REB Podcast Network

The budget fallout has begun. With one of Australia's largest buyer's agencies collapsing and consumer confidence disappearing, are there still opportunities in the market?

On this week's Property Buzz, hosts Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman break down the growing chaos hitting Australia's property market, from collapsing auction clearance rates and rising investor panic to the turmoil now ripping through the buyer's agency sector.

In Sydney, the auction market has fallen to COVID-19-era lows, with more homes now passing in than selling as buyer confidence weakens and uncertainty continues to build. But will increasing yields now reverse this trend?

The duo also explore the collapse of buyer's agency Dashdot, highlighting how rising client acquisition costs, weaker sentiment, and tightening lending conditions are placing enormous pressure on property businesses across the country.

Additionally, hanging over the entire market are the proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, reforms that could slash borrowing capacity, tighten rental supply and dramatically reshape how Australians invest in property.

The pressure is building quickly, and while emotional investors react to fear and headlines, strategic investors will be best positioned when the market stabilises.

Most agents are still trying to win listings like it's 2021, but in today's softer market, they're losing ground fast. Vendors are getting pickier, and they're choosing agents who show up as trusted advisors armed with data, strategy, and certainty, not just a confident handshake.

On the REB Podcast, deputy editor Emilie Lauer sits down with PRD chief economist Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo to break down how agents can stay competitive as market conditions tighten and investor sentiment shifts.

Mardiasmo explains how rising rates, global uncertainty, and the latest federal budget changes have reshaped buyer and seller behaviour, putting increased pressure on agents to move beyond transactional selling and become trusted advisors.

The discussion highlights why agents who understand both macroeconomic trends and hyper-local market data are outperforming competitors, particularly as listings become harder to secure and clients demand deeper insights.

The episode also explores why Brisbane has remained more resilient than Sydney and Melbourne, with infrastructure demand and Olympic-driven supply constraints continuing to support the Queensland market.

Mardiasmo also points to the growing trend of residential investors shifting into commercial assets like strip retail and industrial property as they search for stronger returns and greater stability.

In a market filled with uncertainty, the duo urges agents to know their numbers if they want to win the listings.

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Everyone in property management is rushing to use AI, but most agencies still don't understand where it actually creates value and where it creates risk.

On The Property Management Excellence (PMX) Podcast, Managed co-founder Alex Whitlock speaks with Managed head of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) Blair Dods.

They break down how AI and other technologies are reshaping property management, from automation and operational efficiency to the growing pressure on agencies to adapt fast.

Dods explains how AI is already helping businesses process data faster, automate repetitive admin tasks and improve productivity, allowing property managers to focus more on strategy and customer experience.

But the discussion also warns against the growing misconception that AI can fix broken businesses, highlighting that poor systems, weak leadership, and bad customer service can't simply be automated away.

The episode also explores the risks of overreliance on AI, particularly around security, compliance and the misuse of tools where simple automation would often work better.

Finally, Whitlock and Dods discuss the rise of proprietary technology, with AI lowering the barrier for agencies looking to build custom systems tailored to their business needs.

Most investors are reacting to the federal budget, but most of it isn't law yet, and the real impact will come from what actually gets passed, not what's announced.

On the Property Buzz podcast, Phil Tarrant and Annie Kane from The Adviser cut through the noise around negative gearing, capital gains tax, and the wave of speculation hitting the property market after the latest budget.

The pair warn that the biggest issue right now isn't policy change, but misinformation and fatigue, with investors reacting to headlines rather than confirmed legislation.

They explore how proposed tax shifts could reshape investment structures, particularly for discretionary trusts and small businesses, while also raising questions about intergenerational fairness and long-term affordability.

The discussion also highlights how lenders are already adjusting behind the scenes, with early changes to serviceability rules hinting at how banks are preparing for possible policy outcomes.

But despite the noise, the message is consistent. The duo warned that until legislation is finalised, the smartest move is to stay informed, not reactive, and avoid making decisions based on speculation alone.

Real estate networks are operating in an increasingly unpredictable market where rising days on market, uneven listing conditions, and tighter cash flow are putting profitability under pressure. In this episode of REB Business Empowerment Showcase, host Liam Garman speaks with Agent Profit Planner founder Wayne Johnson about the financial blind spots holding agencies back, from poor visibility over profit margins and portfolio performance to the growing risks around recruitment, cash flow, and operational costs.

As market conditions shift, Johnson explains why scenario planning and financial literacy are becoming essential for agency leaders looking to protect profitability, optimise their rent roll, and stay ahead in a more volatile operating environment.

The conversation also explores how agency principals can better understand the true performance of their property management portfolio, identify hidden operational inefficiencies, and make smarter business decisions before changing market conditions start impacting long-term growth.

