November 10, 2025 • 31 mins
0:00 - LocalAgentFinder's Impact on Real Estate Success
07:24 - Strategies for Selling Real Estate Before and After Holidays
12:23 - Making Real Estate Decisions Amid Interest Rate Uncertainty
18:03 - Building Trust and Integrity in Real Estate Listings
29:39 - Real Estate Strategies and Holiday Preparations in Australia
Guests:
✅Kon Stathopoulos — Principal at McGrath - Parramatta, leading over 300 agents across 32 offices.
✅David Walker — Principal at Ray White Upper North Shore, consistently ranked among the top performers in Australia.
*I am a @LocalAgentFinder sponsored ambassador: https://www.localagentfinder.com.au/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tom Panos (00:00):
What a powerhouse we've got here.
Constaphopolis.
Wow.
David Walker.
Listen, if you wanted to getrid of the industry in New South
Wales, you'd knock these twopeople out because between the
two of them, they've got so manyheavy hitters there.
Warwick, good to see you aswell.
And you know what I'm excitedabout?
(00:21):
I'm excited about when I seethat local agent finder logo
back again, red and white, back.
We know what we're all about.
Helping consumers find theiragent, and in turn, agents find
their listings.
And both these two gentlemenare very, very strong users of
(00:42):
your service and have been in.
If I can remember, it was Conthat said you should have a chat
with Tom.
And then we met at HungryGrasshopper with at the time
Richard.
And um yeah, and I'm glad thatit's back.
And and David, by the way,David, congratulations.
I believe you continue to holdthe title in that great group of
(01:07):
the Ray White group, number onearound the world.
How many officers you got now?
Uh we're we've got ten Tom.
Okay.
Con, how many how many of yougot how many up North Shore?
How many you got, Con?
Seven.
Seven.
Can I ask both of yougentlemen, are you participating
in a super Saturday in January?
(01:29):
Are you doing the Boxing Daysoft launch or you're not doing
it this year?
Kon Stathopoulos (01:34):
Well, um, we we kind of brought it to the
market, so we're absolutelydoing it.
Uh so we we had 149 this year,and our goal is 200 auctions on
January the 31st, launched onBoxing Day.
We've already got, I think, 25or 30 listed, so yeah, it's
gonna be a big one for us.
Tom Panos (01:54):
Yeah, well, I've got to say to you that um this
morning at actually at thatcafe, uh Vendor said to me, uh,
Tom, um, I'm putting my home onthe market on the 20.
He said to me, he wanted tobook me for an auction.
He I said, You do it throughthe agent.
(02:15):
He's actually going withMcGrath, so there's a chance I
might not be doing it becauseMcGrath, I I mean, like I do, if
I've got to do them, we dothem.
But he said to me, I said tohim, Why are you doing it in
February?
And I said, Wouldn't you comeback when the buyers come back,
not when the vendors come back?
And he said, say that again.
I said, Wouldn't you be comingback when the buyers come back,
(02:36):
not when other vendors comeback?
And he said, Yeah.
He said, when do the buyerscome back?
I said, they come back on the26th of December.
I said, they're not around onthe 20th of December, but
they're there on the 26th ofDecember.
He goes, Oh no, they'rephysically not there.
I said, no, they're not therephysically, but they're
scrolling there.
They're scrolling there, right?
So um Yeah, Dave, do you do doyou do the same or no?
David Walker (03:04):
We don't at the moment.
Um, I've been watching ConsBusiness.con and I good mates.
We um I've been seeing thesuccess that they've had with
it.
I um we generally launch thingsuh early January um and try and
give ourselves a little bit ofa break over the Christmas
period, but I can see thebenefits in doing it.
Tom Panos (03:23):
Okay.
So, gentlemen, um thisobviously is a top-of-mind
awareness to everyone that localagent finder is back as local
agent finder.
But in addition to that, to letyou know some of the scripts
and dialogues and responses thatthese great thought leaders
(03:44):
would have um hearing this timeof the year.
So I just want to, and by theway, can I ask you both, what do
you both love about local ageof primer?
That's a good question.
Kon Stathopoulos (03:59):
Dave, you want to get you wanna kick off?
David Walker (04:01):
Uh we we've we've been using it for years, and I I
must say I'm not we're notgetting paid for this, so we're
not here to we're not here to umuse any sort of pay.
I'm definitely not okay.
I'll I'll I'll talk about thatafter a bit.
No, we've been I've been um asa business, we've been using
local agent finder for yearsnow.
I wouldn't even know, probablyseven, eight years.
(04:24):
Um and it's good because we aregetting leads generally from
people who we don't haverelationships with.
So it's people out in themarket that might be making a
decision pretty quickly.
Um there's not too many peoplethat have good relationships
with agents that uh are thenjumping onto this unless they're
just getting a a sort of anoverview of the marketplace.
(04:46):
But um we use it because we seeit as a good source of
qualified people who are aboutto sell their home.
Kon Stathopoulos (04:53):
Beautiful.
Bom?
Tom, we've been uh we've beenclients of local agent finder
for many, many years.
And uh mirroring what uh Davidsaid, what we love about uh our
relationship with local agentfinder is that it uh
particularly for the agents thatdon't have a start in a market,
local agent finder gives them astart, and then they can go on
(05:13):
and leverage that and build youknow the relationships and their
market share in that community.
And we had a great case studyof Kim McCleary, one of our
partners, uh, that uh five yearsago got one lead in Kings
Langley uh out in the uh thewestern suburbs of Sydney.
And um she was writing about400k at the time.
She writes under two million,just under two million right
(05:34):
now.
She's become a partner in thebusiness and has 40 plus market,
40% plus market share in KingsLangley, and it all started from
one local agent finder lead.
So if you if you run theprocess uh and you're open to uh
you know sharing a little bitof your commission as a
once-off, and you can really,you know, basically get a good
run-in.
Tom Panos (05:54):
And con the paying the local agent finder their
fee, they only get paid a feewhen you get more or less 80% of
the fee.
Like, that's probably it's it'sone of the few businesses that
are suppliers to the industrythat you only pay on success.
Like, we can't do that with ouryou know, our brochures, we
(06:15):
can't do that with uh withrealestate.com, we can't do that
with any of our marketing.
