🎯 The cold email that got him a meeting with a developer he'd never met - and the $11.8M that followed

GOOD MORNING FROM ELITE AGENT 👋

TRUE OR FALSE?

In the early 1900s, you could buy an entire house in the US, delivered in pieces to your front door, from a mail-order catalogue.
(Scroll to the bottom for the answer!)

In today’s edition of The Brief

• How a top Brisbane luxury agent built a record career by rejecting listings

• Will Labor’s CGT overhaul fall short on revenue?

• Iconic Scarface estate hits US$237 million Miami market

Today’s read time: 5 minutes, 50 seconds

New to The Brief? Join us for free 🤝

LISTINGS

How saying no built a $4m+ luxury real estate machine

Matt Lancashire’s approach to luxury real estate is built on a counterintuitive discipline: narrowing focus to expand results. Early in his career he was selling around 80 to 90 properties a year, but over time he shifted away from volume and toward strict specialisation at the top end of the market. That meant drawing a clear line on what he would take on and building his business only around prestige property.

“What a lot of people do is they say, ‘I'm going to sell a high-end property.’ They get one, but then they also sell low-end properties as well,” he says. “That is not specialisation. You've got to become a specialist. I decided to say no to everything unless it was over a certain price point.”

That discipline became the foundation for everything that followed, from the way he prepares for listings to how he built his buyer network. One early example came when he secured a meeting for Don O’Rourke’s Hamilton home by diving deep into the property’s design and construction, interviewing the architect and builders to understand every detail. That level of preparation helped him win the listing and deliver a $11.8 million sale, a Brisbane record at the time.

“I went and interviewed all of the people,” he says. “I got my product knowledge to a level where I would know just as much about the architect or the owner about the home.”

Today, that same philosophy underpins Ray White Collective Luxury, the $4 million-plus agency he launched with Haesley Cush, supported by a database of more than 4,800 high-end buyers and a business model built on depth rather than volume. For Lancashire, the outcome is simple: focus creates authority, and authority creates opportunity.

What you'll learn in the full article:

• The cold email formula: The exact approach that got a meeting with a developer he'd never met

• The preparation playbook: How Matt knew more about the home than the owner – and why it matters

• The $5M buyer database: How 4,881 qualified responses became his biggest listing advantage

• The specialisation test: How to know if you're truly specialising or just marketing yourself that way

Read the full article

ICYMI yesterday, we asked ‘What’s better than a client sending you flowers?’ Writing you a song, of course.

TOGETHER WITH AI SPRINT

One shot left: The AI Sprint you simply can’t afford to miss

Last chance today to catch The AI Sprint by Samantha McLean live before it wraps, with Weeks 1–3 already reshaping how agents think about listings, vendors and visibility in a world where AI is changing how clients choose who to work with.

Week 1 focused on building AI-powered buyer personas before you even walk into a listing presentation, so your marketing is targeted from the start rather than generic.

Week 2 shifted to understanding vendor personality types, helping agents tailor how they communicate so their pitch actually lands the way each client needs to hear it and

Week 3 last week moved even further upstream, showing how agents can position themselves as the answer AI surfaces when sellers search online, long before a phone call or appraisal request happens.

Now, Week 4 brings everything together in Content That Sounds Like You, showing how to turn all of those strategies into consistent, authentic content that sounds like you, strengthens your authority, and avoids the generic feel of AI-generated output, and if you have missed any of the earlier sessions, the replays are available so you can get up to speed.

Join today’s 11am AEST session here.

Missed a week? Catch up here:

Week 1 replay — Listing Copy & Buyer Personas
Week 2 replay — DISC Profiling
Week 3 replay — Get found by AI

OPINION

Could Labor’s CGT overhaul raise less revenue than expected?

New analysis suggests the Federal Budget’s shift from the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount to inflation indexation may not deliver the revenue boost many expect. Ray White’s chief economist, Nerida Conisbee said that if inflation remains high and property price growth slows, investors could end up paying less tax on some sales than under the current system, potentially reducing CGT receipts in the years ahead.

COMMERCIAL

Rising demand pushes up Darwin commercial rents amid tight supply

Darwin's population grew 1.7% last year - the only capital where growth actually accelerated. Industrial rents have jumped from $130/sqm to around $180/sqm in two years, and national investors are now looking beyond the eastern capitals for yield. If flagged defence and energy projects deliver real jobs, residential demand could follow.

HOW IT SOLD

Work order lifted after 140 days drives $1.27m Cammeray result

A 2-bed, 2-bath Cammeray unit sold for $1.27 million after a building commissioner's work order was lifted, restoring buyer confidence across an 82-inspection campaign that closed before auction day. Geoff Grist of Richardson & Wrench Mosman restructured the campaign three times - pausing over Christmas, relaunching as an auction in February, and using the deadline to convert returning and new buyers into competitive offers.

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

CELEBRITY HOMES

Scarface mansion with presidential past hits market for eye-watering US$237m

A Miami waterfront estate made famous as the drug lord’s home in Scarface has been listed for US$237 million (A$332 million), blending Hollywood notoriety with presidential history; the 2.38-acre property was also once part of Richard Nixon’s Winter White House compound. With 862 feet of Biscayne Bay frontage and luxury-scale amenities, it ranks among the most expensive residential listings in the United States.

MOVERS + SHAKERS

OBrien Real Estate’s Bali leadership reset

The network brought business owners and senior leaders together for four days, focused on culture and accountability with headline speaker Brendon Gale. More here.

Djordje Kresovic joins Belle Property Lower North Shore

Directors Matthew Smythe and Mark Jackson handpicked the North Sydney specialist for his attitude and cultural fit over pure skill. More here.

AGENTS ON SOCIAL

This is true love. ❤️ 💘

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

TRUE OR FALSE:

In the early 1900s, you could buy an entire house in the US, delivered in pieces to your front door, from a mail-order catalogue.

And the answer is …

True. Between 1908 and 1940, Sears, Roebuck & Co. sold more than 70,000 so-called "Kit Homes" through their famous catalogue. Buyers would choose a model, and Sears would ship over 30,000 pre-cut pieces - lumber, nails and all - by train to their nearest station, ready to assemble. It's a fascinating reminder that the dream of affordable, accessible homeownership is anything but a modern idea.

Wishing you a productive day!

Elite Agent is the definitive platform for ambitious agents and industry players.
AI-Powered Agents 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.