter: Mitch's simple framework for building lasting psychological safety

Read the full article

ICYMI yesterday: EOI campaigns versus auctions

TOGETHER WITH APLYID

Deadline looming: How agencies are automating Tranche 2 compliance

Tranche 2 is less than a month away, meaning Australian real estate agencies must imminently secure mandatory AUSTRAC enrolment, a compliance officer, and documented risk and policy assessments and APLYiD offers a complete, hassle-free solution to meet these non-negotiable requirements without disrupting daily operations.

Featuring a comprehensive AML/CTF platform, dedicated staff training, and an essential policy builder for formalising required documentation, it provides everything needed to prevent incomplete compliance before the looming deadline.

The key to consistent compliance is removing friction, as forcing teams into separate platforms leads to shortcuts and risk and APLYiD solves this by slotting directly into the existing workflows of platforms agents already rely on daily, including MRI Software, Rex, Forms Live, and PropertyMe.

By embedding AML verification, client monitoring, and record-keeping straight into your current CRM, compliance becomes an effortless part of your daily process - saving admin time so your agency can focus on what matters.

Read more about APLYiD’s AML/CTF solutions here.

VIC LEGISLATIVE ALERT

REIV sounds alarm on new bill forcing $49k agent fines

Victoria's Consumer Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 could hit agents with fines of nearly $49,000 for not disclosing sale prices, even when it's the buyer or seller who decides whether to share that information. The REIV has urgently written to all Victorian MPs flagging concerns including a mandatory 14-day lockout before a property can be sold privately, a seven-day reserve price publication rule, and the removal of early deposit release protections.

CAPITAL GROWTH

Brisbane entry-level units now pricier than Sydney's

For the first time, Brisbane's bottom-quartile apartment values have overtaken Sydney's – a shift Cotality's Gerard Burg calls "really significant." Interstate migration and buyers priced out of freestanding houses are flooding Queensland's unit market, pushing annual unit growth to 21.8%. Meanwhile, three previous RBA rate hikes have wiped out any relief from recent price drops.

HOW IT SOLD

5 offers became 20 adjustments in 8 days

Emma Orchard pitched a 1960s Hamilton Hill home as both a liveable investment and a future subdivision opportunity. The dual messaging sparked strong competition: five offers and 20 revisions in eight days, culminating in a $1.14 million sale above appraisal.

Agents across Australia and New Zealand are turning sales into stories. getailsa.com

CELEBRITY HOMES

Olympic silver medallist's family trades their Paddington rebuild for a remote New Zealand island

While son Logan Ullrich won rowing silver at the Paris Olympics, his parents were rebuilding their Paddington home from scratch. Now it's listed in the high A$3 millions - and they're off to Stewart Island.

MOVERS + SHAKERS

John and Sue Ward launch Harcourts Ward on Brisbane's Northside

Co-principals Geraint and Nicole Gardner launch the new office in a market where homes are selling 13 days faster than the Melbourne average. 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

Wait, what! We only heard 30 million💰🤝

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

TRUE OR FALSE:

Frankalmoign was a medieval land tenure system in which land was granted to a religious institution without any secular obligations such as rent - instead the only “consideration” required was the performance of spiritual services, which was typically prayers for the donor’s soul.

And the answer is …

True. Frankalmoign was basically medieval land with a very unusual “payment plan.” Once land was handed over to a church or monastery, it was theirs for good—no rent, no labour, no soldiers, no feudal strings attached. Instead of money or services, the return was spiritual: prayers, masses, and a bit of heavenly lobbying for the donor’s soul.

Wishing you a productive day!

Elite Agent is the definitive platform for ambitious agents and industry players.
AI-Powered Real Estate is your playbook for deploying AI that sells homes and scales teams.

Elite Agent is crewed by Mark Edwards, Catherine Nikas-Boulos, Rowan Crosby, Iris Rebello and Samantha McLean. We aim to uplift the real estate industry by delivering forward-thinking, hype-free news and education that fosters knowledge and fuels ambition.

Content in the ‘Together With’ section is sponsored. Interested in promoting your brand to Elite Agent’s audience? Learn more at advertise.eliteagent.com.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.