We can't say, hey, if we getpaid, we'll pay our bill, right?
With these guys, you only payif you get paid, right?
Kon Stathopoulos (06:29):
Correct.
And I and I think sometimesthat can be the mental stumbling
block for some agents.
They don't want to have to payfor a lead.
I don't look at it like that.
It's an investment intobuilding a relationship that
starts conversations in yourcommunity that give you the
ability to open something up ona Saturday and meet buyers and
you know start that leverageprocess.
So, no, we're we're we're bigfans of local agent finder.
(06:49):
Warwick's been an absolutegentleman to deal with and the
team there, and um, we're wewe'll continue that relationship
for a long time.
Tom Panos (06:57):
Warwick is local.
In my eyes, Warwick is localagent finder.
Right?
In fact, if they should haveactually just changed it to
Warwick instead of Rummer.
They would have they would havehad a better run.
But listen, listen, gentlemen,gentlemen, gentlemen, I want to
ask you, you know, some of thethings that we're hearing at the
moment from the marketplacefrom prospective vendors is I'm
(07:20):
not ready to sell right now.
We'll wait till afterChristmas.
And just curious, what's theresponse that you know you're
instructing your team or whatare your good agents saying
there?
Because, you know, I know a lotof the times that these vendors
that come back after Christmasdo put it on the market, but
(07:41):
they might change their mind onwho they're going to give it to
over Christmas.
They talk to they talk to a lotof people, they might speak to
the butcher who's their unclethat tells them, listen to me,
I'll tell you who to give it to,right?
Um, so what's the responsethere, gentlemen?
David Walker (07:58):
I um I think this time of year is fantastic
because there's a deadline.
So if you're a person wantingto sell in the market, we'll go
on to start by saying you can'tforce somebody to sell when
they're not ready to sell.
So it's people who are on thefence about selling that that
may or may not, if you canpersuade them, if you can give
them a good reason to.
Um, this time of year, we'vewe've got still four to five
(08:20):
weeks of good selling.
There's sort of six five, sixSaturdays um before we get to
Christmas.
So if you're thinking aboutselling, um, the buyers in the
marketplace right now, the poolof buyers that are there, they
want to make a decision beforeChristmas.
Whereas once you get intoFebruary, March, people sort of
go, okay, we've got time now.
But buyers want to make adecision because they either
want to get kids into schoolzones or they just want to get
(08:42):
it wrapped up by the end of theyear so they can be in for the
summer holidays and unpack whilethey're on their own holidays.
So people are wanting to makedecisions now.
Whereas I find January,February, most buyers are kind
of brand new to the market orthey're they're going to give
themselves some time to startlooking.
So there's not as much urgency.
But also on the flip side, ifyou are wondering where are you
(09:03):
going to go if you sell, thistime of year there's far more
stock on the market becausethere's more buyers in the
market.
And so there's more choice foryou as a seller of where to go.
Whereas January, February,there's not as much stock on the
market as what you find now.
So at the moment, and thenpeople that are on the fence and
not really wanting to activelyput their property on the
market, we're still saying tothem, let's get photos, let's
(09:24):
get floor plan, because the poolof buyers that are buying right
now, what if I could bring youa buyer to your house, Mr.
and Mrs.
Seller, and get you an abovemarket price that you'd be
really happy with with termsyou're happy with.
So let's get the marketing outof the way.
And then if you do findsomething in the next few weeks,
we can throw it on and get itsold.
Or worst case scenario, we'reready to go in January.
Tom Panos (09:45):
Okay.
What I'm going to do is I'mgoing to share my screen,
everyone.
Can I give you the heads up?
This is a time to get yourphone ready to take a capture of
a shot.
I'm going to give you the exactscript, word for word, that
David more or less said, but Iknow what people are like.
Can you say that again?
Well, we'll give it to youright now.
So we're waiting until afterChristmas, the holidays.
(10:10):
Here's your response.
So if you can take a quicksnapshot of that, I completely
understand.
Everyone wants to enjoy theholidays.
The thing is, most sellerswait, which means that when
everyone comes in on in January,you're competing with a flood
of listings.
Right now, Sierra Sprise isstill active and there's less
competition.
Would you be open to me showingwhat it looks like to have your
(10:30):
campaign ready?
So take a photo of that there.
But in addition to that, justin Tompanos lingo, I can say one
of the things that you'd sayis, listen, I think that's a
good idea.
I think you should actually doit next year.
But how open would you be toactually not talking about
selling next year?
I'm not even talking aboutlaunching.
(10:52):
Um, I'm talking about we listnow and we launch later.
Because what it does, we putyour listing in our little top
pocket, no one's not to knowanymore, someone that's sitting
there at home scrolling onBoxing Day, or, you know, at
some point sees your home, andwhat we do is we can get their
(11:12):
attention.
Conn, is there anything else?
That was a good response, bythe way, David.
Is there any anything else thatyou can add extend on that?
Kon Stathopoulos (11:20):
Well, I think um that's why David's, you know,
at the top of his game in uh inhis in his market and in the
industry.
But I think you're absolutelyright.
Going back to what uh Davesaid, um uh the best time to
list is when they're ready.
Our job is to be able toqualify and be able to, you
know, de-risk them pickinganother agent over us.
So it's about using strategyand innovation to be able to
(11:41):
secure the listing, take it offthe market.
And it's you know, go now, golater, get ready now, go later.
It's you know, off market,pre-market, soft launch.
It's super Saturday, launch onboxing day.
We get to pick up all thebuyers that missed out at you
know, in 2025.
We get the new flood of buyerslooking at 2026.
You beat the market by gettingyour property uh live before
(12:04):
anyone else and on the market.
And we normally, you know, getuh 30% extra uh open attendees
and you know at least 60% moreviews on the portal.
So for me, it's all aboutensuring that you you're using
strategy, innovation, but you'rereally you know closing to take
it off the market from anyoneelse taking it.
Tom Panos (12:23):
Okay.
Beautifully said, Connell.
I want to move on to the oneabout interest rates.
There's people saying this.
And interest rates have been abit topical lately because on
the 29th, when they announcedthe inflation figures, they
didn't go to plan.
So now all of a sudden they'retalking about rates uh actually
not going down at the rest ofthis year and potentially not
(12:44):
even going down next year.
