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

We have a cracker of an episode for you. Today we interview Jimmy Thomson, the writer of the Flat Chat column, which you may have seen featured in Domain, AFR and SMH. The multi-talented Jimmy has authored 15 books, is a screenwriter, a university lecturer and has his own podcast “Flat Chat Wrap”, which is all about strata living. Jimmy tells a screenwriter's dark, but ultimately hopeful tale abou...

On this week's episode Veronica dives into the past to talk about her own property dumbos.  With 25 years experience in the property sector, from buying, selling and advising on all things property, Veronica relives the early days of her own property journey. Chris discusses the common mistakes first home buyers make and the opportunity costs associated. Here’s what we covered: Next steps to take...

On today’s episode we pick the brains of Adam Hirst, General Manager of Build-To-Rent at Mirvac. Adam is currently overseeing Mirvac’s newest development at Sydney Olympic Park, Indigo Pavilion, Australia’s first mass scale build-to-rent project. Adam discusses the overseas success of build-to-rent also known as ‘multifamily’, the viability of this alternative to generic residential development an...

Amanda Farmer returns to the Elephant in the Room Property Podcast to discuss all things Strata. Amanda is the Director of Lawyers Chambers on Riley and Founder of Your Strata Property. With 16 years under her belt as a specialist Strata Lawyer, Amanda is a respected and well known authority in the property market. In this Episode Amanda opens up on the rights and obligations of strata owners and...

Today we pick the brains of Louis Christopher, Australia’s most recognised and respected property analyst and Founder of SQM Research. SQM specialises in providing accurate research and data to financial institutions, professionals and investors. Louis provides his predictions for the 2020 property market and gives essential information regarding factors that shift property prices. Here’s what we...

Starting off the beginning of the year with this jam packed episode. Veronica Morgan & Chris Bates talk all about their outlook for the 2020 property market. We feature insights from trusted experts and their views for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane market.  Here’s what we cover: What we anticipate for Sydney in 2020 How supply and demand drive property prices A historical look at clearance rates...

In this 100th episode, Veronica Morgan and Chris Bates offer up their top 10 moments to celebrate the overwhelming success of the Elephant in the Room Property Podcast. This is a cracker of an episode that packages up the most interesting stories, powerful tips and unique insights… You’re welcome! Veronica Morgan Top 5 picks Episode 28 - Lynette Malcolm -  Buyers’ remorse and looking at the big pi...

Today we chat with Bill McCorkell, Founder of ArchiBlox, a revolutionary architecture and building firm specializing in modular prefabricated buildings for both residential and commercial. ArchiBlox has worked with big names such as the Victorian and New South Wales governments, Lendlease, Häagen-Dazs and Tesla. We hear from Bill about the future of sustainable building practices, a critical topic...

In this episode special, Chris and Veronica answer hot-topic questions from listeners. Here are some of the highlights: Why older style apartments still hold up against off the plan apartments How staging and styling distorts home buyers perceptions How land titles affect lending and resale What questions should you ask your building/pest inspector Why being cash flow positive on an investment pro...

Jacqui Pollock, Family Coach and Founder of Human Leadership, a consultancy that focuses on leadership coaching. Jacqui has worked with impressive household names such as SBS Television, Sunrise, Audible and McDonalds. In this episode, Jacqui opens up on skills that improve a property buyer's decision-making process. Here’s what we covered: How to catch yourself as a home buyer from making reactio...

We pick the brains of Dr. Andrew Wilson, possibly Australia's best known independent property economists.  Dr. Wilson publishes his auction clearance rates on a weekly basis on LinkedIn & breaks them down into regions. We discussed:  What do auction clearance rates mean?  Auctions, statistics, how is the data collected for these rates & is it reliable? Will interest rates ever rise again to past h...

We're talking about protection & insurance with Craig Bigelow, Founder & Head of Insurance Advice, True Pride. Are you underinsured or overinsured & are you paying more than you need? We talked: Australia’s insurance problem - are you under or overinsured? Life, income, home insurance are you wasting cash? Framework: How to build an insurance plan you actually need. Why some insurance companies di...

