Elite Agent

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

Most agents don't start earning for themselves until September.

That's 252 days of every sale, every open home, and every late night paying off everyone else first.

Michael Choi, founder of Area Specialist, breaks down the maths behind a $300,000 GCI year in a traditional franchise model.

After GST, a 9% franchise fee, a 50/50 office split, and tax – the agent keeps $92,218.

The total cost? $207,782.

At roughly $821 earned per day, break-even doesn't arrive until September 10. Profit starts September 11.

Choi argues that restructuring the model – replacing franchise fees and office splits with a flat $18,000 licence fee and corporate tax rates – shifts that break-even date forward to May 15.

Same GCI. Same effort. But $189,000 in profit instead of $92,218.

That's 120 extra days of keeping what you earn, every single year.

Over three years, Michael says the compounding gap effectively hands agents an entire extra year of profit.

(Whether you agree with the model or not, the underlying cost breakdown is worth sitting with.)

How do you think about the true cost of your current structure?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

"I'm not good at switching off."

Chelsea Pottenger asked property managers to add one word to that sentence: yet.

At PM/ONE 2026 in Sydney, the EQ Minds founder shared a set of small, practical resets designed to help property managers sustain their performance – and protect the people waiting for them at home.

Her starting point was a breathing technique – a long inhale, a shorter inhale, an audible exhale – used as a deliberate pause between a tough conversation and whatever comes next.

"When we take care of ourselves, it's not selfish. It's actually self-preservation," Chelsea said.

She challenged delegates to try five changes to their morning routine for five days: swap the beeping alarm for music or nature sounds, put the phone down, name three things you're grateful for, set a positive intention, and get outside into the morning light.

The "yet" lesson came from her teenage basketball days – playing alongside Lauren Jackson – where a coach paired belief in potential with a different approach to training. The word opens a door. The work walks you through it.

"Practice makes progress," she said.

Her close brought it back to connection: in a tech-driven world, eye contact, empathy, and kindness remain irreplaceable.

What's the one small reset that makes the biggest difference in your day?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

$3 billion in annual deals – and the top five operators control less than a fifth of the market.

CBRE's 2026 Australian Senior Living report reveals one of the clearest consolidation opportunities in Australian real estate right now.

The sector spans roughly 480,000 units across aged care, retirement villages and land lease communities – yet ownership remains remarkably fragmented.

The top five operators hold just 17% of retirement villages and around 20% of aged care.

"When the five largest players in a $150 billion sector control less than a fifth of the market, you're looking at one of the clearest consolidation runways in Australian real estate," said CBRE's Head of Pacific Research Sameer Chopra.

Meanwhile, the demand-supply gap is widening fast. Australia's 65-plus population is growing at 2.4% per year – set to reach 7 million by 2040 – while new senior living stock is growing at just 1.0% to 1.7%.

In aged care, supply has expanded by only 0.7% per annum since 2020 against forecast demand growth of 4%.

And incoming retirees have significant purchasing power. Some 83% of over-75s own their home outright, with average dwelling values around $1.1 million and typical super balances of $750,000 per couple.

As CBRE's Marcello Caspani-Muto put it – home care has taken some pressure off, but it doesn't close a gap of this magnitude.

How are you seeing this demographic shift play out in your local market?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

Twenty years of combined experience. Deep roots in Canberra's north. Now their own shingle on the door.

Luke and Nikki McAuliffe have launched Harcourts Gungahlin | Belconnen – bringing a new Harcourts presence to the ACT.

It's a husband-and-wife team who've lived, worked and invested in the areas they'll now serve. Luke's spent more than a decade in residential sales and high-end negotiations across Canberra, with a business built largely on repeat clients and referrals. Nikki's background spans real estate operations and property management.

Their take on the franchise decision? "Harcourts provides the trusted reputation, proven systems and ongoing support that give us the confidence to build and grow our business while maintaining the independence to create an agency that reflects our own values and vision," Nikki said.

Harcourts NSW/ACT CEO Andrew McCulloch called the office a significant addition to the network's footprint in the capital – noting Luke and Nikki's "genuine local knowledge" and commitment to community.