But you and I all know thatmedia changes by the week.
We could be, you know, there'ssome big event happens next week
and they're saying, oh no,rates are going to drop again.
But let's see, uh well, let'swait till interest rates drop.
What I might do is I've got a sI've actually got a slide for
that as well.
(13:04):
So those of you that would liketo take photos of exact scripts
and dialogues, we'll wait tillinterest rates drop.
The challenge is when ratesdrop, demand surges.
That means when buy more buyerscompeting, but also means more
sellers are entering the market.
If you wait, you'll likely buyand sell in a hotter market,
meaning you're paying more foryour next home too.
(13:25):
Sometimes the best move is totransact in the same market.
So I think for nearly anyonethat's buying and selling in the
same market, particularly forthose that are actually moving
up to the next price point, it'sactually, you know, making a
decision based on a temporarything like rates is not the
right thing because in realestate, and I always use that
(13:48):
term, people date interestrates, but they marry the
property.
The relationship, you know,rates are going to go up and
down at a 20-year relationship,a 30-year relationship that
you've got with your with yourmortgage.
Um, so I just think you I don'tI don't know, guys.
I've I've never understoodpeople making a decision based
(14:10):
on rates and the market.
Because if you're buying andselling, why wouldn't you make a
decision based on your life?
Right?
Not based on a factor thatmeans that you're going to be in
a revenue neutral positionanyway.
But what what do you what whatwhat is a team what's your
response to that where clientssay, oh, we don't know what's
(14:31):
happening with rates?
Kon Stathopoulos (14:32):
We um we see this in our market a lot, Tom.
So we're in obviously fromParramatta to Blacktown, Castle
Hill, Rouse Hill, EppingBeecroft, the Hawks breed.
So, you know, it's reallyinteresting.
I think uh I had a very, very,very good mentor very early on
in life that said to me that uhemotion opens the heart, logic
opens the mind.
(14:52):
And I think when we go downthat path of talking about
something that, first of all,we're not in control of,
secondly, we can't impact orinfluence, and thirdly, people
are they're making long-termdecisions based on short
short-term circumstances.
So, I mean, we saw this lastweekend, we had a bidder that uh
didn't want to make a bidbecause they were a little bit
(15:13):
unsure about where what wasgonna happen with the inflation
figures.
And I said, but your financeapproved right now and you're
ready to go right now, yes.
Are you worried about what therates are at 2038?
So we can't make decisionsbased on what's gonna happen in
the future.
We can make back goals.
You can make decisions based onwhat's happening right now.
So for me, it's about disarmingthe emotion and applying the
(15:35):
logic.
Okay, it's just like the samethe same person that would say,
Oh, I can't buy this one.
Why is that?
My couch won't fit.
Buy a new couch, mate.
Do you know what I mean?
Tom Panos (15:44):
Yeah.
Kon Stathopoulos (15:44):
But what we've got to be able to do is just
kind of see through theobjection, become masters at
being able to read the play, um,disarming the emotion, applying
the logic, and making it a verysimple and easy way for people
to transact.
And I think that that's that'sthat's the that's the key that
I'm saying it from the bestoperators.
Tom Panos (16:04):
There's a lot of listen, Con, there's a lot of
faulty.
You know, I think about it, wetake it as a given, but I think
a lot of people have got faultythinking, and the job of a real
estate agent is to nudge thatthinking for them to look at it
in the proper perspective.
Example, there was an incidenta few weeks ago where I was
(16:25):
shocked that the vendor says, Inever thought about that.
Listen to what it was.
It was like, I'm gonna take itoff the market, and I reckon
within two years the market willpick up and then we'll get our
price, and then we'll go up andbuy the other property.
And I said, Are you gonna put alay buy on the other property?
And he goes, No.
(16:46):
And I go, so the other one'sgonna not go up and yours will
go up.
No, he goes, the other one willgo up.
And I said, so you basicallyyou'll be in the same situation.
And he goes, Oh yeah, I neverthought about that.
And I said, It's even worse.
You're actually gonna be stuckhere for three years and you
don't want to be, right?
So um, so a lot of people havefaulty thinking, Dave, is there
anything you want to extend oradd to that?
David Walker (17:09):
Oh, I I I agree with what you what you both just
said.
That the funny thing aboutinterest rates, it's it's all, I
think, um, it's a shot in thearm.
And so interest rates droprealistically, it doesn't mean
that all these buyers jump backinto the market or people that
weren't going to buy startbuying.
It's just the papers have acouple of days of a cycle.
So I say to anybody, look, ifinterest rates drop, that's one
(17:32):
thing, and obviously it's greatbecause you can save a bit on
your mortgage, butrealistically, you want a market
stable.
So if interest rates don't goup or don't go down, we we can
actually predict the market fareasier.
If the interest rates drop, wedon't know how much it's going
to surge, whether it's going tosurge.
So you can make decisions basedon things you don't know.
Whereas we know if interestrates stay stable, which they
(17:53):
look like they will now nextmonth, we can make decisions
based on what we already know.
So as an agent in a neutralmarket, at least we can make
decisions based on fact.
Tom Panos (18:03):
Okay, well said.
I already have an agent inmind, right?
I already have an agent inmind, and this comes up, you
know, like and I have to say, italso comes, you know, sometimes
you go to a listingpresentation and an agent
already has a pre-existingrelationship with an agent, but
they cheekily might call anothercouple out to sort of say,
(18:25):
let's just see what they charge,because I want to keep my close
mate honest.
I'll see what the others aregoing to charge.
But um any great response thatyou've got for when you're
you're talking to a client andthey say, I sort of got an agent
that I have in mind.
David Walker (18:44):
Sorry, the one thing I I I I you go, David.
Uh one one thing I would saynot to do is actually talk
another agent down.
I had an agent in my areayesterday knock on the door of a
vendor I've got listed andtried to talk negatively about
me.
Now that agent, the vendorcouldn't believe it and has
(19:05):
already gone and told all theirfriends how disgusted they were
with that person.
So the one thing you shouldn'tbe doing is ever talking down
another agent.
So that's the one thing I'dstart with.
But all I'd say is, is there achance for me to throw my hat in
the ring?
Fully respect loyalty, fullyrespect you've got a
relationship.
