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With the next federal election on the horizon, real estate leaders are aligning on the issues that matter most to the industry.
The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) gathered industry professionals from across the country in a hybrid live and online event hosted in Hobart on Monday, 18 October, to unveil a policy agenda intended to unite the sector around a core strategy.
Titled “Getting Real: Policy priorities for Australia’s real estate agencies and agents”, it includes six core issues REIA has identified as integral to the industry’s health. With the federal election looming, REIA is encouraging agents to get behind these policy initiatives:
- Urgently addressing national property manager shortages through an innovative new national mentorship program.
- Securing bi-partisan commitment on a national plan for housing supply and affordability and forming a national council of housing ministers under national cabinet.
- Phasing out stamp duty nationally.
- Increasing holistic first home buyer support, including advocating for free financial planning for Australians under 30.
- Releasing a white paper on the role of blockchain technology for Aussie real estate agents.
- Pulling more policy levers to encourage more “rightsizing” as Australia’s population ages.
REIA president Adrian Kelly said the plan was based on months of research and consultation by state and territory institutes and agreed upon earlier in the year during the inaugural Strategic Policy Forum held in Darwin in June.
Mr Kelly said the newly unveiled plan was tailored to address the industry’s core aims of promoting “trusted real estate agents, fair real estate markets and prosperous real estate businesses”.
He outlined how the state and territory institutes had agreed on the need to align on a strategy to:
- Drive real estate listings over the short and long term.
- Defend against draconian regulation and compliance.
- Support confidence and trust in real estate agents and markets.
- Attack immediate reputational or economic threats.
- Plan for big picture strategic issues to secure agencies a profitable future.
“In the lead up to the next federal election, it’s time to get real about real estate policy and help agents do what they do best – help Australians into homes,” Mr Kelly said.
He noted that recent history had proved the industry’s ability to rally around important issues.
“The COVID-19 pandemic and the 2019 negative gearing campaign that reached 11 million voters showed the strength of Australian real estate agents when we unite as a business community,” he said.
“Getting real sets the agenda for real estate in Canberra, drives reform and shapes funding opportunities in future federal budgets.”
The federal Minister for housing, Michael Sukkar, was virtually presented with a copy of the institute’s strategic plan during Monday’s launch.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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