Industry News

HIA has announced the appointment of its new national Vice President, Ms Debbie Johnson. Debbie is the second female to be elected to this position.

Debbie is a highly experienced and regarded building designer and builder based in Queensland bringing a strong portfolio of skills to the role having run her business for 35 years and being involved in a diverse range of industry and government boards throughout her career.

Debbie was appointed as the Queensland Regional President in 2013 and to the National Board in 2017.&nbsp;

Debbie was integral in the establishment of HIA&rsquo;s Building Women awards in Queensland which will celebrate their 7th annual event later this year. She supported the expansion of the program nationally and has shared her career journey speaking at many regional Building Women events over the last five years.

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Ms Johnson has expressed her desire to carry on the good work of her predecessors and represent the HIA core values.

&ldquo;I am proud to be a HIA member and will always promote the Housing Industry Association at every level,&quot;&nbsp;said Ms Johnson.

&ldquo;I want Australians to have confidence in our industry, in the products and materials we use and the homes we deliver every day for thousands of families. The industry is proud of our knowledge, experience and our skills and the Association will continue to work hard to develop the next generation of building professionals,&rdquo; she concluded.

HIA has announced the appointment of its new national Vice President, Ms Debbie Johnson

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HIA appoint new national Vice President

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Onthehouse Holdings Limited, the ASX listed online real estate content and services platform, has announced it is looking for a joint venture partner to assumed majority ownership of its consumer online division, the platform providing free access to property sale prices and estimated home values on most properties in Australia.
A strategic review of the company following months of internal company turmoil has resolved to keep and concentrate on its real estate solutions division that provides software tools for real estate agents, other property professionals and financial institutions through Console and Real Estate Ad Network. 
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It conclusions reached by the board have been touted as avoiding the need to raise capital and dilute the current shareholding, or obtain debt funding.
The board told shareholders:
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Consumer Online (COD) and Real Estate Solutions (RES) are distinct businesses and there is no compelling inter-dependency between them;
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As a consequence they need to be managed independently with a focus on an individual strategy for each business;
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Sharing of data will be by way of license agreements;
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The new COD subsidiary will have its own Board chaired by Onthehouse’s largest shareholder Michael Dempsey and will include current Board member Lisa Hickson;
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RES generates approximately $9 million in free cash per year and is able to self-fund implementation of its strategy;
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COD consumes approximately $7 million in cash per year that is currently being funded by the cash generated by RES;
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It said both businesses had "significant intrinsic value that is not currently recognised by the market."
Its COD will be developed in a non-listed JV vehicle in which OTH Holdings would maintain an interest, of between 30% and 49%.
The board anticipates JV partners could be one or several of the following:
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Like businesses that can add experience, technology or other industry assets etc. to the venture; and/or,
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Venture capital investors or other funders.
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"The board believes significant value can be created in this structure without the responsibility of funding the COD business.
"The search for appropriate JV partners has commenced and OTH is currently in discussion with a number of parties," chairman Tony Scotton told shareholders.
The Board expects that the separation strategy will take six months to execute. 
The new company structure, allowing the RES business to develop its potential without the constraints of funding COD, would see the listed company having a stable, profitable core business with a significant investment in the "potential upside of the COD business."
Over recent times activist investors have appeared on its share register and then its board following the abrupt mid-2014 departure of its founding shareholder and chief executive Michael Fredericks. Chris Meehan has been named chief executive officer having been acting chief executive since February. Other recent appointments include Emily Santucci as chief financial officer and Andy Antonini as chief operating officer.
Michael Dempsey who pocketed about $150 million from the sale of Ezidebit, took an 8 per cent stake in Onthehouse in December last year.
In 2013 it billed itself as Australia’s third largest real estate portal when it reached one million unique browsers per month. It is now more than three million.  
Onthehouse.com.au provides free access to 13.6 million Australian property data sets to its online and mobile visitors, including live sales and rental listings.
But the Consumer Online consumes about $7 million in cash annually triggering recent pre-tax impairment charges of $10.5 million, which led to a $9.1 million half-yearly loss for the company.
The $9.1 million loss for the six months to 31 December 2014 came after reporting a $587,000 profit the year before.
Disregarding the one-off costs, Onthehouse posted a $93,000 underlying profit – an 86 per cent drop on the previous year.
Onthehouse's total revenue sits at around $13 million - the group’s Real Estate Solutions division at $10.7 million.
The group’s Consumer Online and Data Analytics saw revenue at $2.3 million.
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Onthehouse.com.au seeks to sell unprofitable consumer website after strategic review

