GOOD MORNING FROM ELITE AGENT 👋

TRUE OR FALSE?

Before contracts and paperwork, land in England was once transferred by handing over a piece of turf or a twig.
(Scroll to the bottom for the answer!)

In today’s edition of The Brief

• Dom Price on leading through disruption in real estate

• Perth continues to outpace capitals

• Eight leaders on fixing real estate’s trust gap

Today’s read time: 5 minutes, 20 seconds

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FUTURE IS NOW

Dom Price on why real estate leaders must break the blinkers and build the future

Dom Price is a work futurist who has spent more than two decades exploring how people, technology and organisations collide, and why so many fail to evolve together. Having advised everyone from global enterprises to smaller, fast-moving teams, he focuses less on predicting the future and more on building the capability to respond to it. As he puts it, “the biggest threat to the modern agency isn’t the economy - it is the blinkers.”

The comments were made on a recent REA Advantage AI Speaker Series video, where he said organisations rarely fail due to a lack of information, but because short-term pressures stop them from using it effectively.

“When life gets a bit stressful, we start to look down,” he says. “We just get busy solving this week’s problem, and we kick the future down the road.”

In real estate, that warning lands hard. Between AI acceleration, shifting interest rates and constant market pressure, many leaders risk optimising for survival rather than redesigning how they work. Dom challenges that mindset, arguing leaders must stop treating disruption as something to manage and start treating it as something to work with. “If you layer technology over poor practices, you just do those poor things faster,” he warns.

His answer is not prediction, but experimentation. Balancing technology, people and practice, and stripping back outdated habits to create space for what actually drives value.

“It’s about seeking, not knowing,” he says. “You are going to learn one degree faster than your competition.”

What you'll learn in the full article:

• The Rule of Three: How to balance technology, people, and practices in every major decision

• Seeing around corners: The exact process for bridging the gap between your 3-year vision and today's reality

• The Five L's Audit: A 90-day framework for identifying what to delete from your leadership

• Why "You are traffic": How to stop being a passenger and take agency over your future

Dom's challenge is this: stop imagining the future as a distant destination.

Read the full article

ICYMI yesterday: the risk of over-reliance on top performers.

TOGETHER WITH REX

AI isn’t the problem; clarity is.

Rex Software’s AI Advisory Board has highlighted a clear reality for real estate agencies: the challenge is not access to AI, but turning it into consistent daily action.

Agents are overwhelmed by cluttered databases, inconsistent data hygiene, and uncertainty around who to contact and why. Most focus only on their hottest leads, while the majority of their database, including past buyers and old appraisals, is left untouched.

These findings directly shaped the development of Rex AI, designed to turn fragmented data into clear, action-driven workflows. Rex AI will launch in May 2026, with events on 6 May at 11.00 am AEST and 7 May at 2.00 pm AEST showcasing the new system in action.

Read more about REX AI and register for the launch here.

MARKET

Sydney and Melbourne stall as Perth charges ahead

Domain’s latest Quarterly House Price Report signals a major shift in Australia’s housing market, with Sydney and Melbourne both recording quarterly house price declines for the first time in years. While the falls are modest, they mark a symbolic turning point as affordability pressures, borrowing constraints and more cautious buyer sentiment begin to cool the nation’s two biggest markets. Annual growth remains positive, but momentum is clearly fading. Meanwhile, Perth continues to outperform the country, posting the strongest gains again as tight supply and strong demand keep prices climbing.

OPINION: FEDERAL BUDGET

LJ Hooker wants property taxes reinvested in housing

State and local governments collected $83.1 billion in property-related taxes last financial year – and LJ Hooker says it's time that money went back into housing. The estate group's pre-Budget submission argues Australia has plenty of policy ideas but a shortage of delivery, with quarterly home builds still falling short of the Accord's 60,000-per-quarter target. Their wish list includes builder subsidies, essential worker housing, and stamp duty reform.

ON THE RECORD

Eight leaders on fixing real estate's trust problem

More than 30 industry figures were asked how to rebuild consumer trust after the Tesolin ban. Eight went on the record. Their answers range from mandatory coaching standards to AI-powered transparency; and one response challenges whether agents alone can fix a system consumers also helped build.

CELEBRITY HOMES

Home run! World Series hero lists Toronto mansion for $7.2M

George Springer hit the three-run homer that sent the Blue Jays to last year's World Series – now the four-time All-Star is selling his Toronto mansion as his contract winds down. Listed at AUD$7.2 million, the Lawrence Park Georgian colonial features a primary suite with its own wing and 12-foot ceilings. The marble-clad interiors don't disappoint.

MOVERS + SHAKERS

Harrison Reid swaps Bondi Rescue for real estate

The longtime TV lifeguard has joined New Zealand's top Harcourts franchise after 12 years on the show. More here.

McGrath absorbs 120-year-old Cootamundra agency

The Pellow family's McGrath Riverina adds its sixth office, bringing Ron Loiterton Real Estate's 380-plus property management listings into the network. More here.

REMAX hosts Diamond Event in Brisbane

More than 40 of the network's million-dollar-plus performers gathered at The Calile Hotel for exclusive professional development sessions featuring Elite Agent’s Samantha McLean plus Cayle Blaxland and Natalie Waters. More here.

Success doesn’t rest on weekends! 
Get the latest on top agent and agency moves every Sunday with our weekly roundup in Movers & Shakers. Subscribe now.

AGENTS ON SOCIAL

New agents jumping on to do a reel - bonus points if you catch a ‘go’ at the beginning. 🎬🗣️

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

TRUE OR FALSE:

Before contracts and paperwork, land in England was once transferred by handing over a piece of turf or a twig.

And the answer is …

True. In medieval England, land transfers were formalised through a ritual known as “livery of seisin,” where the seller would physically stand on the land and hand over a symbolic object like a clump of earth, a twig, or even a ring. It was a public act that signified ownership changing hands, long before written deeds became standard.

Wishing you a productive day!

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