The ultimate in "motivated vendor" tactics (don't try this at home) 🔥

GOOD MORNING FROM ELITE AGENT 👋

TODAY'S FEATURE

"Scripts are beige" and other lessons from Chris Hanley OAM

Forty-plus years in real estate, one Byron Bay postcode, and not a single bad year on record – even through the GFC, when his competitors' sales halved.

Chris Hanley of First National Byron Bay has sat down with Elite Agent five times since 2017, and this piece pulls 30 of his sharpest lines into one place. Some will change how you talk to vendors this week.

What you'll learn in the full article:

• The card game rule: why Chris says the first person to talk in a negotiation loses, and what he does instead.
• The 15 per cent diagnosis: how empty opens and silent phones tell you exactly how overpriced a listing is, no opinion required.
• The sore loser filter: the recruiting question Chris borrowed from Sir Alex Ferguson, and why it beats hiring for talent alone.

Plus much more you'll find in the article. And... a quick announcement from us: Chris will be co-hosting a series of podcasts with Samantha McLean starting next week. Stay tuned!

Read the full article →

TOGETHER WITH PM/ONE

The thought we all have, but dare not say out loud

Fiona Blayney has noticed the question every property manager is quietly asking but rarely says aloud: what happens to me when the bot arrives? Rather than book another software demo, she's built PM/ONE around answering it properly, with Anders Sörman-Nilsson on what to get excited about, Chris Hanley OAM on the human skills no machine replicates, and Pamela Medeiros on how Di Jones is already turning property managers into investment advisers.

There are fewer than 90 seats left for the two days at the Hilton Sydney on 13–14 September. Register your team before the room fills up.

Learn more →

DEPT OF ACQUISITIONS

QLD proposed bill to expand compulsory land acquisition powers

A new Queensland bill currently before parliament could significantly expand the state government's power to compulsorily acquire private land on behalf of private developers. While framed primarily around critical minerals, the legislation is explicitly broad enough to cover major tourism and infrastructure projects of "strategic significance." The proposed changes mean key developments could bypass typical planning hurdles while reducing traditional consultation and appeal rights.

DEPT OF PM

A break lease is negotiation, not crisis

A tenant ending their lease early isn't a drama to manage – it's a negotiation to run, says Nick Brown. He shares a case where a tenant claimed to be dragged down the hallway by a ghost, and explains why your job is to mediate between landlord and tenant, not judge the reason.

DEPT OF STRATA

Red Flags in the Reserve Fund: A Warning from the US

Rising insurance premiums. Expensive building upgrades. Depleted reserve funds. Shared-cost living is getting more expensive, and in the US, it’s leading to a massive spike in HOA foreclosures. While Australia’s strata laws are different, the financial realities are not. Here’s a look at why outstanding levies and upcoming capital works should be at the centre of your property conversations right now.

HOW IT SOLD

A two-week contract on Bribie Island

Before the Bongaree listing even hit the market, Jason Watson had activated buyers from his other campaigns and lined up a pre-market inspection. Four opens later, a coastal-seeking couple secured 45 Cotterill Avenue for $780,000, contract signed within the fortnight the vendors had asked for.

Find out the story behind how it sold →

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

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Harcourts leaders launch podcast on business planning and data

Two familiar voices from Harcourts International are trading boardrooms for microphones. Managing Director Mike Green and Head of Data & Analytics Nick Jewitt have launched Guys in Ties, a podcast opening with a two-part episode on why business planning beats motivation, followed by a third instalment on using data to sharpen decision-making. The first three eps are now streaming on YouTube and Spotify.

Ray White takes its auction floor into Queensland stadiums Ray White Queensland chief executive Jason Andrew is taking the agency's auction floor well beyond the display suite, embedding live bidding activations into its sponsorships with the Queensland Firebirds and Brisbane Lions. Auctioneers Georgia Turner, Tara Burgin and Tom Gunness have led fans through paddle-waving auctions at Nissan Arena and the Gabba, with the format returning for the Lions' final home game of the season.

Jack Cole thrives with Area Specialist in Frankston A ute in the driveway and twins at home changed how Jack Cole wanted to run his business. Selling in Frankston since 2015, he joined Area Specialist in November 2024 to trade franchise life for a model where he keeps more per transaction and sets his own pace. Nearly two years in, he's targeting 30 to 40 quality transactions a year while building toward a full-time team member.

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AGENTS ON SOCIAL

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TRUE OR FALSE:

Marcus Licinius Crassus – the richest man in ancient Rome – built part of his property empire by turning up at house fires with a private fire brigade and offering to buy the burning building on the spot, at a knock-down price.

And the answer is …

True. Plutarch (a Greek philosopher) records that Crassus kept a brigade of some 500 trained slaves who would rush to a blaze and then simply stand there while Crassus negotiated to buy the burning property – and often the nervous neighbours' homes too – for next to nothing. If the owner refused, the building was left to burn. Rome had no public fire department, and Crassus came to own a huge slice of the city this way. Proof that 'motivated vendor' is a very old concept indeed. via Plutarch, via Wikipedia.