(Sometimes the best business moves are the ones where you already know every street name by heart.)

If you've made the leap from agent to agency owner – what's one thing you wish someone had told you before you opened the doors?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

She walked into a real estate office at 19. Eleven years later, she owns part of it.

Jasmyn Calgaro has bought into Ray White Nepean Group, joining principals Mark Jennings and Tim Doyle as a business partner in the western Sydney office.

The numbers back the move – Jasmyn is in the top one per cent of all Ray White salespeople nationally, settling more than 130 transactions last year alone.

She built her business the old-fashioned way: door-knocking, community engagement and showing up every single day.

"To go from being a 19-year-old walking into my first real estate office to now being a business partner in a group I love is something I'm incredibly proud of," Jasmyn said.

Co-principal Mark Jennings said the partnership reflected both her sales results and the values she's instilled across the group.

Her advice for agents starting out? "Think outside the box, add value wherever you can, and speak to as many people as possible every single day. There's no substitute for hard work but if you trust the process, it eventually pays off."

What's the one habit that's had the biggest impact on your career in real estate?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

Almost 900 WA real estate professionals filled Crown Perth for one of the industry's biggest nights out.

The 2026 https://t.co/v2HWQI8MOI Awards recognised the state's top performers across residential sales, commercial sales and property management for the 2025–26 financial year.

Beyond the category winners, 170 salespeople were named in the top 1 per cent or top 5 per cent of WA residential salespeople – measured by total listings sold and/or total value sold.

REIWA President Suzanne Brown said the numbers only tell part of the story.

"Sustained success depends on building trust and consistently providing outstanding service," Suzanne said. "When you have strong long-term relationships built on trust and service, clients return to work with you again and also recommend you to family and friends."

Among the standout winners: Belinda Turner of Professionals Geraldton took home Rookie of the Year, Ray White claimed Top Franchise by both listings and value sold, and The Agency won Top Large Office across both measures.

On the commercial side, Burgess Rawson dominated – winning Top Office by both number and value of commercial listings sold.

(Full list of winners across all categories in our article.)

Congratulations to every winner and finalist. If you were in the room or know someone who was recognised – tag them below so they get the shout-out they deserve.

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

18 products. 32 modules. One subscription.

That's what BuyersagentsOS is promising Australian buyers' agents after launching on 14 September.

The pitch is simple – replace the patchwork of disconnected apps most buyers' agents juggle daily with a single operating system built specifically for their workflow.

CRM, compliance, e-sign, AML screening, marketing, scheduling, team chat and AI tools all sit under one roof.

A standout feature is native integration with Cotality, giving subscribing agents access to RP Data Premium and Pro – live property reports, suburb stats, comparable sales – without switching tabs.

"Every tool, workflow, and data point is now available in one place," said Leon Hayes, CEO of https://t.co/1bfssYkLZ5.

Leon described it as the most complete platform ever brought to market for Australian buyers' agents.

The platform also introduces a centralised credit system so agencies can manage vendor costs like AML/KYC screenings and due diligence reports more predictably.

Privacy is baked in – property data accessed within the workflow stays confidential to the agent and client, never shared with third parties.

With tiered pricing for solos, boutiques and enterprise teams, it's clearly aimed at the full spectrum of the buyers' agent sector.

How many separate tools is your buyers' agency currently stitching together to get through the week?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

"Trust can't be replaced by AI."

That's REA Group CEO Cameron McIntyre's take on where agents sit as automation reshapes the industry.

Speaking at REA's Hackdays in Melbourne, Cameron said AI's real value isn't in replacing the agent – it's in removing the low-value prep work that eats into their day.

Campaign preparation. Vendor presentation talking points. Lead qualification. All areas where automation can give agents back time for the conversations that actually win business.

"It will mean that they're spending their time on more valuable activities than on non-valuable activities," he said.

The Hackdays program brought 10 customers into REA's Melbourne HQ to work directly with the engineers building potential solutions – giving developers firsthand access to the real-world problems agents face daily.

For Cameron, the criteria for judging those ideas came down to two things: how quickly they could reach the market, and how significant the customer problem was.

But his core message kept circling back to the human element.