But we've got some good runs onthe board, love to have a chat
with you.
There's an opportunity.
Tom Panos (19:26):
Beautiful.
Kon Stathopoulos (19:27):
In fact, uh David, Kine, if you've got
anything to extend, I've justthis I just think I think this
is this is all about workingwith class.
Okay, there's an expectationthat we're gonna we're gonna
chase every single listing andand whatnot.
We forget about therelationships that people have.
So from my perspective, youknow, obviously do your job by
(19:48):
asking whether or not they'reopen to a you know another
opinion or a fresh opinion or umor a different strategy that
might get them the you knowsold.
But uh I think the people thatwork with class are the ones
that end up winning.
Con.
Tom Panos (20:01):
Couldn't agree more than the minute, the minute I
have anyone that bags anyone,the first thing I think to
myself, you're jealous.
That's my instant reaction.
I think to myself, for you tosay that, there's something that
really, really bugs you, right?
Um, and I automatically, in mymind, decrease the
(20:26):
attractiveness of that person.
I'm not talking about, I'm notjust talking about real estate.
I'm talking about any person.
Jealousy is a terriblecharacteristic of people.
Kon Stathopoulos (20:36):
You're also going to play the long game with
this, Tom, right?
So from my perspective, do youknow how many transactions we do
with our competitors?
We do conjunction agencyagreements because vendors want
to work with both.
So I look at it and I go,you're shortening the longevity
of your reputation in yourmarket.
You're also canceling out anypotential future revenue income.
(20:57):
You're essentially positioningyourself as a as a as an
unclassy agent and human being,but also just be a good human
being.
This is a very simple business.
It's not an easy business, butyou know, I would love to do a
conjunction with one of mycompetitors if that's going to
be the best outcome for theclient.
Rather than chasing theoutcome, let's just do the right
(21:18):
thing.
And I know I'm being a littlebit philosophical and holistic,
but the reality is good peoplethat do good things have a lot
of good that happens to them.
So don't over-engineer this.
Let's not try to, you know,just kind of sniper everything
and everyone.
Let's just get in there and seewhat's the best outcome for the
client.
I'd love to help you, Tom.
(21:38):
I'd love nothing more than tobe able to give you my opinion
and maybe a fresh approach on adifferent strategy that might
get you a better result.
But look, if you're reallyhappy with David, David's a
really good guy.
We've done some work before.
I'll leave you in great hands.
It's not that hard.
David Walker (21:52):
There's some comm.
And also I was so go, David.
I was just going to say, and Ithink everyone now sees through
the whole I've got a buyer.
I know you've listed, you'reabout to listen with someone,
but I've got a buyer I want toshow through.
Everyone just sees through thatnow.
It's just, it's the it's thelaziest way of trying to win a
listing.
That's the I think what mostagents think.
I'm going to tell somebody I'vegot a buyer and then I've got
(22:13):
to come up with somebody to takethrough there.
Um, like I if if you if you'vegot a buyer, then contact their
agent that they've alreadychosen.
Or but actually, if you want towin a listing over an agent,
give some good reasons whyyou've got a point of difference
and how you're actually goingto do the client uh the the the
best service.
Um but I think if you justthrow get get an opportunity to
throw your hat in the ring andsay, I'll give you another
(22:35):
opinion, it's gonna take me 20minutes.
Um, the worst you can get is ano.
Um, and I'd really appreciateit.
You had a great house, and Iactually think the agent that
you've chosen is a really goodperson, so good luck with it.
If it doesn't work out, um, andI'm sure it will, but if it
doesn't give me a call.
You know what, you know what,Dave?
Kon Stathopoulos (22:52):
Uh I heard a vendor say to a competitor,
competing agent, um, um, and thevendor actually ended up
picking us, um, that said, youknow, that the the agent said,
I've got a buyer, and he goes,Well, that would I I I would
expect you to have a buyer,you're a real estate agent,
right?
So that's the first thing.
The second thing is, right, um,is but buyers don't follow real
(23:13):
estate agents, they vo theyfollow property.
So there's no one that's got asecret little buyer in their
pocket that that they can shieldwith an invisible force field
around every other listing.
So when you actually bring itback to you, it sounds
ridiculous, doesn't it?
I've got a buyer.
Oh, what about I've got astrategy that I can prove to you
in 20 minutes if you give methe opportunity that will
(23:35):
deliver you an above marketpremium price?
Would that be okay for me to beable to share that with you?
Tom Panos (23:40):
That's beautifully, that's beautifully said, and
you're you're spot on.
In fact, I don't think it's abad idea to actually say to the
Vendor, the Bendor that says,you know, about an agent having
a buyer saying, Hey, listen, Iwant to ask you, Mr.
Vendor, when you bought thishouse, did you go to one real
estate agent and say, I'm notgonna look with anyone else.
(24:02):
I won't look on realestate.com,I won't look at the main, I
will only look with you, even ifthere's other properties out
there.
Did you do that?
The minute you say that tothem, they'll realize how false
that comment is, and it normallycomes from a false Freddie.
Talking about agent rivalry andyou know people bagging others,
(24:23):
something weird happened on onTuesday.
I think, David, you might evenknow him.
I've got a client called AndrewHarding at Darwin, right?
And I hadn't seen him in ages.
He owns Ray White at Darwin,right?
And he dropped me off to theoffice called uh Real Estate
Central, which is so Real EstateCentral and Ray White Darwin
(24:45):
are the two biggest offices inDarwin.
They control the market.
So he's the principal there,and he drops me off and he says,
I go, thanks.
Because you the reason hedropped me off, it was 40
degrees heat in Darwin, right?
So he's dropped me off there,and I've walked in and he's
followed me in.
I go, Are you coming in?
He goes, Yeah.
And then he goes, I just comein and say, Hi to guys, and I
(25:06):
just get myself a drink.
It's bloody hot out there.
He walked into the office as ifhe was a salesperson, and I go,
Hey, there's Harding.
How are you, bro?
And they're fist pumping there.
And he walked in straight intothe kitchen, and I thought to
myself, that doesn't happen inthe metro metro areas.
Like, you you I mean, ifanything, you feel like having a
(25:26):
slingshot at a guy if they'reacross the road, right?
