Login
iscover
Laing+Simmons managing director Leanne Pilkington said that she’d like to see less use of housing for political point scoring in 2019, and replace it with a greater focus on genuine housing policy.
Ms Pilkington said that the politicking is creating a lose-lose situation.
“Stamp duty is prohibitive to housing turnover, which in turn is prohibitive to the amount of revenue [the] government collects from property, which has created the lose-lose situation we find ourselves in,” she told REB.
“The NSW government’s recent announcement that it will index stamp duty to an outdated set of tax brackets is nothing but an attempt to curry favour with consumers.”
But Ms Pilkington said that there is still time.
“The opportunity for genuine reform when it comes to stamp duty still exists as an opportunity waiting for [the] government to capitalise on. Or, to put it in language that resonate with politicians, there would be votes in it.”
Ms Pilkington also said that she’d like to see less moping and less ego among agents.
“Real estate is all about helping consumers achieve their property goals, so as agents we need to re-focus on people and less on ourselves.
“Yes, the environment for agents is tough at present. But the industry has also enjoyed good times in recent years. You can easily tell real estate agents who enthusiastically embrace the challenges of the current market from those who lament how much harder it is to strike a deal.”
Let’s be positive, she said.
On the flip side, Ms Pilkington said that she’d like to see more agents embracing professionalism.
“We need more agents to continue to embrace the concept of professionalism and everything that it means, and tied to this, we need greater government support for the industry’s efforts to embrace professionalism.
“In recent times, we’ve seen NSW Fair Trading attempt to de-license auctioneers, a move it has thankfully abandoned, but one that demonstrates the urgent need for industry to develop a cooperative and constructive relationship with a regulatory authority that has real competencies in — and an understanding of — real estate.”
She also said that a greater willingness to accept change would be useful.
“Change is coming to the industry in various forms, including the push for stricter regulations and the onset of new technology such as artificial intelligence,” Ms Pilkington said.
“It will necessitate more innovation. Customer expectations are changing, and increasing, so the industry needs to continually innovate to meet and exceed what customers consider great service. This is the main driver behind artificial intelligence solutions in real estate, but it’s important to remember this is a people-first business.”
Newsletter