"Agents have built their brands on trust. They've built their personal relationships on trust."

The complexity of a property transaction still demands confidence in a person – not a platform.

What's one task in your day you'd happily hand to AI so you could spend more time with clients?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

REA Group just agreed to tear up the clauses that locked agents into listing every property on https://t.co/ENhXU4vmVd.

The ACCC raised concerns that REA's contracts required or incentivised agencies to list all properties – including premium features with higher fees – on its portal, limiting rival platforms' ability to compete.

REA has now given a three-year undertaking to remove those restrictive provisions.

ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb called it "a win for competition in the real estate listing market" and said agents can now offer vendors and landlords "the listing service that best meets their property advertising needs."

REA noted there have been no legal proceedings and no finding of wrongdoing, saying it was "pleased to have reached a resolution with the ACCC."

The practical upshot: agents get more say over where and how they list properties, and the ACCC is encouraging vendors and landlords to ask their agents about alternative portal options and fee structures.

For agencies that have been wanting more flexibility in their listing strategy, this changes the conversation.

How are you planning to approach listing decisions with your vendors and landlords now?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

A 20-hour task turned into a winning idea.

Commercial agent Grant Turner knew how long it took to build an information memorandum from scratch – so he pitched a better way at REA Group's 2026 Hackdays.

His team's prototype, IM360, took first place in the customer competition and earned a $30,000 AI Acceleration Grant. REA has confirmed it will build the product.

The concept uses REA's property data and digital tools to generate an interactive information memorandum that reflects an agency's own branding.

Two other agent-led projects also placed – Agent Angel (tackling rental inspection enquiry overload) and Launch IQ (helping agents refine listings before they hit market).

All three ideas shared a common thread. As REA's Gerard Connell put it: "Take friction out of our processes, out of our businesses."

What stood out was the format – 10 customers embedded in cross-functional teams alongside REA's tech, design and marketing people for four days. Not a feedback form. Not a survey. Agents and builders in the same room solving the same problem.

Which repetitive task in your business would you most want to hand to a well-built tool?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

Five terraces become one home – and now a $7m listing.

Former Youi and QBE chief Frank Costigan has put his Paddington residence on the market as he prepares to retire to the Sunshine Coast with his family.

Frank bought the Stephen Street site back in 2009 when it was five separate terraces. It's since been transformed into a pavilion-style residence – four bedrooms, three bathrooms, double garaging – all behind the original heritage facade.

"It looks old from the outside and it's so modern inside," Frank said.

The double-block property at 30–34 Stephen Street, opposite Gugara Park, goes to auction on October 9 with a $7m guide through Alexander Phillips of Ray White Phillips & Co.

The family already bought on the Sunshine Coast 18 months ago in anticipation of the move. "Life is short, as they say, so it's time for our sea change."

What's driving the biggest lifestyle moves you're seeing in your market right now?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

Victorian rental compliance just added three new deadline layers – and property managers are feeling it.

Since November 2025, minimum standards must be met before a property can even be advertised.

From October 2026, gas and electrical safety checks become mandatory every two years.

From March 2027, energy efficiency standards start phasing in across heating, cooling, insulation and more.

That's a rolling wave of obligations landing on teams already stretched thin.

Melbourne-based Fixer Group – founded seven years ago by Luke Terella and Michael Bailey – has built a compliance and maintenance model specifically around this pressure point.

Their philosophy is disarmingly simple.

"We treat every rental property like it's Mum's house," Luke says.

Every tradesperson visit represents four brands at once: Fixer Group's, the property manager's, the rental provider's and the renter's. As Michael puts it, "That responsibility is never taken lightly."

It's an approach that pairs real accountability with a human touch – actual people answering the phone and following through (a rarer thing than it should be).

For Victorian PMs juggling these rolling deadlines, how are you staying across the compliance load?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

National auction clearance rate this time last year: 66%. Last weekend: 52.4%.

Same season. Very different market.

Spring 2026 is throwing curveballs at agents still running last year's playbook. Sydney's new listing pipeline is down more than 14% on its five-year average. Vendors are holding back. Buyers are taking their time. And the RBA hasn't ruled out further rate rises.