But I think you can besuccessful, you can have a good
life and get on with competitorsif they're decent people.
David Walker (25:37):
That that's the way it should be, Tom.
Like, that's so what we con andI talk about this all the time.
Like, in theory, on paper, Conand I shouldn't like each other
from what real estate was like10 years ago, but we're best of
mates because we we're doing thesame stuff, we go through the
same things, we've got the sameproblems, we've got the same
wins.
So we're we we probably, as yousaid earlier, um, if you've got
(26:00):
a chip on your shoulder, you'regonna look at other people that
are having success and getjealous.
Whereas if people in mymarketplace that are doing well,
I look at them going, good onyou, like you're working hard
and you're doing well, andthat's great.
And um, and you know what, likeyou look at everyone else
around our industry.
There's people doing well,people that are struggling.
Um, you want to help the peoplestruggling, but you've got to
look at the people doing welland going, I I applaud you.
(26:22):
You might not be the style ofagent that I would list with,
but you're doing well in yourmarketplace, so good on you.
And that's the way our industryshould be.
Kon Stathopoulos (26:31):
I think the other thing is too, is if you're
um you're allowing yourcompetitors to kind of you know
take you know, rent space inyour brain, you're already
letting them win.
So I don't look at competitionas a competitor.
There I'm in my lane, I'mfocusing on what I can control.
Um, and you know, good luck toyou.
If you get that listing, man,we weren't good enough this time
around, but hopefully we'lllearn from it, we'll become
(26:53):
better.
And I think also we we tend toplay the short game.
You want longevity in thisindustry, you've got to have
great relationships, you've gotto have a great reputation
that's bulletproof uh withwithin the agent community and
the agency community, but alsowith obviously the community
too.
So I don't know how it servesyou to, you know, I hate David
Walker because he's what he'sRay White or he's in my market.
(27:16):
Mate, good luck to Dave.
Let him run his own race, yourun your own race.
David Walker (27:20):
Oh my god.
Actually, you it it were youwork better if you actually like
your competitors because whenyou when you lose a listing, you
don't go, I lost it becausethey did a cheaper fee, or they
must have overquoted, you go,they they beat me because they
were better, they're a goodperson, I've got to be better
next time.
Spot on.
Tom Panos (27:39):
I think you either look at life in with eyes of
abundance, or you look at lifewith eyes of scarcity.
Scarcity is about being azero-sum game.
Basically saying is if mycompetitor wins, I lose.
Whereas the reality is if youturn around and look at
(27:59):
abundance and say they can makemoney their way, I can make
money my way, and we're allhappy, right?
Um you don't have to you knowhave someone lose for you to
win.
Now, as people have beenwatching this, if you're feeling
inclined that you'd like to geta few catch and kill extra
(28:24):
listings a month that uh you'renot getting, um thank you,
Susan.
She's read my mind.
That is the link there,localagentfinder.com.au, and I
would suggest that um you hadzero to lose.
Think about it.
What have you got to loseexcept get a listing?
(28:44):
The way the deal works is youget 80% of the fee.
Local agent finder gets 20% ofthe fee.
We always know the hardest bitis getting the lead, and it is
maxed out at around five grand.
Is that right, Warrick?
Yeah, 4,750.
4,750.
(29:05):
And uh, Warwick, thank you forputting on this event today.
We're obviously trying toencourage everyone to understand
what local agent finder isdoing, and we've got two of the
best real estate thought leadersin Australia supporting it.
And in addition to that, I'mgonna remind everyone that
Christmas is on the 25th ofDecember, not the 25th of
(29:26):
October, not the 25th ofNovember.
And the reason I say it is wehave a lot of nine-month agents
in Australia, uh, particularlyin Victoria.
You know, Melbourne Cup's here,sun's out, guns out, life's
good, we'll come back afterAustralia Day.
Listen, there are peopletransacting.
I'm not a big fan of auctionson the 20th of December, right?
(29:49):
Just in previous years.
But up until the 20th ofDecember, right?
Up until the 20th of December,people want to do gills.
And I've got to say, team.
There is no better feeling inreal estate from what agents
tell me when they go on breakand they know that they're
coming back to stock that'ssecured, that they're going to
(30:10):
launch, and they're not going tocome back with the belt on
their stomach being tight.
It's going to be tight.
Everyone puts on one to two,three, or K's over the summer in
Australia, New Zealand.
But you want to come back withyour belt a bit tight, but you
want to come back with listingsthat are launching.
And you know what?
That's happening right nowbecause there's a special rule
(30:31):
in real estate.
It's called the 30-day rule.
And it says that what you do inthis 30 days affects the next
90 days.
2026 has already started,ladies and gentlemen.
Warwick, thank you.
David Walker will be seeing youin Byron at some point over
Christmas.
Now that you're a part-timelocal and Constathopolis, thanks
(30:57):
again.
I still remember Con the day hejoined McGrath many, many, many
years ago.
And John McGrath goes to me.
I said, Well, he's greet,that's a start.
David Walker (31:15):
We're still accusing John, we're still
hoping.
Kon Stathopoulos (31:18):
I'm trying, still learning, still learning.
Always have a great Christmas,everyone.
What a powerhouse we've got here.
Constaphopolis.
Wow.
David Walker.
Listen, if you wanted to getrid of the industry in New South
Wales, you'd knock these twopeople out because between the
two of them, they've got so manyheavy hitters there.
Warwick, good to see you aswell.
And you know what I'm excitedabout?
(00:21):
I'm excited about when I seethat local agent finder logo
back again, red and white, back.
We know what we're all about.
Helping consumers find theiragent, and in turn, agents find
their listings.
And both these two gentlemenare very, very strong users of
(00:42):
your service and have been in.
If I can remember, it was Conthat said you should have a chat
with Tom.
And then we met at HungryGrasshopper with at the time
Richard.
And um yeah, and I'm glad thatit's back.
And and David, by the way,David, congratulations.
I believe you continue to holdthe title in that great group of
(01:07):
the Ray White group, number onearound the world.
How many officers you got now?
Uh we're we've got ten Tom.
Okay.
Con, how many how many of yougot how many up North Shore?
How many you got, Con?
Seven.
Seven.
Can I ask both of yougentlemen, are you participating
in a super Saturday in January?
