What to troubleshoot when business stalls, Is leadership a dirty word?, Auctions where everyone wins, + news and more

Good Morning from Elite Agent

A 44-storey St Louis office tower has suffered a dramatic 98 per cent price plunge, recently selling for US$3.6 million, despite changing hands for US$205 million in 2006. The drastic price drop on the former One AT&T Centre is the latest example of how commercial real estate in the Midwest has been ravaged by remote work. Six of the 10 office districts in the US with the biggest decline in foot traffic from 2019 to mid-2023 are in the Midwest, according to a University of Toronto study. St. Louis had the steepest drop of all. And according to Ray White Head of Commercial Research Vanessa Rader, Australia’s office market isn’t fairing too well either. She says most office markets have recorded a reduction in tenant demand, which has resulted in an uptick in vacancy rates. Found out how our office markets are fairing here.

Today, we are also covering:

• What to troubleshoot when business stalls

• Auctions where everyone wins

• Why leadership is not a dirty word

• Marketing property to multiple personas

• And much more!

Let's get to work 🚀

Instant Inspo 💡

HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY

Don't leave your success to hope. If a deal needs to be done, it's up to you as the agent to make it happen. Hope is not a strategy.

Go Deeper with Drew Davies here.

On our radar

Four things to troubleshoot when business stalls

What do you do when things stop going right and start going wrong in your business? You might be losing listings, your associates aren’t performing and your team feels genuinely down. According to Manny Solis, a strategic adviser to top real estate teams in the US, getting back on track all comes down to troubleshooting where you’re going wrong. He reveals the four areas you should target first here.

FREE Training kicks off April 19

Auctions where everyone wins

Would you like to generate more interest in your auctions, drive increased competition and secure a better result for your vendor? Then our upcoming three-session Master the Market with Mark Kentwell series will teach you how.

Session 2 in the series, for sales agents generating up to $750K in GCI, will also show you how to defy ‘traditional’ auction rules to attract more buyers and seller and how to ensure a win-win situation in every property auction, boosting your success rate. Find more info and registration details here.

Today’s Feature

Ellen Bathgate: Leadership is not a dirty word

Do you think you’re not a leader? Or perhaps you worry you don’t know how to be one. According to property management leader Ellen Bathgate, the perception of leadership is often misconstrued. In today’s feature, Ellen reveals why leadership isn’t about having all the answers, all the time, but about having the courage to ‘go first’ and to encourage your team to step up too. More here.

Today’s Quiz

Dive into today’s photo challenge: can you spot which infinity pool is making a splash in reality, and which one is just a deep fake?

Brekky Browse

Meanwhile, in Singapore 🇸🇬

The boom in luxury rentals for new mums

Singapore has seen a boom in high-end postpartum care facilities known as confinement centres, which offer new mothers luxurious amenities and round-the-clock support in the weeks following childbirth. These retreats, inspired by traditional Asian customs, can cost up to an eye watering US$125,000 per month. As the market for such services is projected to nearly triple globally to $18.8B by 2029, with companies expanding to meet growing demand from wealthy clients, especially those from mainland China. Read all about it here.

Anything else?

Wordle wizardry

Do you love a good game of Wordle? Compete against your friends? Then we’ve discovered a Wordle hack that will (nearly always) see you win in 30 seconds or less. All you need to do is guess the words LIGHT, CANDY, POWER and BUMFS (we promise it’s a word - British slang for toilet paper). That will give you 20 unique letters, including all five vowels, in just four guesses. After that, you’re pretty much guaranteed to know all of the letters in the winning word, you just have to put them in the right order. You’re welcome!

Dates for your diary

Find Elite Agent Editor Samantha McLean speaking about real estate and AI at these upcoming events:

May 2 First National Conference, New Plymouth NZ
May 10 AI Powered Agents Subscriber Masterclass (Virtual)
May 17 Raine & Horne PM Conference, Bowral, NSW
May 27 AREC, Gold Coast, Qld
June 3 Harcourts PM Conference, Gold Coast, Qld
July 12 AI Powered Agents Subscriber Masterclass (Virtual)
July 19 Leah Calnan National PM Day, Melbourne, Vic
July 30-Aug 1 Proptech Summit + Workshop, Sydney
August 11-14 Elite Retreat, Hayman Island, Qld
August 25 PPM Conference, Gold Coast, Qld