Then there's the regulatory shift – Victoria's new rule requiring reserve prices published a week before auction day kicks in from 1 October. No changing them on the day. A first for the country.

In a market where every transaction carries more weight, the business model behind the agent starts to matter as much as the agent themselves.

That's the thesis from @realty, where agents retain the vast majority of their commission rather than splitting it with a franchise structure. Fewer sales at higher retention can mean a stronger quarter than high volume under a traditional model.

Their tech stack – CMA reporting, buyer-database matching, real-time campaign analytics – is built for exactly this kind of market, where speed and precision win listings over enthusiasm alone.

No mandatory meetings, no fixed territory, no KPIs. Just 950+ agents across Australia and New Zealand with a head office that responds within two hours.

What's the single biggest adjustment you've made to your spring strategy this year?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

"Say you're going to do something, do it, and do it better than you said you were going to."

That one line from Hamish Wilson at PM/ONE 2026 pretty much sums up his entire philosophy on property management.

Hamish runs A1 Property Managers in Christchurch – a business built entirely independent of sales – and his message to the room was refreshingly uncomplicated.

Simple processes. Consistent delivery. Pick up the phone.

He urged PMs to acknowledge every message by end of day, even if the full answer needs more time – just tell the sender when to expect it.

On tech, his filter is equally direct: if a proposed tool doesn't solve an identifiable problem, it doesn't get added.

He also had strong words on legislative change – property managers need to educate themselves early so they can explain new requirements to owners in plain language. "You need to be the experts."

And on boundaries? Only the on-call PM takes the work phone home. Everyone else clocks off properly. "Go home, do whatever you're going to do, come back tomorrow."

(The kind of leadership that builds teams people actually want to stay in.)

What's one simple process or communication habit that's made the biggest difference in your rent roll?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

Naaman Fraser's mission isn't to automate service.
It's to automate everything else.

Speaking at PM/ONE 2026, the This Space Real Estate founder shared how his agency uses technology to buy back time – then reinvests that time in human connection.

"Use these programs and these systems to buy back your time and provide better service, person to person."

His retention strategy starts before someone even has their licence – coffees, conversations, and support through qualification. Inside the business, performance reviews ask one question most agencies skip: do you actually enjoy this work?

Naaman builds roles around what people want to do, not just what needs doing. The result is staff who stay – and clients who benefit from continuity.

On the tech side, his practical wins are deceptively simple. Automated leasing replies that come from the lead agent (so renters can reply directly). Text replacements to acknowledge missed calls instantly. Testing whether your own emails actually land in inboxes.

And hospitality is a standing agenda item at the Monday huddle.

"It's about how people feel when they're interacting with your business."

His challenge to every PM leader: go through your own website as a prospective renter. Try the application process. See if your enquiry even gets a response.

What's one small automation that's given your team more face-to-face time with clients?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

"A repeated mistake is a decision. You're not making a mistake."

That's just one of 30 lessons from Leanne Pilkington – drawn from her columns and conversations with Elite Agent over the years.

Leanne ran Laing+Simmons for years while privately thinking of herself as "rather a great number two". A mentor told her buying the brand in her late fifties would be a big mistake. She believed him – for about two weeks.

Then she pushed her chips into the middle of the table.

"Making the leap to ownership was the hardest decision I've ever made. It has also been the best."

On leading people: "If I put my hand up and go, you know what, I'm sorry, I should have handled that better – any anger just dissipates because you've so unexpectedly taken responsibility."

On hiring: "We're always attracted to people who are like us. That's a big mistake. You need to be employing somebody who is strong in the things that you're not."

On success: "There was always going to be somebody who was better or smarter or faster or richer." So she picked her own measure – being happy to get out of bed and do what she does every day.

30 lessons. No fluff. All earned.

Which one of Leanne's lessons has shown up most in your own career?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

$855 billion. That's the projected cost of coastal flooding to Australian property and land this century.

The Climate Council's Rising Seas, Rising Bills report estimates 267,000 properties across every state and territory are at risk – and most homeowners' insurance won't cover "actions of the sea."