(01:29):
Are you doing the Boxing Daysoft launch or you're not doing
it this year?
Kon Stathopoulos (01:34):
Well, um, we we kind of brought it to the
market, so we're absolutelydoing it.
Uh so we we had 149 this year,and our goal is 200 auctions on
January the 31st, launched onBoxing Day.
We've already got, I think, 25or 30 listed, so yeah, it's
gonna be a big one for us.
Tom Panos (01:54):
Yeah, well, I've got to say to you that um this
morning at actually at thatcafe, uh Vendor said to me, uh,
Tom, um, I'm putting my home onthe market on the 20.
He said to me, he wanted tobook me for an auction.
He I said, You do it throughthe agent.
(02:15):
He's actually going withMcGrath, so there's a chance I
might not be doing it becauseMcGrath, I I mean, like I do, if
I've got to do them, we dothem.
But he said to me, I said tohim, Why are you doing it in
February?
And I said, Wouldn't you comeback when the buyers come back,
not when the vendors come back?
And he said, say that again.
I said, Wouldn't you be comingback when the buyers come back,
(02:36):
not when other vendors comeback?
And he said, Yeah.
He said, when do the buyerscome back?
I said, they come back on the26th of December.
I said, they're not around onthe 20th of December, but
they're there on the 26th ofDecember.
He goes, Oh no, they'rephysically not there.
I said, no, they're not therephysically, but they're
scrolling there.
They're scrolling there, right?
So um Yeah, Dave, do you do doyou do the same or no?
David Walker (03:04):
We don't at the moment.
Um, I've been watching ConsBusiness.con and I good mates.
We um I've been seeing thesuccess that they've had with
it.
I um we generally launch thingsuh early January um and try and
give ourselves a little bit ofa break over the Christmas
period, but I can see thebenefits in doing it.
Tom Panos (03:23):
Okay.
So, gentlemen, um thisobviously is a top-of-mind
awareness to everyone that localagent finder is back as local
agent finder.
But in addition to that, to letyou know some of the scripts
and dialogues and responses thatthese great thought leaders
(03:44):
would have um hearing this timeof the year.
So I just want to, and by theway, can I ask you both, what do
you both love about local ageof primer?
That's a good question.
Kon Stathopoulos (03:59):
Dave, you want to get you wanna kick off?
David Walker (04:01):
Uh we we've we've been using it for years, and I I
must say I'm not we're notgetting paid for this, so we're
not here to we're not here to umuse any sort of pay.
I'm definitely not okay.
I'll I'll I'll talk about thatafter a bit.
No, we've been I've been um asa business, we've been using
local agent finder for yearsnow.
I wouldn't even know, probablyseven, eight years.
(04:24):
Um and it's good because we aregetting leads generally from
people who we don't haverelationships with.
So it's people out in themarket that might be making a
decision pretty quickly.
Um there's not too many peoplethat have good relationships
with agents that uh are thenjumping onto this unless they're
just getting a a sort of anoverview of the marketplace.
(04:46):
But um we use it because we seeit as a good source of
qualified people who are aboutto sell their home.
Kon Stathopoulos (04:53):
Beautiful.
Bom?
Tom, we've been uh we've beenclients of local agent finder
for many, many years.
And uh mirroring what uh Davidsaid, what we love about uh our
relationship with local agentfinder is that it uh
particularly for the agents thatdon't have a start in a market,
local agent finder gives them astart, and then they can go on
(05:13):
and leverage that and build youknow the relationships and their
market share in that community.
And we had a great case studyof Kim McCleary, one of our
partners, uh, that uh five yearsago got one lead in Kings
Langley uh out in the uh thewestern suburbs of Sydney.
And um she was writing about400k at the time.
She writes under two million,just under two million right
(05:34):
now.
She's become a partner in thebusiness and has 40 plus market,
40% plus market share in KingsLangley, and it all started from
one local agent finder lead.
So if you if you run theprocess uh and you're open to uh
you know sharing a little bitof your commission as a
once-off, and you can really,you know, basically get a good
run-in.
Tom Panos (05:54):
And con the paying the local agent finder their
fee, they only get paid a feewhen you get more or less 80% of
the fee.
Like, that's probably it's it'sone of the few businesses that
are suppliers to the industrythat you only pay on success.
Like, we can't do that with ouryou know, our brochures, we
(06:15):
can't do that with uh withrealestate.com, we can't do that
with any of our marketing.
We can't say, hey, if we getpaid, we'll pay our bill, right?
With these guys, you only payif you get paid, right?
Kon Stathopoulos (06:29):
Correct.
And I and I think sometimesthat can be the mental stumbling
block for some agents.
They don't want to have to payfor a lead.
I don't look at it like that.
It's an investment intobuilding a relationship that
starts conversations in yourcommunity that give you the
ability to open something up ona Saturday and meet buyers and
you know start that leverageprocess.
So, no, we're we're we're bigfans of local agent finder.
(06:49):
Warwick's been an absolutegentleman to deal with and the
team there, and um, we're wewe'll continue that relationship
for a long time.
Tom Panos (06:57):
Warwick is local.
In my eyes, Warwick is localagent finder.
Right?
In fact, if they should haveactually just changed it to
Warwick instead of Rummer.
They would have they would havehad a better run.
But listen, listen, gentlemen,gentlemen, gentlemen, I want to
ask you, you know, some of thethings that we're hearing at the
moment from the marketplacefrom prospective vendors is I'm
(07:20):
not ready to sell right now.
We'll wait till afterChristmas.
And just curious, what's theresponse that you know you're
instructing your team or whatare your good agents saying
there?
Because, you know, I know a lotof the times that these vendors
that come back after Christmasdo put it on the market, but
(07:41):
they might change their mind onwho they're going to give it to
over Christmas.
They talk to they talk to a lotof people, they might speak to
the butcher who's their unclethat tells them, listen to me,
I'll tell you who to give it to,right?
Um, so what's the responsethere, gentlemen?
David Walker (07:58):
I um I think this time of year is fantastic
because there's a deadline.
So if you're a person wantingto sell in the market, we'll go
on to start by saying you can'tforce somebody to sell when
they're not ready to sell.
So it's people who are on thefence about selling that that
may or may not, if you canpersuade them, if you can give
them a good reason to.