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Hello Real Estate and Minrex Resources NL have agreed not to complete their proposed reverse takeover, scheduled for January 2016.
Hello Real Estate has instead indicated discussions with a number of private equity firms have "progressed" to raise the necessary capital elsewhere for funding the demand for its home owner controlled real estate sales system.
Hello Real Estate’s growth has in the last three months seen the number of Hello licensees in Australia increase from 12 to 35 prompting its claim as Australia’s fastest growing real estate disruptor through its sale by owner system.
<a href="https://www.hello.com.au/?page=home" target="_blank">Hello, a licensed real estate agency</a> that offers a low fixed fee service for clients to sell their own property, comes with dedicated hands-on mentoring.
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Hello Real Estate had been set for December 2015 stock market listing with the move by Minrex Resources NL to take over Hello for $6.75 million.
It was anticipated Minrex would change into HelloReal Estate Limited raising $5 million in capital to expand the Hello business.
Hello describes itself as a licensed real estate business "which offers its clients a fixed-fee service to sell their own property supported by a team of professional service providers, covering all aspects of selling, web listings, advertising, negotiation, conveyancing and settlement services as well as professional mentoring."
According to Hello, the system achieves significant savings, less time on market and "the best market price for the property".
Hello launched in 2012 in South Australia and then into NSW in mid-2013.
The intended listed company was to have a new board, headed by Bob Lapointe, the franchise entrepreneur who brought Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Sizzler to Australia.
Now in his 70s, Bob Lapointe has chaired Hello since May 2014.
MinRex Resources NL (“MinRex”) is an exploration company, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, with its principal focus being the exploration and development of gold, base metal and tin projects in Australia.
MinRex holds two principal projects, the Deflector Extended Gold Project at Gullewa in Western Australia and the Heemskirk Tin Project in Tasmania.
The intended Hello Real Estate <a href="/news/44321-gold-mining-company-turns-to-hello-for-sale-by-owner-disruptee-business" target="_blank">stock market listing</a> via MinRex emerged mid last year, with MinRex now consulting with the ASX to resume quotation of its shares as soon as possible and will continue with its current exploration portfolio.
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Hello.com.au Real Estate calls off backdoor ASX listing

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Harcourts’ latest addition, Harcourts Carlingford, was opened last week by owner Andrew Magro.
Magro, who has been working in the Carlingford area for 14 years, said that it’s nice to be known locally and expressed his enjoyment with the area where he started out putting up for sale signs, making coffee and answering the phones.
“I basically watched and learnt from my peers, I immediately grew a strong interest and passion for the real estate industry and I knew then I wanted to be the best at what I do and thrive on customer satisfaction,” he said.
“Real estate isn’t only about making a sale, it’s about building relationships with people which I love to do,” said Magro.
Joining Harcourts Group Australia due to a desire to own his real estate office, he chose the brand after having been involved with Harcourts Hills Living when looking to buy a property.
“I immediately fell in love with the Harcourts system, their operations and most of all, the blue stripes,” he said.
“My motivation was real estate agent, Jamie Benjamin and his performance, not only selling properties but in the way it was actually performed.”
He also aligns with the ‘Harcourts values’, putting people first and giving them the time they need, which he intends to continue at his new 5/326 Pennant Hills Road office.
“I believe the difference I have to offer is quality of service, not quantity. People deserve nothing but the best of service, all the time,” he said.
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New agency Harcourts Carlingford launched 

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HIA has asked the Fair Work Commission to consider changes to the Building and Construction General Onsite Award that help employers and employees in the residential building industry stay connected despite the impacts of COVID-19.
Home builders and trade contractors are feeling the impacts of COVID-19 in their business every day.
They want to keep their staff and keep them employed despite the decline in home building activity as a result of COVID-19. The current Onsite Award that applies to our industry simply does not give both sides the necessary flexibility to do this.
Last month, 99 modern awards were changed to address COVID-19 impacts but building and construction was left off the list.
The changes we have put forward largely reflect the changes to workplace arrangements available to employers covered by those 99 modern awards and employers eligible for JobKeeper Payments.
The application would also help those employers who remain ineligible for JobKeeper the same flexibility as other businesses. The proposals also address the need for building businesses to comply with COVID health and hygiene requirements by recognizing that extra time during the work day may be needed to carry out building work.
It is important that everyone on construction sites can prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Offering greater options in the Award regarding, for example start and finish times, would support businesses appropriately schedule their work while still being able to get the job done.
The Prime Minister’s comments this week regarding the need to realign our current industrial relations system and support job creation are consistent with this application.
A positive response from the Commission, combined with further advice from Treasury to address the unique situation home builders face under the JobKeeper arrangements, would be a welcome outcome.
With up to half a million jobs at risk in the residential building industry keeping employees connected with their workplaces and keeping businesses in business must be a priority. Any measures that can help facilitate this are now critical.
MELISSA ADLER HIA Executive Director - Industrial Relations.
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HIA seeks changes to housing industry awards and wages