The Gold Coast is the most exposed urban area, with projected losses of $84.4 billion across 32,490 properties.

Western Australia tops the state-by-state list at $230.5 billion, followed by Queensland at $214.5 billion and Victoria at $167 billion.

Victoria stands alone as the only state where property losses outweigh land losses – a reflection of high-value real estate concentrated around Port Phillip Bay.

Climate scientist and report co-author Professor Andrew Watkins put it starkly: "The most extreme sea levels we see in a typical year now will occur monthly by 2090. That's simply too often to repair the damage."

Report co-author Professor Tom Kompas said avoiding further development in the most exposed areas would be the least costly path forward – calling them "hard, but necessary decisions that communities are already facing."

For agents in coastal markets, the implications touch everything from buyer conversations to insurance advice to where future housing supply actually gets built.

How are you seeing flood and coastal risk factor into buyer sentiment in your market?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

10,700 fewer homes. Higher rents. And the gap between ambition and reality just got wider.

That's the headline from updated economic modelling commissioned by Master Builders Australia, HIA, the Property Council and REIA – released jointly as a direct challenge to the Federal Government's housing reform package.

The numbers paint a stark picture.

New dwelling starts are estimated to fall by 10,700 over four years to 2029–30, with the shortfall accelerating from 1,424 in year one to 3,851 by year four.

Rents are projected to sit 1.69 per cent higher than the no-change baseline – roughly $10 a week extra for tenants.

Cumulative GDP impact: $1.05 billion. Construction jobs lost: 4,740 FTE-years.

The SMSF borrowing restriction alone – added during Labor-Greens negotiations – accounts for nearly 2,000 of those missing dwellings.

Meanwhile, the Government maintains its package will deliver up to 30,000 additional homes over the decade and lift rent by less than $2 a week.

That's a significant modelling gap, and the four peak bodies say they'll be tracking real market data against those claims as the reforms take effect.

Their position: "Housing policy must place supply first."

With the 1.2 million homes target already under pressure, where do you see the biggest bottleneck – planning, financing, workforce capacity, or something else entirely?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

Australian median rents jumped from $499 to $650 per week in under five years. That shift is quietly reshaping landlord insurance claims.

Higher rents mean loss of rent claims now cost significantly more – and that's before factoring in the repairs themselves.

Labour and material costs have surged. Trade shortages persist. Major weather events create demand that ripples well beyond the affected area, stretching repair timelines for everyone.

A claim that once cost X can now cost considerably more, simply because every input – trades, materials, time – has increased.

The compounding effect is real: when a property sits uninhabitable longer due to delayed repairs, and weekly rent is $150 more than it was a few years ago, the total claim grows from both ends.

For landlords who haven't claimed, rising premiums can feel unfair. But premiums reflect market-wide claims costs, not just individual history.

EBM RentCover points to practical steps property managers can take – encouraging landlords to regularly review building sum insured amounts, reporting maintenance issues early, keeping inspection records current and lodging claims promptly.

(Small actions that can make a measurable difference when something goes wrong.)

What's one thing you do proactively to help landlords stay ahead of rising insurance costs?

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[Elite Agent @eliteagentmag]

73 people showed up to a careers night in the pouring rain.

That tells you something about where real estate is heading.

Barry Plant Docklands & Yarra's Edge hosted the event with Entry Education – and the turnout surprised even the organisers.

Sales Director Alice Geddes started her own career after attending a careers night nine years ago. Her take on entering during a tough market? "This is the best time to learn. How many skills and how much knowledge are you going to be able to build in a tough environment?"

Meanwhile, Barry Plant Warragul-Drouin advertised two property management roles and received close to 50 applications – filling both within a week. Director Candice Hill said a typical vacancy attracts about 30 applicants, with only three or four genuinely qualified.

The secret? Listening to existing staff. Candice said the team tailored job ads around what they could actually offer – flexibility, work-from-home days, training – and the results followed. The office has just recorded two of its best-ever months, including an all-time record in July.

"You can be one of the agents that waits and hopes that something will happen," Candice said, "or you can be the agent that learns, trains, adapts and pivots."

If you're hiring in this market, what's working to attract quality candidates to your team?

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