Thought Leaders – Real Estate Re-imagined (formerly The Elevate Podcast) Things are looking up for the Australian Real Estate Market: Matt Lahood
The Australian Real Estate Market has seen its share of difficulties in the past 12 months. With an election behind us and an interesting future ahead, this week, we bring you the perspective of an industry leader who has seen many cycles of ups and downs and is respected far and wide – Matt Lahood.
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Matt is the CEO of The Agency – an Australia-wide full-service real estate firm, publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Many say that Matt’s name is synonymous with Australian real estate because he’s honed his expertise in everything from property sales to auctioneering in over 30 years in the industry.
He’s a coach and mentor to many agents and an outstanding leader.
In this episode you’ll hear Matt share what’s going on in the sales and rental markets across the country, explain how his team is working to stay at the forefront of the industry and provide his best advice on how leaders in the Australian Real Estate Market can help their teams move into their best season of business ever.
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Outline of This Episode
- [0:53] How The Agency’s partner model works vs the traditional franchise model
- [6:30] Highlights of what’s happening around Australia from Matt’s quarterly market report
- [16:34] Why we should maybe consider other macroeconomic market levers instead of simply lowering interest rates again.
- [19:45] The Leadership Diaries Q&A
- [27:08] How the culture of your business starts at the top
- [31:51] Matt’s advice to his younger self about the Real Estate industry
- [36:39] What one thing would Matt change about the industry if he could?
How technology is advancing the Australian Real Estate Market
Matt’s team at The Agency is working overtime to make the entire real estate process – from purchases and sales to leasing and rentals – as simple as possible.
He believes that making a perfectly frictionless process makes for the best customer experience and enables agents to work in ways that provide more freedom for everyone involved.
In this episode, Matt describes where his team is headed – and how they are using technology solutions to improve the convenience and efficiency of real estate transactions.
Why Matt thinks the Australian Real Estate Market is on the rise
The first four weekends since the federal election have seen over 70% clearance rates in both Sydney and Melbourne. Before this, Matt says there was a run of investors charging into the market due to uncertainty over the future of negative gearing. But since the liberal win that has changed, they have ‘cooled their heels’ and first-time buyers are coming back into the market looking for homes.
Will rates drop to .75% in Australia?
Interest rates have always been a factor used to put the brakes on the market. In the 70s and into the 80s there was a credit squeeze that caused lending to decline. But today’s low rates are the exact opposite. Matt points out that when the government only uses interest rates as the only lever in the economy, they are missing many of the factors that impact the amount of money average people have to spend.
There is talk of rates dropping to .75% or below – and John Kolenda from The Agency doesn’t think it’s the only solution. Listen to hear what he believes should be addressed in addition to interest rates.
The best leaders in the Real Estate industry demonstrate how to care
Throughout his years in the industry, Matt has become known for his own brand of leadership, to which he gives much credit to those from whom he was able to learn. One of the things he says over and over, which is not surprising when you know him, is that leaders are charged with caring for the people they lead.
His belief – borne out of experience – is that when you care sincerely for the people on your team, they will take care of the customer in exceptional ways.
Matt is definitely someone you want to learn from when it comes to leadership, so be sure you listen to this episode to hear the advice he would give to his younger self, as well as his advice for those who are still figuring out how to recover from the events of the last 12 months.
Bottom Line: Matt’s experience and insight give us reason to have an optimistic outlook on what’s ahead.
Connect with Matt Lahood
- Matt’s company – The Agency
- Matt on LinkedIn
Resources Mentioned
The Agency’s Winter Quarterly Report
Episode Sponsor:
To find out more about how connectnow can make moving easier for your clients by sorting their home moving needs email partnersupport@connectnow.com.au or visit www.connectnow.com.au