The Elephant In The Room Property Podcast | Inside Australian Real Estate

Who is Australia’s most famous property dumbo?   A case study that shows the cost of not learning from our mistakes.   Have you ever thought that if only you had more money, then you’d be able to buy the right property? Well in this episode we discover that wealth alone does not protect people from making expensive property mistakes. We trace the decisions, purchases, missteps, court cases and sal...

How to to best prepare for the experience of owning an apartment or townhouse. Strata manager Reena van Aalst gives an in depth perspective on strata living, highlights the pitfalls for the unwary and advises how to ensure you don’t live to regret buying into a strata complex. She gives us the benefit of her experience and uncovers: The crucial information missing from most strata reports. Early w...

What falls in value the most in a buyers market?   The best times to buy and sell in the inner city.   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:   Why the m...

Is it possible to do long term property forecasting?   Have you ever wondered what you should be looking for in a property? Should we look for new infrastructure and/or anticipate 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 lear...

Expert guide to the new depreciation rules for property investors A rear-window view of the good and bad decisions property investors make 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 th...

What is the difference between manipulation and influencing buyers? How 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: Appealing to the emotional buyer & when she knows...

What's an "honest liar" in real estate and when will they be no more?   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: How is...

Will the real estate agent of the future be trustworthy? 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: Why the property industry is ripe for disruption How wi...

Can buyers ever win from being honest with real estate 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 an agent over-exc...

How to ensure you're protected by your building & pest inspection or strata report What do unexploded bombs, red flags, lemons and dogs have in common?   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:   Circumstances when strata reports w...

Chris & Veronica discuss the need to make smarter decisions around property now that we can’t get access to as much money following APRA intervention & the Royal Commission. Borrowing capacity is a finite resource so we need to use it wisely 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 sel...

Bidding on-site, in-rooms or online: which way makes buyers pay more?   David Scholes has conducted some 40,000 auctions over his career and candidly shares with us many 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!   Other insights include: The...

Are pre-auction offers really in a buyer's best interests?   The inside scoop on why more properties sell before auction in a slowing market   Mary Anne Cronin, sales agent at PPDRE in Sydney’s Eastern Beaches, talks about buyer behaviour in her patch as well as sharing insights into the whole pre-auction offer process. We cover a lot of ground in this interview, including:   The things property b...

Learn how to sort through property data and choose what's important Don't believe the hype! What property statistics can you rely on? Kent Lardner is a “geek with a personality” and he discusses different types of property data and explains what’s important. Knowing a little bit can be dangerous, largely because of the inconsistencies & nuances of data, of which most of us know nothing. In our cha...

Confessions of a sales agent; what the future holds and what needs to change.   This is quite a philosophical conversation with Shannan Whitney of BresicWhitney about the relevance of real estate agents in our changing world. We talked about many “elephants” and Shannan did not hold back on discussing: Outmoded real estate agent practises How self promotion in the age of social media misses the ma...

How your emotions are targeted before you get to the open house. The secret to influencing buyers when selling lifestyle properties.  Kate Lumby, sales agent, auctioneer and principal of Lumby Hampson in Sydney’s Hills District, reveals the performance art of property sales. In this episode we learn about: The props used by agents to “sell the dream” How she breaks down the barriers between auctio...

What do real estate agents really say behind the scenes? This week we interview Matt Hayson, real estate salesperson and director of Cobden & Hayson, which has 5 offices in Sydney’s inner suburbs.  Matt is widely known as a straight shooter and doesn’t disappoint in this episode. His insights include: The news buyers should need to listen to in order to make good decisions Different types of buyer...

How successful auctioneers know when to push you to bid more This week we interview Damien Cooley, probably Australia’s most famous property auctioneer, well known for his appearances in nearly every series of The Block. Damien is extremely candid and reveals some absolute gold: How he reads body language and uses it to get buyers to make higher bids. How he creates momentum and urgency How he mod...

In this illuminating interview with behavioural scientist Simon Russell we discover a myriad of ways in which the auction process influences buyer decisions, without them even knowing it. Simon explains how we humans are governed by our emotions, often despite our best intentions and often to our own detriment.  When he attended his first ever property auction in Melbourne, he was amazed at how ma...

What's this all about? I’m Veronica Morgan, real estate agent, buyers agent and co-host of Foxtel’s LLLA & I’m fascinated by consumer behaviour. Hence the elephant: he’s a metaphor for the way our emotions often dictate our actions. I’m joined by Chris Bates, financial planner, mortgage broker and wealth coach and together we’re going to uncover who’s really making the decisions when you buy a pro...