Um, this time of year, we'vewe've got still four to five
(08:20):
weeks of good selling.
There's sort of six five, sixSaturdays um before we get to
Christmas.
So if you're thinking aboutselling, um, the buyers in the
marketplace right now, the poolof buyers that are there, they
want to make a decision beforeChristmas.
Whereas once you get intoFebruary, March, people sort of
go, okay, we've got time now.
But buyers want to make adecision because they either
want to get kids into schoolzones or they just want to get
(08:42):
it wrapped up by the end of theyear so they can be in for the
summer holidays and unpack whilethey're on their own holidays.
So people are wanting to makedecisions now.
Whereas I find January,February, most buyers are kind
of brand new to the market orthey're they're going to give
themselves some time to startlooking.
So there's not as much urgency.
But also on the flip side, ifyou are wondering where are you
(09:03):
going to go if you sell, thistime of year there's far more
stock on the market becausethere's more buyers in the
market.
And so there's more choice foryou as a seller of where to go.
Whereas January, February,there's not as much stock on the
market as what you find now.
So at the moment, and thenpeople that are on the fence and
not really wanting to activelyput their property on the
market, we're still saying tothem, let's get photos, let's
(09:24):
get floor plan, because the poolof buyers that are buying right
now, what if I could bring youa buyer to your house, Mr.
and Mrs.
Seller, and get you an abovemarket price that you'd be
really happy with with termsyou're happy with.
So let's get the marketing outof the way.
And then if you do findsomething in the next few weeks,
we can throw it on and get itsold.
Or worst case scenario, we'reready to go in January.
Tom Panos (09:45):
Okay.
What I'm going to do is I'mgoing to share my screen,
everyone.
Can I give you the heads up?
This is a time to get yourphone ready to take a capture of
a shot.
I'm going to give you the exactscript, word for word, that
David more or less said, but Iknow what people are like.
Can you say that again?
Well, we'll give it to youright now.
So we're waiting until afterChristmas, the holidays.
(10:10):
Here's your response.
So if you can take a quicksnapshot of that, I completely
understand.
Everyone wants to enjoy theholidays.
The thing is, most sellerswait, which means that when
everyone comes in on in January,you're competing with a flood
of listings.
Right now, Sierra Sprise isstill active and there's less
competition.
Would you be open to me showingwhat it looks like to have your
(10:30):
campaign ready?
So take a photo of that there.
But in addition to that, justin Tompanos lingo, I can say one
of the things that you'd sayis, listen, I think that's a
good idea.
I think you should actually doit next year.
But how open would you be toactually not talking about
selling next year?
I'm not even talking aboutlaunching.
(10:52):
Um, I'm talking about we listnow and we launch later.
Because what it does, we putyour listing in our little top
pocket, no one's not to knowanymore, someone that's sitting
there at home scrolling onBoxing Day, or, you know, at
some point sees your home, andwhat we do is we can get their
(11:12):
attention.
Conn, is there anything else?
That was a good response, bythe way, David.
Is there any anything else thatyou can add extend on that?
Kon Stathopoulos (11:20):
Well, I think um that's why David's, you know,
at the top of his game in uh inhis in his market and in the
industry.
But I think you're absolutelyright.
Going back to what uh Davesaid, um uh the best time to
list is when they're ready.
Our job is to be able toqualify and be able to, you
know, de-risk them pickinganother agent over us.
So it's about using strategyand innovation to be able to
(11:41):
secure the listing, take it offthe market.
And it's you know, go now, golater, get ready now, go later.
It's you know, off market,pre-market, soft launch.
It's super Saturday, launch onboxing day.
We get to pick up all thebuyers that missed out at you
know, in 2025.
We get the new flood of buyerslooking at 2026.
You beat the market by gettingyour property uh live before
(12:04):
anyone else and on the market.
And we normally, you know, getuh 30% extra uh open attendees
and you know at least 60% moreviews on the portal.
So for me, it's all aboutensuring that you you're using
strategy, innovation, but you'rereally you know closing to take
it off the market from anyoneelse taking it.
Tom Panos (12:23):
Okay.
Beautifully said, Connell.
I want to move on to the oneabout interest rates.
There's people saying this.
And interest rates have been abit topical lately because on
the 29th, when they announcedthe inflation figures, they
didn't go to plan.
So now all of a sudden they'retalking about rates uh actually
not going down at the rest ofthis year and potentially not
(12:44):
even going down next year.
But you and I all know thatmedia changes by the week.
We could be, you know, there'ssome big event happens next week
and they're saying, oh no,rates are going to drop again.
But let's see, uh well, let'swait till interest rates drop.
What I might do is I've got a sI've actually got a slide for
that as well.
(13:04):
So those of you that would liketo take photos of exact scripts
and dialogues, we'll wait tillinterest rates drop.
The challenge is when ratesdrop, demand surges.
That means when buy more buyerscompeting, but also means more
sellers are entering the market.
If you wait, you'll likely buyand sell in a hotter market,
meaning you're paying more foryour next home too.
(13:25):
Sometimes the best move is totransact in the same market.
So I think for nearly anyonethat's buying and selling in the
same market, particularly forthose that are actually moving
up to the next price point, it'sactually, you know, making a
decision based on a temporarything like rates is not the
right thing because in realestate, and I always use that
(13:48):
term, people date interestrates, but they marry the
property.
The relationship, you know,rates are going to go up and
down at a 20-year relationship,a 30-year relationship that
you've got with your with yourmortgage.
Um, so I just think you I don'tI don't know, guys.
I've I've never understoodpeople making a decision based
(14:10):
on rates and the market.
Because if you're buying andselling, why wouldn't you make a
decision based on your life?
Right?
Not based on a factor thatmeans that you're going to be in
a revenue neutral positionanyway.
But what what do you what whatwhat is a team what's your
response to that where clientssay, oh, we don't know what's
(14:31):
happening with rates?
Kon Stathopoulos (14:32):
We um we see this in our market a lot, Tom.
So we're in obviously fromParramatta to Blacktown, Castle
Hill, Rouse Hill, EppingBeecroft, the Hawks breed.
So, you know, it's reallyinteresting.
