Episodes

The inner workings of the Melbourne property market revealed.

Buyers advocate Cate Bakos reveals all the quirks of her local market and the advantages she gains from knowing the real estate agents better than any individual buyer can. She also gives loads of practical tips on how buyers can keep money in their pockets. We cover: 

• What’s happening in the Melbourne property market? Will it follow Sydney?

• Chinese buyers, oversupply and whether some apartments are good investments.

• Auction underquoting and whether it still exists.

• What is a boardroom auction and why buyers agents love them.

• What is vendor advocacy and when/why/how is it necessary?

• Where and what to buy in Geelong & Ballarat.

Plus fundamental tips on what to look for when buying for capital growth.

​​​​​​​Will legislation make or break Airbnb in Australia?

Quirin Schwaighofer, COO of Made Comfy is extremely positive about the future of the short term rental market although he's also very clear about the elements required for success. Here's what you'll learn in this episode:

• The type of property that lends itself to short term rental and the types of owners that are most suitable hosts.

• The difference an X-factor can make to profit and what makes Australia’s best studio apartment so special.

• The impact of new legislation on short term rentals in NSW and how the 180 night limit will change things.

• Lifestyle versus investment decisions and why they need to be separated.

• The real impact of Airbnb on the long term rental market in different cities.
  
  The message is loud and clear in this episode: short term rental is an investment strategy that carries a lot of risk and careful planning is required to get it right. This podcast is a great place to start!

Plus agent tips for negotiation and auction bidding.

Find out why it's a good idea to keep your local agent onside... Georgi Bates explains:

• How and why she gives advice on competitors’ listings.

• The questions she recommends buyers ask to test whether a property would get competition in good times and bad.

• The behind the scenes local knowledge that buyers need in order to make good decisions.

• How she handles vendors who will be disappointed about their sale price.

• Steps buyers should take when making an offer.

This episode reveals a whole lot of "back-room" intelligence that can give property buyers an advantage.

Ever wondered why some properties get lots of buyers fighting for them and others struggle to sell? In this episode with Mark Foy from Belle Property we go beyond the agent sales spiel and discover what makes an A grade property, and a B grade one and even a C grade… We also find out:

• How a “Dutch auction” works in real estate.

• When is gazumping OK?

• The best time to sell in the inner city and where the bargains are.

• The pitfalls that out of area buyers don’t even know exist.

• How buyers can get the most out of agents.

Timing the market has never been more important!

Is it possible to do long term property forecasting?

Have you ever wondered what you should be looking for in a property? Does infrastructure matter? What about the impact of driverless cars, noise cancelling and the changing nature of the workplace? The answers are in the data and Luke Metcalfe opens a fascinating window into what really matters. We discover:

• How machine learning can help us understand the property market and where it falls short.
  

• The 8 criteria that matter when determining future price growth.
  

• 3D imaging, voice activation, drones & image recognition; what will they mean for the property industry?

• The behavioural biases that good data can help us overcome.

The future meets the past in this interview. And don’t miss the biggest single factor that affects price growth.

Plus some very clever strategies for investors prepared to do a bit of research.

Have you ever wondered whether your accountant is completely up to date on what tax deductions you can claim as a property investor? Have you ever been advised to buy property in order to reduce your tax? In this episode, quantity surveyor Tyron Hyde reveals the myths, traps and truths about property depreciation. We traverse an incredible range of topics including:

• The two biggest and easiest to avoid mistakes he sees property investors make.

• The most vulnerable buyers likely to get trapped as a result of new depreciation rules.

• 7 strategies to maximise tax benefits under the new rules.

• He challenges the “fact” that land always goes up in value and reveals his magic formula combining the bottom of market and high build costs.

• How to make money out of new property and what the risks are.

• Why building costs have been going up and why costs blow out.

This episode contains a wealth of pragmatic, informed and clever tips for both property owners and buyers. And a rear-window view of the good and bad decisions property investors make.

What is the difference between manipulation and influencing buyers?

Have you ever wondered about the conversations agents are having with the owner about price? What about other buyers? Marnie Seinor, sales agent at McGrath Coogee, reveals her discussions throughout an auction campaign, week by week. She didn’t stop there, also giving insights into:

• Best times to sell and buy in the beaches market.

