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In a rapidly evolving real estate landscape, networks and agents need to adapt to regulatory changes, embrace AI, and build cohesive, values-driven teams.
Leanne Pilkington, the president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA), joined REB’s managing editor, Liam Garman, to delve into pressing matters faced in the real estate industry.
Pilkington, who is also the CEO of Laing+Simmons, discussed upcoming industry reforms, AI adoption, and team culture, urging real estate leaders to embrace change, educate agents, and align values for industry growth.
Ahead of the new Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) reforms, Pilkington deemed money laundering and financing terrorism serious and systematic issues.
The tranche of AML/CTF reforms is set to be rolled out across the country from 1 July 2026, with Australia being one of the last nations to implement the changes.
Businesses will need to hire compliance officers, particularly bigger companies that conduct a higher number of transactions.
In addition, agents will be required to fill out a suspicious matter report if consumers fail to answer certain questions.
“There needs to be a lot more education for agents in general and for consumers as well, because the consumers are the ones that the agents are going to be asking the questions of,” Pilkington said.
The emergence of AI has also created the dilemma of how to best use the technology within the real estate industry.
Pilkington said that, rather than obtaining advice from AI, people need to put the tool into action and implement it into their workflows.
“That’s where everybody seems to be a little bit uncertain as to how to best roll that out,” she said.
She said that when employees successfully increase automation, the time gained from doing so should be spent on developing relationships and having conversations with clients.
“There’s a very fine line between using the automation and the AI in the best possible way to give you the time to build those relationships and, or stepping back away from it and just going, OK, it’s all taken care of,” she said.
Nevertheless, she encouraged property managers to embrace AI and be open to the possibilities of the technology and automation.
“Our property managers need to be brave enough to learn it and implement it and not be worried that they’re going to lose their job,” Pilkington said.
“Because the reality is, if you resist it and if you don’t embrace it, potentially you will lose your job.”
Finally, in the real estate and property industry, individuals are faced with the challenge of balancing their personal ambitions with the need to work in a cohesive team.
Pilkington said that to have a highly efficient team, it’s essential for leaders to understand their employees and their motivations.
“Everyone’s different. They’re all motivated by different things; they all want to achieve different things. And as a leader, you need to understand your people,” she said.
“We use a lot of behavioural profiling tools to understand ourselves better and help us understand how we communicate in conflict.”
Additionally, she said that leaders must communicate their vision clearly to employees, outlining the kind of team they aim to build.
“When hiring, ensure you’re selecting individuals who share your values. First, define your values and non-negotiables, and then communicate them effectively,” Pilkington said.
“You’ve got to be consistent with those values. Mission and vision, and values were all a bit ‘woohoo’ a few years ago. But it is incredibly important that everybody is on the same page.”
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