Network & Industry News

AWARDS SEASON: 

WA’s 2023 GEM Award Winners Announced 

Western Australia’s 2023 General Excellence and Marketing Award winners were announced at Perth’s Ritz Carlton on Friday 10th of March. 

FN Hedland (Port Hedland) was declared winner of the Magnificent 7 – No.1 Sales Office of the Year and Magnificent 7 - No.1 Investor Relations Management Office of the Year, with each award being won for the sixth year in a row.

Topping the individual awards were: 

• Julie Oliver - FN Karratha - Magnificent 7 - No.1 Investor Relations Manager of the Year
• Amy Doran - FN Hedland - Magnificent 7 - No.1 Business Development Manager of the Year
• Danielle Collins - FN Hedland - Magnificent 7 - No.1 Salesperson of the Year
• Scott Lowe - FN Hedland - Highest Number of Exclusive Listings, Highest Number of Settled Sales, and Highest Gross Sales & Leasing Commission in the commercial category

Specialist award winners were:

• Pillar Award – Kallam Brown, FN Karratha
• Opus Award – Ilena Gecan, FN Genesis
• New Investor Relations Manager of the Year – Lisa Wibberley, FN Margaret River
• New Salesperson of the Year – Brooke Matthews, FN Hedland
• Digital Award – Andrew Sherwood, FN Karratha
• Best Marketing Campaign - Andrew Sherwood, FN Karratha
• Your Town & You Award – Rob Druitt, FN Druitt & Shead (Doubleview)

Major award winner details have been published on the national website. Click here to view…

AWARDS SEASON: 

REIA National Awards for Excellence Announced 

First National Advocate and former member Chris McGregor was presented with the prestigious President’s Award at the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s (REIA) 2023 NAFE awards in Perth, recently.

Seventeen First National delegates were there to support him as well as a team of First National Real Estate finalists that included:

• Achievement Award - Simon Connelly, FN O’Donoghues (Darwin, NT)
• Operational Leadership Award – Sarah Chau, FN O’Donoghues (Darwin, NT)
• Residential Sales Team of the Year – FN Coast & Country (Kiama, Gerringong & Shoalhaven Heads, NSW)

First National extends its congratulations to all our NAFE finalists. They are showcasing the best in an industry that has undergone incredible change and challenge in recent times.

Celebrating International Women’s Day

All around Australia, First National Real Estate celebrated International Women's Day - the day which calls for equality and the celebration of woman’s achievements. It was wonderful to see so many offices attending major events or taking time a little time out, to honour and show respect for the women in our lives.

‘Thank you so much for the invitation. It was a lovely event and Chloe and I had a great time. Michelle’s story was so emotion provoking, and inspiring.’

Tarryn Baselmans

FN Rayner (Bacchus Marsh, Vic)

‘Michelle was so inspirational that I too had to hold back tears. What touched me most was how humble and appreciative she was, not just of her successes but also of the simple things in life, like her beautiful relationship with her family and her brother Stevie.’

Gina Croce-Yap

FN Balwyn North (Vic)

‘It was a great lunch on Tuesday. I was honoured and delighted to be included. The highlight was actually meeting Michelle Pain and having the opportunity to ask a few questions. The lunch also gave me the chance to meet new people as well as catching up with a few that I know from other industries.’

Adrienne Robinson

FN Homeway (Castle Hill, NSW)

‘Thanks for the wonderful opportunity to spend time with the amazing ladies in our network. Katie from the Frenchs Forest office had a great time and met some new people, and Katina was a rockstar - as always.’

Karen Joseph

FN Manly (NSW)

‘We loved hearing from Michelle Payne. She is an awesome talent and a great role model for women the world over.’

Frances Fernandez

FN Rochedale (Rochedale South, Qld)

‘Always good to see other fellow First National members. It was a very welcome afternoon to learn of so many interesting stories and trying to make a change in society for women. Loved all the speakers; a great afternoon!’

Lisa Turner

FN Cleveland (Qld)

‘We all had a fabulous time at the IWD breakfast on Friday. Thank you for arranging it. The highlight for me was hearing some of the back story of both Senator Penny Wong and Ambassador Caroline Kennedy. Regardless of their political affiliations, it’s always fascinating to hear how these types of women have risen and exceled in their fields and how they have prioritised giving to others during the process. My biggest take away was, as Penny quoted, “what you do for yourself dies with you when you leave this world but what you do for others' lives on forever”.’

Susan Britcher 

FN Riggall (Prospect, SA)

UP-SKILLING: What Differentiates the Most Successful Agents?

How do you list without overpricing? How do you get price reductions? How do you manage buyers in a difficult market? How do you prospect in a digital world? 

Industry expert, Tom Panos, answered these and many more questions when he addressed First National agents across New South Wales and Victoria recently. Tom works with the industry’s leading agents and outlined the critical behaviours that differentiate the most successful in the industry. 

‘Tom is a fabulous speaker; probably the best I have ever seen. Very engaging, knowledgeable, and insightful.

David Small

FN Coffs Coast (Coffs Harbour, NSW)

‘Tom has always been an inspiration. His scripts and dialogues look and sound so easy. Tom was interactive, engaging and valuable. Why? He answered so many questions, put situations into perspective, suggested ways to handle different scenarios. He answered questions I didn’t even know I had questions for. Now it’s time to practice and put into play. He even made me cry. 