Australian agencies are entering a new operating reality where compliance reform, economic volatility, and rapid AI adoption are converging into a perfect storm, forcing leaders to rethink how they run and protect their businesses.

In this episode of the REB Business Empowerment Showcase, host Liam Garman speaks with National Australia Bank (NAB) executives Kate Bain and Lucy Zheng about the forces reshaping Australian real estate, from macroeconomic pressure to frontline operational realities, and what it takes to stay ahead in 2026.

With anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) reforms due in July, agencies face urgent changes to onboarding, risk, and due diligence, requiring immediate operational uplift across systems, training, and workflows. Early movers will reduce friction and regulatory exposure, while late adopters risk a costly compliance scramble once enforcement begins.

At the same time, shifting interest rates and weakening confidence are reshaping buyer behaviour, with borrowing capacity and sentiment moving quickly. Artificial intelligence (AI) is also accelerating across real estate operations, improving efficiency in areas like lead handling and forecasting while introducing new risks around data integrity and privacy.

Bain and Zheng share insights into how principals and directors can stay ahead, including where to seek professional banking and advisory support to navigate ongoing regulatory, economic, and operational change.

Negative gearing changes may have grabbed the headlines this week, but the real disruption in real estate is happening inside the property management model itself, where reactive service models are starting to break down under pressure.

On The Property Management Excellence (PMX) Podcast, Managed co-founder Alex Whitlock speaks with Managed CEO Phil Tarrant and head of finance and compliance Alexander Laureti about how recent government policy shifts are forcing a rethink of the property manager's role in the investment ecosystem.

The key shift underway is from reactive service delivery to advisory-led property management, where value is defined by offering landlords strategy and proactive guidance, not just offering maintenance requests.

Technology and automation are accelerating that change by removing administrative burden and freeing property managers to focus on client strategy and communication. The result is a growing divide between operators who continue to shoulder time-consuming jobs and those building scalable, insight-driven rent roll businesses.

Budget 2026 has dropped – and insiders say it's not bold reform, but a tax grab that could redraw the winners and losers in Australian property. On Property Buzz, hosts Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman are joined by Tom Panos to break down one of the most consequential budgets in years and why it's already dividing investors, agents, and policymakers.

Panos argues that the budget falls short of real tax reform, saying it shuts the door on younger Australians entering the market through changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax.

Reporting from Canberra, Tarrant flags rising political risk, warning broken pre-election promises could define the budget as much as its economic impact.

The discussion outlines winners and losers, with owner-occupiers and service providers potentially gaining while leveraged investors and developers come under pressure.

Garman points to rising construction costs, labour shortages, and migration demand as forces that could further tighten rental markets. The trio closes on a warning: the budget's real impact will be measured in affordability, rents, and investor confidence.

Western Sydney's property market has been moving fast, and so is 25-year-old Vedant Agrawal, TAG Real Estate founder, who has scaled from newcomer to running a multi-office real estate business in just a few years. On the REB Business Empowerment Showcase, deputy editor Emilie Lauer speaks with Agrawal about how he built and now manages one of Western Sydney's fastest-growing boutique agencies.

Agrawal explains how a COVID-19-era career pivot pushed him into real estate, where he quickly progressed from admin work to sales and began scaling almost immediately.

The discussion explores how TAG Real Estate scaled across multiple locations by building systems, hiring quickly, and maintaining consistency, supported by aggressive local marketing and a strong operational structure that kept growth moving without losing momentum.

Agrawal also breaks down the challenge of being a solo agent to managing over 40 staff members while still staying hands-on in sales, leadership, and culture.

He also highlights the New Agent Academy as a key partner initiative, encouraging new agents to focus on structured learning, discipline, and consistency as the foundation for building long-term success in real estate.

Get your free tickets to the New Agent Academy here.

High workloads and challenging clients are only part of the story. Outdated systems and manual processes are quietly draining time, energy, and focus. Could automation be the circuit breaker the industry desperately needs?

On The Property Management Excellence (PMX) Podcast, Alex Whitlock speaks with Phil Tarrant and Bairave Jeyasothy from Managed about how payments and legacy trust accounting are contributing to industry burnout.

Manual reconciliations, fragmented systems, and compliance complexity are still dominating workflows, despite major advances in automation elsewhere.

The discussion explores how digital wallets and automated payments are reducing admin, improving transparency, and removing repetitive tasks across the rental ecosystem. And the genesis of the challenge is obvious: property management has fallen behind other industries in payment innovation, and that gap is now fuelling inefficiency and burnout.

The shift is not about replacing property managers. It is about removing friction so they can focus on relationships and higher-value work and build long-term, sustainable, and growth-focused businesses.