The Property Diaries

Leanne Taylor is one of the most effervescent, charming and energetic personalities I've had the pleasure of befriending in this amazing industry. Leanne has a wonderful professional history, from hospitality to real estate, project management to an incredibly successful side-hustle.

It's a thrill to be able to lasso Leanne and bring her into the studio for long enough to interview her.

Leanne has coached others with this particular venture also, but importantly, she's done it on her own and with scale. Focusing on short-stay accommodation options for those who require limited tenure rentals is something she's very passionate about. From overseas visitors catching up with their children and grandchildren, to recently separated folks, Leanne's fully furnished properties have provided much-needed solutions to many over the years.

What gives Leanne Taylor such an edge is her incredible zest for customer service, and her irreplaceable warmth and authenticity. No task is ever too much when it comes to her clients.

Leanne and Cate talk through how the idea started, what it takes to be a great housing provider of short-stay accommodation, how she's managed a full time job and a business, and best of all, how she's managed to accumulate some of her proeprties without actually owning them.

It's a fascinating insight into a magical woman's drive for success.

Redom Syed is a Sydney-based mortgage professional who's tagline speaks volumes; educating homebuyers & property investors about growing wealth through property. Like many of us, Redom's career background is an enthralling one which is peppered with some impressive credentials, valuable insights from his earlier role within APRA (our prudential regulator), and a heartfelt family story that shaped a young boy's aspirations for his future.

Redom and Cate chat about how Redom's childhood shaped his love of economics, what some of the observations and learnings were for Redom in his years as a graduate economist, and how macro-prudential tools have shaped our economic outlook in recent years.

The pair discuss buffer rates, credit availability, lending restrictions, and they each ponder the outlook for 2023.

A gripping episode for the new year....


We hope you enjoy!

Matt Grima is a well-respected, friendly sales executive and auctioneer in Melbourne's lustrous Port Philip, working on some of the highest land-value-per-square-metre properties in our state. Matt works with Marshall White and has enjoyed some exciting successes, both solo and alongside some of his colleagues over the years he's been working in the inner south/east.

Matt's early days pre-real estate were actually in journalism and his coverage of the property market in the north-west of the city were the catalyst that sparked his passion for the real estate industry.

Fast-forwarding the clock to today, Matt is well-known for his podcast, @zoomcast and plenty of listeners will be familiarised with Matt's friendly voice and quick wit.

Matt and Cate have been industry friends for quite a few years now, and they've often enjoyed agent-advocate banter about the rollercoaster that is real estate and the way that they each view the industry through their respective lenses, albeit quite similarly. From advocate/agent dealings to off-market chatter, the two have plenty to chat about.

As Cate points out at the start of this episode, it's a culmination of a few coffee catch-ups, and specifically a common throw-away line they share.... "we should do a podcast ep!"

So here it is. We hope you enjoy!

In this follow-up interview, Cate interviews Mike specifically about the builder and materials shortage crisis we are all facing, and how this correlates with some of changes identified in the study since the former 1000 Assets Study.

From the obvious world event and complete disruptor, (COVID-19) to state-based, onerous rental legislation reforms, low interest rates, tightening vacancy rates, increasing rents and a heightened awareness of buyer's agents, Mike sheds light on some critical changes to the industry,... all identified within the MCG 1000 Assets latest study.

Cate and Mike explore some of the data on hand and each reflect on the headwinds we face in the wake of an array of really challenging factors all working against us in tandem.

Cate and Mike have enjoyed a friendship peppered with data analyses, budget night catch ups, the odd white wine over lunch, and a mutual love of the property industry. Mike is a regular guest on The Property Diaries, and following his ground-breaking 1000 Assets Study, we now have 2022's data hot off the press, which showcases some significant changes across the Australian property landscape, and Cate interviews the man himself to talk all about the challenges COVID has thrown us, and how the data illustrates these significant changes.

"The data assessed in this report runs from January 2016 to March 2022 and encompasses seven sample groups of 1000 properties each."