• Strategic questions for buyers to ask agents in an auction campaign.

• What buyer “feedback” means & what offers agents will disclose to other buyers.

• Why underquoting still exists despite underquoting legislation.

• Tips for buyers for working out which agents to trust.

• The best time to make a pre-auction offer and clues that you are the only buyer and should wait for auction.

This episode uncovers yet more “insider operations” that every buyer should be aware of.

Plus: The two key things you should look for when buying an apartment.

Ewan Morton pulls no punches on why agents do the wrong thing and we have a bit of spirited debate about the pros and cons of buying new apartments. This energetic conversation traverses two very contentious issues and there are loads of revelations:

• Agents no longer hold all the information but it’s not a bad thing.

• How agents have been punished for telling the truth by vendors.

• His dialogue for telling vendors “as it is” when they should take an offer.

• The secret to getting more money out of buyers.

• How he gets buyers to trust him and why buyers should disclose info to agents.

• Changing attitudes to apartment living and the debate about oversupply.

• What’s with the quality of new builds?

• The important things to research before buying a brand new apartment.

Another cracker episode, Ewan does not hold back!

John Cunningham is a respected name in the estate and he is currently spearheading the Pathway to Professionalism program across the country. He brings surprising insights into what’s wrong with the real estate industry and why agents have no choice but to embrace change. We talk about:

• How will agents provide advice even though only the vendor pays them?

• The skills gap in agents across Australia.

• The small percentage of agents he thinks are able to become professional

• Is Purple Bricks really a disruptor?

• What this unregulated market costs buyers.

• Why buyers make mistakes, what they’re doing wrong.

The future looks bright for some but not all agents. This is one very interesting interview, especially for buyers and sellers who’ll want to be able deal only with professional agents.

What really makes prices go up? (Hint: it’s not the agents…)

Sales agent and principal Michael Harris reveals the challenges real estate agents face when having price conversations with both vendors and buyers. It seems not everyone is ready to face the truth. Other revelations in this episode include:

• What makes a good property and what “rubbish” property looks like.

• Presentation tricks used by vendors.

• The biggest frustration agents have with buyers.

• The impact of credit tightening and why inner city home owners are staying put.

• Different types of pre-auction negotiation processes and when it’s best for a buyer to go to auction.

• How to be taken seriously when you make an offer.

If you want to understand how the slowing market affects property in the inner city, you’ll need to listen to this conversation.

Michael Ferrier joined us for a no-holds-barred talk about property inspections. What goes into them, what’s wrong with them and why you need them. He reveals some really important issues for property buyers:

• The biggest warning sign to look for in a strata report.

• The biggest major issue in new apartments & who is obliged to fix defects.

• Why he lobbied against compulsory building & pest inspections in contracts.

• The magic number of inspections a building inspector can do a day before the report suffers

• The circumstances under which buyers are covered by pre-purchase reports and when they aren’t

Don’t rely on a pre-inspection report until you listen to this episode!

We all need to make smarter decisions around property now that we can’t get access to as much money following APRA intervention & the Royal Commission. In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why the banks won’t lend you as much money as they used to.

• The new impact of poor investments on your lifestyle.

• The disposition effect and how it leads to selling the wrong property.

• What locations and properties lose the most money when the market drops.

• The secret to buying property that will survive a market downturn.

• What the future holds for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Perth.

• The finer points you need to know when selecting an A grade investment property.

• How to identify a “flyer”, “floater” or “flop” and when to hold or when to sell.

An entire episode dedicated to the juicy topics of debt, risk, the quality of assets, rewards of patience and planning for the future.

Auctioneer David Scholes candidly shares examples of buyers pushing themselves beyond their limits, the auctioneer’s role in getting them to do this and the extreme times when he actually stops mid-auction because a bidder is over extended!

Hear more about:

• His frustrations with sales agents,

• How smart agents will handle a situation when only one bidder is registered,

• Why the reserve price isn’t important,

• How he lures reluctant bidders,

• What experienced bidders do to control an auction,

• The real reason auction clearance rates drop in a transitional market,

• The psychology of online property auctions and whether they will replace on-site/in-rooms auctions.

Experience counts: David’s observations on the past 5 Sydney property cycles will enlighten you.