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GOOD MORNING FROM ELITE AGENT 👋 Good morning, and welcome to The Brief for Monday 31 August 2026. |
TRUE OR FALSE? In some parts of England, there are still land auctions with no closing time and no auctioneer’s hammer. The bidding just keeps going until a burning candle goes out—and whoever bid last gets the lease. (Scroll to the bottom for the answer!) |
In today's edition of The Brief - Got buyers holding out for a crash? A $2.4 million damages bill and a High Court pub ruling might change the conversation – we've unpacked both.
- In today’s episode of Things We Didn’t Need to Hear Right Before Spring: NAB is now tipping two more rate hikes by November. We're taking a look at how a 4.85% cash rate might actually play out.
- Seven weeks, two time zones and one very patient tenant – how Gemma White landed a $2.45 million Cova Estate record without anyone losing sleep.
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TODAY'S FEATURE  What to tell buyers betting on a crashA buyer who walked away from a $16.5 million Point Piper apartment purchase was ordered to pay over $2.4 million in damages after the property resold for less. That ruling, plus a High Court decision on an $11.25 million pub sale, are now some of the sharpest tools agents have against purchasers convinced a crash is coming. Finance brokers and agency leaders say the data tells a very different story. |
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What you'll learn in the full article: - The exchange line: the exact moment a signed contract stops being a negotiation and becomes a legal obligation, and why "the market's dropping" won't get a buyer out of it.
- The Laundy Hotels precedent: what the High Court actually ruled when a $1 million value drop wasn't grounds to walk away from a pub sale.
- The hold-tenure number: the Melbourne data point – now sitting well above a decade – that quietly undercuts every "wait for the bottom" theory.
Read the full article → |
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TOGETHER WITH APLYID  Top 5 things to look out for when choosing your AML compliance softwareWith Tranche 2 bringing agencies under the AML/CTF Act, "compliant today" needs to mean "compliant in twelve months" too – and that's the question they say is worth asking your AML software vendor before you sign anything. APLYiD reckons it covers the lot: regulation tracking, fast biometric ID checks, ISO 27001-certified data security, one-click audit exports, and a full AML programme builder with staff training thrown in. Book a demo at APLYiD.com and get them to walk you through their workflow, start to finish. Learn more → |
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DEPT OF DATA  Regional markets still ride their capital's coattailsPerth's satellite markets have surged 133% since 2016, against 103% for Perth itself – proof that even the biggest regional outperformers stay tied to their capital's fortunes. Ray White's Nerida Conisbee says that's bad news for the Central Coast, Wollongong, Geelong and the Mornington Peninsula as Sydney and Melbourne cool faster than Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. |
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DEPT OF LENDING  NAB tips two more rate hikes by NovemberNAB now expects the RBA to lift rates in September and again in November, taking the cash rate to 4.85% – its highest since the GFC. CBA and ANZ agree, leaving Westpac the only major still tipping a cut. Canstar's Sally Tindall says sticky core inflation has "backed the RBA into a corner", with a $600,000 mortgage facing an extra $183 a month if both hikes land. |
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DEPT OF DISPUTES  Property Council pushes back on CGT rule changesTreasury's own numbers say these reforms could cost 35,000 new homes over the next decade – and the Property Council reckons the fine print makes it worse. Its Treasury submission flags just 17 days given to review the draft legislation covering build-to-rent, retirement villages and student accommodation. "Confusion in tax law is projected onto the real world," Mike Zorbas said. |
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HOW IT SOLD  A record $2.45m sale across time zonesSeven weeks of negotiation bridged a Gold Coast seller and an overseas buyer working across time zones. Gemma White secured $2.45 million for a Hope Island waterfront home – a Cova Estate record – while keeping the tenant housed and the seller thrilled. Find out the story behind how it sold → How's your findability on AI? The agents who turn up have more content out there. getailsa.com → |
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MOVERS & SHAKERS  Ferntree Gully wins Ray White Vic/Tas top office for tenth yearRay White Ferntree Gully has claimed the network's Top Office award for settled commission for the tenth consecutive year, with principal Patrick McConnachie leading the team through what Ray White Victoria and Tasmania is calling its best season yet, 18,490 sales settled across the two states in 2025-26. Helen Yan of Ray White Balwyn also marked nine years running as the network's No. 1 Principal. |
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| ChatGPT can finally rest after listening to me rant about this deal for 3 weeks straight 🤖😮💨 |
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TRUE OR FALSE: In some parts of England, there are still land auctions with no closing time and no auctioneer’s hammer. The bidding just keeps going until a burning candle goes out—and whoever bid last gets the lease. And the answer is … It's true... Forget the dramatic gavel drop or the digital countdown timer. "Candle auctions" were the 17th century's answer to eBay, and a few towns never gave them up. At Tatworth in Somerset, a meadow lease is still auctioned off every year based on how long a one-inch candle burns. Over in Berkshire, they stick a horseshoe nail into the wax—when it softens and the nail hits the table, the auction is over, and the last bid wins. No hammer, no auctioneer working the crowd—just a flame and pure suspense. Imagine trying that at your next Saturday on-site auction and seeing which buyer blinks first... via Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore / Wikipedia. |
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