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Andrew Bell’s Ray White Surfers Paradise Group scored another win at this year’s annual Ray White Queensland awards.
The awards, which saw 1,200 Ray White members online, was held over Zoom this year presented by chairman Brian White, Emily Sim, Tim Snell and Dan White.
For the 28th year in a row, Bell’s group was named the top selling office in Queensland.
There had been a strong challenge from the New Farm office.
The Surfers Paradise CEO said he was “surprised” to receive the award after a challenging year that shook the real estate industry.
“I have never been more surprised by this award than I was this year. I was quite shocked because we had the most challenging year for our office on many fronts. But what the award reminds me of is how blessed we are to have the amazing team and the culture that we have created in our business," Bell said. 
Bell’s office also won the community contribution award for their muscular dystrophy fundraiser, a cause that he’s supported for over 25 years.
The Surfers Paradise office was the most successful Queensland office by way of revenue in the residential division, recognising the group as the best property management business of the year.
“There was immense love shown last night from our team. The team felt rewarded for digging deep and doing what we do best every single day”, Bell said.
Ray White Queensland conducted 41 per cent (up from 33 per cent the year before) of all the auctions held in Queensland - including conducting over 66 per cent of all auctions in the Brisbane city area. 
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Andrew Bell's Ray White Surfers Paradise Group top selling office in Queensland for 28th year in a row

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Restaurant &amp; Catering Australia welcomed Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ announcement that regional Victoria will be able to move to step 3 of the roadmap.
From 11.59PM on Wednesday, September 16, hospitality businesses in regional Victoria were able to serve patrons outdoors, with a cap of 50 seated patrons per venue.
An updated ‘two square metre’ density limit will be put into place.
Under the new guidelines, venues can open with a cap of 10 seated customers per space – with up to two spaces per venue – and in line with the existing ‘four square metre’ density rule.
The announcement was welcome news for regional Victorian businesses, according to R&amp;CA CEO Wes Lambert.
“This is undoubtedly welcome news to the thousands of regional Victorian hospitality businesses who have been under strict lockdowns despite the fact that case numbers have been virtually at zero”, he said.
However, Lambert noted that more is needed to help businesses across Greater Melbourne, who will be subject to strict lockdowns until at least the end of November.
“R&amp;CA will continue to lobby the Andrews Government and the DHHS for indoor dining to be allowed under step 3 rather than outdoor only,” he said.
The industry association believes that allowing limited indoor dining earlier, as has been done for regional Victoria, will save thousands of businesses and jobs across Melbourne. 
R&amp;CA presents the interests of over 45,000 restaurants, cafes and catering businesses in Australia, with the aim of ensuring owners and operators within the hospitality industry remain profitable and sustainable. 
“While support for our sector is welcome, there is only one way to truly support our sector – and that is to get us open sooner”, Lambert said.  
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The hospitality industry welcomes regional Victoria's reopening

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The federal government’s HomeBuilder program is protecting tradies’ jobs.
A recovery in the number of slabs being poured will be seen as early as the December quarter, says HIA chief economist Tim Reardon.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ lending indicators in July showed dwelling finance commitments for owner occupiers had its strongest monthly growth since January 2009, rising by 9.7 per cent.
This is also the largest month-on-month rise in the history of the series.
According to the Housing Institute of Australia, the number of loans issued for the purchase of residential land has also swelled, with a 30 per cent increase for the second month in a row.
“This will protect employment in the residential building industry and across the economy into 2021”, Reardon said.
Figures from September 9 show loan approvals have risen 12 per cent – 6.3 per cent higher than a year ago.
There had been an “encouraging sign” that HomeBuilder is helping strengthen sentiment even in areas is doesn’t directly target, said Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn.
The recent figures display “the highly effective impact of HomeBuilder in activating demand”, she said.
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HomeBuilder protects tradies' jobs