In this interview, Cate interviews Mike about the changes identified in the study since the former 1000 Assets Study. From the obvious world event and complete disruptor, (COVID-19) to state-based, onerous rental legislation reforms, low interest rates, tightening vacancy rates, increasing rents and a heightened awareness of buyer's agents, Mike sheds light on some critical changes to the industry,... all identified within the MCG 1000 Assets latest study.

We're very proud to be able to call Mike and Marty friends of Cate Bakos Property, and more so, a knowledgable pair who freely give so much gold to our property industry.

After a long hiatus, Cate kicks off 2022's first interview with a talented and experienced Western Australian Buyer's Agent, Ray Chua from Momentum Wealth. Having turned his attention to property after working in industry as an engineer, Ray bought with him a highly analytical focus, a keen interest in an asset class that fascinated him, and a quest to help people navigate something that is rarely black and white.

Ray speaks openly with Cate about his lengthy career so far as a buyer's agent, how he started working in the property industry, and what it's been like riding Perth's waves of buyer demand, market corrections, and... well, the challenges of tackling a market that has quite a few differentiating elements from the East Coast markets.

Ray shares some good local price-point, real life examples of properties in his home city and breaks down for our listeners some representative suburbs for $500,000, $1M and $2M budgets. He and Cate chat about rental yields, market drivers, and the specific reasons why Ray believes in the long term growth prospects of this beautiful city.

We are thrilled to have hosted this exciting interview and very grateful to Ray for sharing his wisdom. We hope you enjoy!

Chris Bates returns to the studio, and this time Chris and Cate chat about some common mistakes that buyers make; particularly at the planning phase. They kick off the conversation around holiday houses and challenge some popular trends that have gripped since COVID struck our shores.

Chris, (in his ever-pragmatic way) offers our listeners some great tips, and as always; he introspectively shares his own weaknesses when it comes to holiday houses.

"....you fall in love with the fantasy, not the logistics."

Chris' financial planning sensibility, combined with his willingness to ask the burning questions make for a wonderful episode.

Cate and Chris crossed paths some ten years ago and the pair have remained firm friends as their individual businesses have flourished.

We hope you enjoy!

In his own, candid style, Chris shares his advisory approach when guiding his finance clients. From success stories to roadblocks that buyers commonly face, Cate and Chris find some common ground and even chat about some recent happy case studies.

Chris delves into a host of challenging human buying habits, from self-sabotaging to a fear of paying too much, and offers some great examples of advice he's used in the past.

Cate and Chris have known each other for nearly a decade now, and it has been fantastic to bring to life some of Chris' philosophies when it comes to buying sensibly, and buying well.

Our second episode of The Property Diaries covers more about life in the world of buyers agency, and in Stacey's stellar way of quizzing Cate, she brings out a lot more information from Cate about her own personal approach to property investing, and how she applies these learnings when guiding her clients.

Are you new to purchasing property, or wanting to expand your portfolio, but not sure what a Buyer’s Agent actually does?

Cate speaks from the heart about her own journey and also shares her most valuable lessons fro her early years.

"You can't just do what Uncle Bob told you, you need to work out your own strategy and it has to come from YOU."

Cate's 'buy and hold' strategy is one of many property strategies. In episode two, Cate speaks about the various property investment strategies that others have applied, what they all entail, and the pros and cons of the various strategies.

We hope you enjoy!

Our first episode of The Property Diaries is an exciting introduction for our listeners. Cate and Stacey chat about life in the property industry, their initial meeting history, and they delve into their own reasons for being… well, so nuts about property.

Are you new to purchasing property, or wanting to expand your portfolio, but not sure what a Buyer’s Agent actually does?

This podcast promises to deliver an exciting and colourful bouquet of on-the-ground experiences, real life stories, tips and tactics, interesting guests, (including some particularly uproarious agents), and some clanging buyer mistakes they’ve been tasked to clean up.