Sales agent Geoff Grist, who’s written a book called “Sold Above Market” is a real estate agent on Sydney’s Lower North Shore. This episode reveals some great insights into how the best agents operate. Here’s what we covered: Why the remuneration of agents goes hand in hand with mistrust Why AVM’s aren’t worth the paper they are printed on What you need to do prior to selling your home to maximize...

David Johnston of Property Planning Australia, & co-host of the podcast The Property Planner,  is a property planner and a mortgage strategist. We asked him to explain recent changes to the mortgage industry, including: What is a property plan & why everyone needs one before they purchase  The property plan conversation - building it around life plans Loan structuring tips, risk assessment & exten...

We interview auctioneer & coach Phil de Fegely. Phil coaches many other successful auctioneers & he works with well known agency groups such as McGrath, Buxton, Jellis Craig, to name a few.  If you’re looking to buy a property, you will no doubt be dealing with an auctioneer at some point, so here’s the inside scoop on: How do good auctioneers influence buyers to bid? What type of bidding wins the...

We pick the brains Rod Fehring, CEO of Frasers Property Australia. Rod has 30 years of property industry experience so is well placed to give us insights into current issues with Australia’s construction industry. We cover a lot of ‘ground’ including: What needs to change in the building regulatory environment to lift standards & deliver better quality properties? Is the lack of consumer confidenc...

We get the inside scoop from David Easterbrook, director of Elite Buyer Agents in Melbourne. They operate two offices, one in Hawthorn and the other in Brighton. They help both owner occupiers & investors buy quality properties in the inner suburbs of Melbourne. David walks us through what’s happening on the ground in Melbourne, including: Lack of quality listings right now in Melbourne, when will...

We pick the brains of Brendan Coates of the Grattan Institute. Brendan’s research focuses on tax reform, economic & budget policy, retirement incomes & superannuation, housing, transport infrastructure & cities. He works in a think tank with a bunch of clever people with access to all manner of research that allows them to tackle the big questions & problems facing us as a nation. Here’s a preview...

We’re honored to be joined by Alan Kohler, one of Australia’s most respected finance reporters. For decades readers & viewers have enjoyed his expert opinion in the press, TV &, more recently as Editor-in-Chief at InvestSMART.  We love to look at the wider world of investing - beyond property. We enjoy discovering alternative investment methodologies & frameworks - always with our filter of low ri...

We get the inside scoop from Kerry Hunt, Manager of the Building Certification Team at Inner West Council in Sydney. With 40 years in Building Surveying in local government both here and in the UK she’s adept at navigating the complexity of planning, building and certification legislation. We look at the nuts & bolts of: Building approvals & conflicts of interest in the Building Certifying Act & w...

Kylie Davis is back again combining her time at CoreLogic with the world of proptech & is one of the people behind Australia’s Proptech Summit, launched last year. Having launched Home Prezzo a content marketing solution for real estate agents, she gives a glimpse into the proptech world. Here’s what’s coming our way: What happens when property & technology meets? How will proptech change the way...

Nicki Hutley is a Partner at Deloitte Access Economics, where she leads the Urban Advisory practice. Nikki’s worked for three decades in the field of urban economics addressing issues such as affordable housing, social & economic infrastructure investment, urban renewal, precinct planning, climate mitigation & social policies.  Who better to help us tackle the question of whether Australia’s citie...

Douglas Isles, an Investment Specialist at Platinum Asset Management, joins us for a chat on a wide range of topics including: Why fear & greed are the biggest problem in investing. How to think like a private owner, even if you’re purchasing shares. Social pressure & loss aversion: the behavioral biases costing you big time in the equities market. What are the long term benefits of holding equiti...

Balaji Gopal, Vanguard’s Head of Product Strategy explains alternatives to direct residential property investment by way of index funds and exchange traded funds (or ETFs). We also discuss the many similarities of property investing & share investing & the associated behavioural biases. Balaji shares his knowledge & demystifies: What are index funds and how they work? How fees can be kept low with...

Renovation expert, Justine Bennett tells us how you go about renovating a strata property.  So where do you start, do you need council or strata approval & what are the restrictions? We discuss logistics like getting materials in & out, restricted working hours & dealing with tenants & neighbours.  Plus, we uncover a whole bunch of pitfalls including: Knowing that buying a renovated apartment come...