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Property decisions are rarely driven by logic alone. Research suggests as much as 90 per cent of home-buying decisions are influenced by emotional factors, with buyers commonly reporting feelings of anticipation, excitement, and stress during the process. The financial analysis tends to follow later. The emotional response comes first, and that helps explain why buyers so often say a home “just felt right”, rather than referencing yield, floor plans, or spreadsheets. For agents, understanding that emotional layer is not soft thinking; it is central to how people actually buy property.

In today’s edition of The Brief

• What long-term franchise commitment looks like

• The OECD has called for higher social housing targets, tax reform and planning changes

• Why Candice Whinnett dedicates one day a week to AI

Today’s read time: 6 minutes, 55 seconds

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FRANCHISE

Inside the ten-year commitment reshaping ownership at McGrath

Why McGrath West Group’s partnership model is a long-term bet on structure, not scale

As regulatory pressure intensifies and technology strips away the industry’s tolerance for informal behaviour, John McGrath believes real estate is being forced to grow up. Against that backdrop, his joint ten-year recommitment with Kon Stathopoulos to McGrath West Group is less about expansion and more about structure, accountability, and longevity. Their shared view is that the partnership model underpinning the business is not a theoretical exercise, but a practical response to an industry facing higher standards, tighter scrutiny, and far greater operational complexity.

Equity without the burden

What sets McGrath West Group apart is its approach to ownership. Instead of a single principal structure, the business allows high-performing agents and managers to buy meaningful equity at a local office level, without taking on the full responsibility of running the operation.

“A lot of salespeople think they want to be principals,” John said. “But what they really want is skin in the game”. For Kon, the model was designed to give people a genuine asset and a future pathway, while protecting performance, wellbeing, and culture.

A long-term signal to the market

The ten-year franchise agreement was intended to remove uncertainty for everyone inside the business. “Most franchise agreements are five years,” John said. “We just said, ‘Let’s get serious. Let’s join arms.’” For partners across the group, the length of the commitment signals stability and shared intent, reinforcing that both the brand and the leadership are aligned for the long term. In an industry facing tougher compliance demands and rising expectations, that clarity may prove as valuable as growth itself.

Why this structure matters now

John is pragmatic about the pressures reshaping the real estate industry, particularly as expectations around governance and behaviour continue to rise. While he is quick to acknowledge that many operators act with integrity, he is equally clear that informal structures and assumed standards are becoming harder to sustain.

“There’s a lot of real estate businesses out there that aren’t doing it with transparency and integrity,” he said. As scrutiny increases and technology makes conduct more visible, he believes integrity is moving from a stated value to something that must be embedded in how businesses are structured, owned, and led.

Read the full story here.

ICYMI, last week: When leadership shifts from selling to setting standards.

TOGETHER WITH DOMAIN

Domain accelerates audience growth ahead of 2026 selling season

Domain has recorded its strongest audience performance on record, growing at six times the rate of its nearest competitor in Q4 2025, according to Ipsos iris data. Since its acquisition by CoStar Group, the platform added significantly more audience volume quarter-on-quarter, while its exclusive audience reached a record 1.2 million people.

Across domain.com.au and allhomes.com.au, Domain averaged 8.1 million Australians per month in Q4. The period also delivered strong engagement gains, with app downloads up 114 per cent year-on-year and both listing views and total enquiries rising 21 per cent. Domain President Jason Pellegrino said the business is well positioned to convert sustained audience growth into deeper listing engagement as the first major selling season of the year begins.

Read the media statement here.

MARKET

Building starts hit strongest quarter since March 2022

Australia’s housing affordability challenge remains firmly in focus, with the OECD calling on the federal government to lift social housing targets, reform tax settings and accelerate planning changes to boost supply. At the same time, new ABS data shows home building activity is starting to improve, with dwelling commencements up 11.6 per cent year on year and reaching their strongest level since early 2022.

The federal government is continuing to push its housing agenda through the National Housing Accord, the Housing Australia Future Fund and incentives for build-to-rent developments. For agents, the data reinforces that supply conditions are improving, but affordability constraints are likely to remain a key factor shaping buyer and seller expectations in the near term.

THOUGHT LEADERS PODCAST

One day weekly for AI experiments pays off

Spend six hours building an automation that saves 20 people two hours weekly – that's the ROI Candice Whinnett chases every Wednesday. The Queensland property management leader blocks one day exclusively for AI experiments, and her team has doubled, not shrunk. Her advice: start with one custom GPT for one task you actively avoid.

HOW IT SOLD

Off the portals and into the right hands

For the sale of a 103sqm Bondi Junction apartment, Nicholas Armstrong-Smith skipped the major property portals entirely. He listed exclusively on the Century 21 network and ran social media campaigns across four platforms while reaching out directly to pre-qualified, finance-approved buyers from his database.

Your competitors know media coverage gets clients. Are you ready to get yours? getailsa.com

CELEBRITY HOMES

Nicole Kidman cashes in on Sydney apartment

Actor Nicole Kidman has sold one of her six apartments in Sydney's prestigious Latitude building for $8.5M, making a tidy $775,000 profit in just two years. The three-bedroom luxury apartment features spectacular views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. The sale comes following Kidman's recent divorce from country music star Keith Urban, ending their 19-year marriage that included a $70M global property portfolio.

MOVERS + SHAKERS

Jacob Olsen appointed Sales Performance Specialist at Ray White Queensland.

The newly created role will focus on supporting and developing sales associates across the network, drawing on his experience as a second-generation real estate professional. More here.

Amy Kitchener named Co-Principal at Harcourts Low & Co.

After four years across operations, marketing and sales, she joins Grace Low in leading the Rockhampton office's strategic direction and growth. 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

New house: 1 New
G-Wagon: 0
One appreciates quietly over time; the other starts losing value before it leaves the dealership. 🚗🏠

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Wishing you a productive day!

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