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On Friday, there was a significant turn out for Ideas Exchange 2014 in Melbourne, an event looking to share ideas on the real estate industry and boost returns for real estate agents. It appears that the 600-odd in attendance were there to find out one thing: How to be successful as a real estate agent. Success, in this context, was largely about increasing commissions to above $300,000 and being renowned in an area.
Of course, there's no one answer to this question. We've compiled the recurrent tips that came from presenters at<a href="https://therealestateproject.com.au/" target="_blank"> Ideas Exchange</a>, including Nelson Alexander's James Keenan, Ray White's Matt Sims, Compton Green's Adrian Butera, Gary Peer and Associates Gary Peer, Hockingstuart's Karen Vogl, Marshall White's James Connell, Barry Plant's James Hatzimoisis, Belle Property's Tim Foote, Williams' Katie Smith, Jellis Craig's Andrew McCann and Fletchers' Jason Salan.
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It's about the people, not about the buildings The strongest theme from every presenter was that succeeding in real estate is far less to do with the physical property itself and far more to do with the people and relationship building. With about 3% of the population transacting (either selling, buying or both) at any one time, with many to become part of this 3% at some point, it's crucial that real estate agents become someone's agent "before" they need one - in the manner that you may have an accountant before actually needing one. This, specifically, was the topic of Adrian Butera presentation, which looked at how to build relationships within a community ahead of time so that when someone does need a real estate agent, they pick you. It may be charitable giving, being personable or having 'stories' to share that put you on mutual ground - but succeeding is far more about being successful with people. Similarly, negotiating and getting on side with the prospective client and buyer is crucial. Foote pointed to a situation where he made the mistake of bringing in high pressure tactics to a fairly well-known businessman in Sydney, after a delay in the signing of a contract, who then reacted unfavourably and did not end up buying. When playing in the upper end of the market, he reminded agents that they'll be dealing with some of the best negotiators in Australia and it's worth keeping this in mind. Part of building relationships is touching base with those you know or have spoken to. A crucial part of maintaining relationships, this leads us in to tip number two. 
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Have systems A CRM is crucial for every real estate agent these days. While it was specifically noted that technology wouldn't be a point of discussion (everyone has a system that works better for them), it's the way this is used that is crucial. Following up with those in these systems, and contacting them regularly is crucial. It was mentioned that the best agents tend to have over 1,000 people in their system. In fact, an expert explained that he once bought a Porsche, some 17 years ago. Since that time, the person who sold him the Porsche has called him regularly, perhaps once every six months, to let him know about new models. He said that if ever does want to buy a Porsche again, then this is who he will buy through. However, systems extend beyond this. Setting up an accountability buddy and a written-down system of KPIs for yourself can be crucial. There should be a required number of people to call, to list and actions to carry out daily to reach the overall goal. Whether this is have an accountability buddy, you need to set targets - and big ones. Write it down and follow up. Don't miss your meetings and keep the structures for each day. Success, in this context, is measurable. 
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Timeliness You need to be telling people what they need to know immediately. If a property sells down their street, don't be waiting until the next week to let them know - be timely and informative. You need to have access to this information. Don't leave getting in touch with a buyer until they've heard news from someone else. For instance, let them know as soon as the contract is conditional, don't wait until it is unconditional to inform them. Show the respect to your clients that demand timely information. If they don't answer their phone, a text will do. Similarly, don't leave other clients waiting. If you are launching an open home, Smith reminded agents how much buyers hate lining up to be admitted to view the property. For anyone who has tried to view several homes on one day, they should be fairly sympathetic to this. Be efficient, and do things when you say you will do them. 
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Look and see what other agents are doing Smith sends a bottle of wine with the image of the property on it, and her business card, on the one year anniversary of their house purchase (even if they weren't her clients!). She also writes a number of handwritten letters each day to send to clients. Other agents get inspiration from viewing other agents' open homes and seeing if there are ideas they can bring into place. Another sends out vouchers to local cafes. Don't be afraid to use other agents' ideas and put them into place. If you want to be the best agent in your area, on any criteria, then you need to know where other agencies sit. 
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<li>Leverage off the skills of others</li>
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Build a strong team around you. Whether it's the idea of an 'accountability buddy', a strategy favoured by Keenan, or a PA (which was heavily recommended by almost everyone on stage who note you should not wait until you're at the commission level you are aiming for before snapping up a good personal assistant), or just choosing a team at your agency if you are a principal, it's crucial to use the skills of others. Do not fear that they will do better than you and show you up - successful agents know that a rising tide lists all ships.
Learn from each other. If something works, use it. If it doesn't, ditch it. Be flexible, agile and ready to try new things to secure listings and boost your sales.
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