Cindy Richards

FN Casino (NSW)

‘Bloody brilliant.’

Michael Buckley

FN Frenchs Forest (NSW)

‘This training session was extremely valuable and we learnt from the absolute best! I would definitely see Tom again for more training. It’s an incredible insight and he gave us tools to implement. We would love more training with him!’

Braeden Robbins

FN Candappa (Drouin, Vic)

‘The training session today with Tom PANOS was Phenomenal. It’s evident that the audience was totally in tune with the whole day’s session as no one left early and everyone stayed until stumps.’

John Lynch

FN Finning (Cranbourne, Vic)

COMMERCIAL: Grab Hold of Our Mentorship Program

We’re you aware that FN Commercial, the commercial specialist arm of First National, offers you a Mentorship Program? 

If you’ve been thinking about adding commercial to your agency, you can try our resources before committing. 

Belinda Holmes and Broc Buderus of FN Forster-Tuncurry (NSW) tried our Mentorship Program and it completely changed their approach to real estate. 

Have a chat with your Business Growth Manager or call our Commercial Concierge Hotline on 1300 361 442 to find out more.

UPSKILLING: Getting on the Right Path to The Elite

Transformative coach, Caroline Bolderston, addressed delegates attending First National’s Sales Elevate program in Victoria recently. Central to her message is the concept of being bold, owning your results, leveraging opportunities, and deciding powerfully. All of our delegates are committed to joining our GEM Awards Elite, and we look forward to them getting there.

UP-SKILLING: WA CPD and cyber awareness

Western Australia's membership gathered in numbers to complete CPD training, with a sobering address from REIWA on cyber security and risk management. 

'The information presented was certainly relevant.  On our first day back in the office, we received a scam email which was picked up and the whole of the office was made aware of it! The code of conduct training was also invaluable and something I will keep in the forefront of my mind moving forward.'

Antionette Terranova

FN Hedland (Port Hedland, WA)

INDUSTRY: Strategic Policy Forum 

Industry peak body - The Real Estate Industry of Australia (REIA) - has hosted the Getting Real 2.0 Strategy Policy Forum at REIWA’s offices to plan policy advocacy on behalf of the industry.

Wide-ranging of issues affecting the industry’s interests were canvassed, with an address provided by REIA President, Hayden Groves, then briefings provided by:

• Anna Neelagama – REIA Chief Executive 
• Mardi Norton – REIA Policy Communications Officer
• Melina Cruickshank, REA Group Chief Product & Audience Officer
• Lenda Oshalem, National Campaign Director, SEC Newgate (Trust & Reputation)
• Professor Helge Jannicke, Director, Edith Cowan Security Research Institute
• Eleanor Creagh, Senior Economist, REA Group (Housing Supply)

An interactive Q & A session followed, facilitated by REIA Deputy President, Leanne Pilkington. With a seat on the Board of REIA, First National Real Estate is a regular and influential participant in all REIA activities, and this greatly benefits both members and the broader industry.

POLICY: SA Rental Act Changes Coming

The SA Government has concluded its consultation process concerning the review of the rights and responsibilities of tenants, landlords and property managers. 

The government considers its immediate priorities are re-considering laws around:

• Longer tenancies
• Rules about ending or not renewing leases
• Rental bidding – no rent ranges advertised
• More affordable bonds – maximum 4-week bond 
• Protecting tenant information – application details to be destroyed within 3 years of the end of tenancy
• Standardised application forms – limits on information you can request
• Renting with pets

Draft legislation will be released for consultation in due course.

POLICY: NSW Rental Bidding Ban – Enforcement Underway

NSW Fair Trading officers have gone undercover to crack down on any real estate agents considered to be trying to get around the ban on rent bidding. 

Officers are posing as renters at home inspections as almost 1,000 advertisements have been identified as potentially flouting the new laws introduced in December. 300 warning notices have been issued and Fair Trading has now moved to an enforcement basis, with fines of between $550 for agents and $1,100 for corporations being handed out (although maximums can reach $11,000).

To comply with the new laws, DO NOT:

• Use words in your rental advertisements such as ‘offers from’, ‘by negotiation’, ‘contact agent’ or ‘price available soon’
• Solicit or invite an offer of rent higher than the advertised price

All NSW rental property advertisements advertised after 17 December 2022 must carry a fixed price. Prospective tenants are able to offer higher rents for a rental premises if they do so voluntarily and freely, but DO NOT HINT that this would be a good idea.

What you CAN say:

If you are asked by a tenant if they should offer a higher rent, or what other applicants have offered, you can say:

‘I am not permitted to invite you to offer more than the asking price. You must make your own decision about what rent you wish to offer.’

If you are asked ‘can I offer you $100 above the asking price?’, you can say:

‘Yes, you can. I will let the landlord know.’

If you are asked ‘If I offered more rent, would I have a better chance of securing the property?’, you can say:

‘I am not permitted to invite you to offer more than the asking price. You must make your own decision about what rent you wish to offer.’

REMINDER: NSW CPD Obligations – DEADLINE TOMORROW 22 MARCH

Please be reminded that all NSW agents must complete their CPD obligations by 22 March 2023.

Should you require assistance, please contact REINSW, who can respond to your questions and provide solutions, where required. Information about CPD courses can be found here.

Finally, there have been changes announced to the Commissioner’s Guidelines – essentially, a requirement that the Licensee In Charge create a training plan for employees. REINSW will be amending its manual and notifying its members.