GOOD MORNING FROM ELITE AGENT

On this day in 1836, explorer Thomas Mitchell named Swan Hill while camped by the Murray River. He said the swans kept him up all night so, Swan Hill it was. It’s a small moment in history, but a good reminder that names stick. Whether it's a suburb, a development, or even just how you describe a home, the right words can shape how people feel - and what they’re willing to pay.

Today’s read time: 6 minutes, 04 seconds

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AI: The new #1 ranking

Why you need to get recommended by ChatGPT and win more listings

How to get found (and chosen) in the age of AI search

What if your next seller approached you “4 times more ready to sell”? That’s the new reality for agents who understand how AI tools like ChatGPT are disrupting search - and fast. According AI Powered Agents’ founder Samantha McLean, HubSpot’s latest Marketing Against the Grain episode delivers “a blunt message: online search has tipped from ten blue links to one flowing chat.”

Instead of clicking around websites, today’s sellers are having one intelligent conversation with an AI and walking away with a checklist - and a shortlist of agents. To stay visible, Samantha advises agents to focus on the platforms AI actually references and “aim to be mentioned in context for specific situations, not just generally.”

From keywords to conversations

AI tools are becoming trusted advisors. “People now trust AI responses more than traditional search results because they perceive them as objective and unbiased,” says Kieran Flanagan from HubSpot. Samantha illustrates this with a simple example: a seller asks ChatGPT how to sell a Queenslander with an unfinished deck - and walks away with a checklist and three local agent names. These users aren’t browsing; they’re ready to list. To be recommended, agents need to anticipate the hyper-specific questions their future clients are asking.

Forget traffic - focus on mentions

One of the most disruptive claims? “Visits are fundamentally less important,” says HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar. AI searchers are skipping websites until they’re ready to act, and often, they’re not finding you on your homepage.

According to Samantha, AI sources data from “review aggregation sites, community forums, local Facebook groups, and industry publications like Elite Agent.”

That’s where your visibility must live. Mention frequency, not raw traffic, is the new gold standard.

Get ready to dominate

“The question isn’t whether this shift will happen - it’s whether you’ll be visible when it does,” says Samantha. The time to pivot your strategy is now: audit your content, double down on specificity, get active in community platforms, and monitor your AI mentions. The agents who embrace this new landscape early won’t just survive the AI shift, they’ll dominate it.

Read the full story here.

ICYMI, yesterday we covered what big-city agents can learn from regional colleagues.

TOGETHER WITH @REALITY

Still giving away half your income? EOFY might be the nudge you need

With EOFY fast approaching, it’s worth asking: are you still giving 30–50% of your commission back to your office? At @realty, licensed agents start on a 93% commission structure, with the opportunity to earn 100% commission - no office politics, no outdated systems. Just the income you work for, staying in your pocket. Add in a powerful CRM, in-house marketing, coaching support and genuine flexibility, and EOFY might just be the perfect time to make a change.

Read more about @realty here.

DEPT OF (POSSIBLE) TAX REFORM

Tax reform talks ignite cautious optimism in real estate sector

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has hinted at a big shake-up in the way we do tax, with plans for long-term reforms designed to lift the country’s productivity game. CPA Australia is backing the move, calling on the government to stop leaning so heavily on income tax and start rethinking GST. CEO Chris Freeland didn’t hold back, warning that tying every reform to a budget-neutral rule could kill off bold ideas before they even get started. And for the real estate crowd? This could be more than just a policy tweak. Think changes to GST, deductions and investment sweeteners that could seriously alter how the property game is played.

DEPT OF CONSTRUCTION SLOWDOWN

New home loans hit 20-year low

Australia’s housing shortage isn’t letting up, with new home loans dropping to their lowest level since 2006. Just 3,783 loans were issued for newly built homes in the March 2025 quarter, down 56% from the December 2020 peak. While government incentives are still on the table for first-home buyers, rising costs, labour shortages and layers of red tape continue to slow things down, prompting some developers to pause or pull back on projects.

DEPT OF COMMON SENSE

Why does a single driveway need its own approval?

That’s just one of the head-scratching planning rules slowing down housing in NSW, according to HIA. The red tape is costing $165M a year and adding up to six months to some builds. Worse still, half the fixes could be made in under six months, with no cost to government. HIA is pushing for common-sense changes to speed things up and get more buyers into homes sooner.

CELEBRITY HOMES

Jamie Durie's $30 million surprise

Celebrity landscaper Jamie Durie might be trading in his dream garden after receiving an unexpected offer north of $30 million for his newly completed Avalon mansion. The waterfront home took a decade of planning and building, with Durie and his fiancée only moving in late last year with their kids. If he accepts, he’ll pocket a tidy profit of more than $24.7 million on the $2.275 million he paid back in 2015. Not a bad return for some very green thumbs.

AGENTS ON SOCIAL

Real estate agents are pretty easy to please. Just give us strong coffee, talk-to-text that actually works, and maybe coffee while we're closing a deal. See … easy! ☕📲

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

Wishing you a productive day!

Elite Agent is the definitive platform for ambitious agents and industry players. Thought Leaders is the weekly show where top operators reveal how they’re reinventing real estate. 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, Charmagne Arrubio 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.

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