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GOOD MORNING FROM ELITE AGENT 👋 TRUE OR FALSE? From 1912, Sydney banned any new building taller than 250 feet – roughly 25 storeys – because the fire brigade's ladders could not reach past it. The cap stayed on the books for 45 years. (Scroll to the bottom for the answer!) |
In today's edition of The Brief - We launch "The Edit" our new podcast with Chris Hanley - designed specifically for the market nobody enjoys talking about.
- Alan Kohler calls the housing accord target a 'fairy tale' – handy ammo-free talking points for when vendors ask why supply isn't easing.
- Kim Kardashian's favourite architect just sold his Hampstead hideaway for £15 million – secret celebrity rental, James Bond car lift and all.
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TODAY'S FEATURE  Hope is not a strategy – what Chris Hanley knowsThe real estate industry is very good at talking about the market when the market is good. The Edit, our new podcast, is for straight talk with good people. Every track opens with one hard question facing agents and principals right now, put to people who have actually done the work.
Track 01 – Chris Hanley OAM, four decades in and a veteran of a GFC that took his Byron Bay market from 472 sales a year to 225. He talks to Samantha McLean about trust (5%, by his count), telling vendors the truth, and why hope is not a strategy. |
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What you'll learn in the full article: - The three winds: Chris breaks every market into headwind, tailwind or no wind, and only one of them rewards agents who wait it out.
- The 20/80 rule: most agents talk for 80 per cent of a listing meeting; Chris flips the ratio and explains why silence closes more than swagger does.
- The 11 questions: how Chris's question set gets anxious vendors through the hardest conversations without losing their trust.
Chris joins Sam as co-host for several upcoming episodes so make sure you subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts
Listen to the full episode -> |
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TOGETHER WITH DIAKRIT  New consumer research shows what Vendors and Buyers actually Value, Notice and Act On.Turns out "less is more" isn't the flex agents think it is. New Diakrit consumer research, done with Stone Real Estate, found buyers rank video and virtual tours above floor plans when deciding whether a property's worth a look, and 58 per cent of vendors say marketing strategy is now critical to choosing their agent. The bigger surprise: vendors care less about your years in the business than what your last campaign looked like. Have a read of the full report and see what it means for your next listing conversation. Learn more → |
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DEPT OF DIGITAL BRANDS  Google's August spam update targets thin contentNo blog post, no target list – just a rollout that started Tuesday and applies everywhere. What Google's policy does spell out is the risk: suburb pages with the same copy and swapped names, AI market wraps built from public data, and paid links that quietly stop passing value. Recovery isn't quick, so the fix starts with checking what's actually on your site. |
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DEPT OF SALES  Alan Kohler calls housing accord target a "fairy tale"Australia needs 240,000 new homes a year to hit the National Housing Accord target. We're building about 180,000, says finance commentator Alan Kohler, leaving a shortfall of over 100,000 homes a year and counting. "The target is a political round number," Alan says. Read the full article → |
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DEPT OF TAX  Rents may need to jump 30pc to save investor returnsRay White modelling shows investors now need a gross yield of about 5.15 per cent just to break even after losing negative gearing – and rents would have to rise 30 per cent nationally to get there without any price falls. Sydney and Brisbane face the steepest adjustment if rents hold flat. Nerida Conisbee says the fix will likely land somewhere between higher rents and softer prices. |
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HOW IT SOLD  A door knock led to a 60-year family saleA conversation on a Winthrop doorstep turned into a trusted relationship for Meagan Xanthis, who sold the family's home of six decades in under 10 days. Marketing to both families and subdivision-minded investors, she found a buyer who'll keep the house intact. Find out the story behind how it sold → Agents across Australia and New Zealand are turning sales into stories. getailsa.com → |
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CELEBRITY HOMES  Kim Kardashian's architect's London hideaway sells for $28.68MThe Hampstead villa was designed by Claudio Silvestrin, the minimalist mastermind behind Kim Kardashian's homes and Kanye West's Manhattan loft, and it's just sold for £15 million (about $28.68 million AUD). Before landing with a European family relocating for private equity work, it quietly hosted a rotation of Hollywood stars filming in London. Yes, there's a James Bond-style car lift in the garage. Read the full article → |
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MOVERS & SHAKERS  Winning is just the beginning for Barfoot & ThompsonThree world titles in one year at the International Property Awards – a first, according to Managing Director Peter Thompson – and his message to the 1,500-strong room at Summit 26 was that nobody gets to relax. The agency selling two of every five Auckland homes isn't defending its lead; it's pushing into commercial, rural and projects. The line worth stealing: the brand is an All Blacks jersey – you're only borrowing it, and your job is to hand it back better. |
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Success doesn't rest on weekends!
Get top agent and agency moves every Sunday in Movers & Shakers. Subscribe now. |
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AGENTS ON SOCIAL Forget buying flowers, Tatiana’s getting a 14-day close with zero contingencies 💸🏠 |
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TRUE OR FALSE: From 1912, Sydney banned any new building taller than 250 feet – roughly 25 storeys – because the fire brigade's ladders could not reach past it. The cap stayed on the books for 45 years. And the answer is … False. The cap was 150 feet – about half that. But fire was the reason: nothing could reach the upper floors of anything taller. The Act was finally amended in 1957 and the AMP Building went up at Circular Quay, doubling the skyline more or less overnight. via NSW Legislation – Height of Buildings Act 1912. |
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