I think uh I had a very, very,very good mentor very early on
in life that said to me that uhemotion opens the heart, logic
opens the mind.
(14:52):
And I think when we go downthat path of talking about
something that, first of all,we're not in control of,
secondly, we can't impact orinfluence, and thirdly, people
are they're making long-termdecisions based on short
short-term circumstances.
So, I mean, we saw this lastweekend, we had a bidder that uh
didn't want to make a bidbecause they were a little bit
(15:13):
unsure about where what wasgonna happen with the inflation
figures.
And I said, but your financeapproved right now and you're
ready to go right now, yes.
Are you worried about what therates are at 2038?
So we can't make decisionsbased on what's gonna happen in
the future.
We can make back goals.
You can make decisions based onwhat's happening right now.
So for me, it's about disarmingthe emotion and applying the
(15:35):
logic.
Okay, it's just like the samethe same person that would say,
Oh, I can't buy this one.
Why is that?
My couch won't fit.
Buy a new couch, mate.
Do you know what I mean?
Tom Panos (15:44):
Yeah.
Kon Stathopoulos (15:44):
But what we've got to be able to do is just
kind of see through theobjection, become masters at
being able to read the play, um,disarming the emotion, applying
the logic, and making it a verysimple and easy way for people
to transact.
And I think that that's that'sthat's the that's the key that
I'm saying it from the bestoperators.
Tom Panos (16:04):
There's a lot of listen, Con, there's a lot of
faulty.
You know, I think about it, wetake it as a given, but I think
a lot of people have got faultythinking, and the job of a real
estate agent is to nudge thatthinking for them to look at it
in the proper perspective.
Example, there was an incidenta few weeks ago where I was
(16:25):
shocked that the vendor says, Inever thought about that.
Listen to what it was.
It was like, I'm gonna take itoff the market, and I reckon
within two years the market willpick up and then we'll get our
price, and then we'll go up andbuy the other property.
And I said, Are you gonna put alay buy on the other property?
And he goes, No.
(16:46):
And I go, so the other one'sgonna not go up and yours will
go up.
No, he goes, the other one willgo up.
And I said, so you basicallyyou'll be in the same situation.
And he goes, Oh yeah, I neverthought about that.
And I said, It's even worse.
You're actually gonna be stuckhere for three years and you
don't want to be, right?
So um, so a lot of people havefaulty thinking, Dave, is there
anything you want to extend oradd to that?
David Walker (17:09):
Oh, I I I agree with what you what you both just
said.
That the funny thing aboutinterest rates, it's it's all, I
think, um, it's a shot in thearm.
And so interest rates droprealistically, it doesn't mean
that all these buyers jump backinto the market or people that
weren't going to buy startbuying.
It's just the papers have acouple of days of a cycle.
So I say to anybody, look, ifinterest rates drop, that's one
(17:32):
thing, and obviously it's greatbecause you can save a bit on
your mortgage, butrealistically, you want a market
stable.
So if interest rates don't goup or don't go down, we we can
actually predict the market fareasier.
If the interest rates drop, wedon't know how much it's going
to surge, whether it's going tosurge.
So you can make decisions basedon things you don't know.
Whereas we know if interestrates stay stable, which they
(17:53):
look like they will now nextmonth, we can make decisions
based on what we already know.
So as an agent in a neutralmarket, at least we can make
decisions based on fact.
Tom Panos (18:03):
Okay, well said.
I already have an agent inmind, right?
I already have an agent inmind, and this comes up, you
know, like and I have to say, italso comes, you know, sometimes
you go to a listingpresentation and an agent
already has a pre-existingrelationship with an agent, but
they cheekily might call anothercouple out to sort of say,
(18:25):
let's just see what they charge,because I want to keep my close
mate honest.
I'll see what the others aregoing to charge.
But um any great response thatyou've got for when you're
you're talking to a client andthey say, I sort of got an agent
that I have in mind.
David Walker (18:44):
Sorry, the one thing I I I I you go, David.
Uh one one thing I would saynot to do is actually talk
another agent down.
I had an agent in my areayesterday knock on the door of a
vendor I've got listed andtried to talk negatively about
me.
Now that agent, the vendorcouldn't believe it and has
(19:05):
already gone and told all theirfriends how disgusted they were
with that person.
So the one thing you shouldn'tbe doing is ever talking down
another agent.
So that's the one thing I'dstart with.
But all I'd say is, is there achance for me to throw my hat in
the ring?
Fully respect loyalty, fullyrespect you've got a
relationship.
But we've got some good runs onthe board, love to have a chat
with you.
There's an opportunity.
Tom Panos (19:26):
Beautiful.
Kon Stathopoulos (19:27):
In fact, uh David, Kine, if you've got
anything to extend, I've justthis I just think I think this
is this is all about workingwith class.
Okay, there's an expectationthat we're gonna we're gonna
chase every single listing andand whatnot.
We forget about therelationships that people have.
So from my perspective, youknow, obviously do your job by
(19:48):
asking whether or not they'reopen to a you know another
opinion or a fresh opinion or umor a different strategy that
might get them the you knowsold.
But uh I think the people thatwork with class are the ones
that end up winning.
Con.
Tom Panos (20:01):
Couldn't agree more than the minute, the minute I
have anyone that bags anyone,the first thing I think to
myself, you're jealous.
That's my instant reaction.
I think to myself, for you tosay that, there's something that
really, really bugs you, right?
Um, and I automatically, in mymind, decrease the
(20:26):
attractiveness of that person.
I'm not talking about, I'm notjust talking about real estate.
I'm talking about any person.
Jealousy is a terriblecharacteristic of people.
Kon Stathopoulos (20:36):
You're also going to play the long game with
this, Tom, right?
So from my perspective, do youknow how many transactions we do
with our competitors?
We do conjunction agencyagreements because vendors want
to work with both.
So I look at it and I go,you're shortening the longevity
of your reputation in yourmarket.
You're also canceling out anypotential future revenue income.
(20:57):
You're essentially positioningyourself as a as a as an
unclassy agent and human being,but also just be a good human
being.
This is a very simple business.
It's not an easy business, butyou know, I would love to do a
conjunction with one of mycompetitors if that's going to
be the best outcome for theclient.
Rather than chasing theoutcome, let's just do the right
(21:18):
thing.
And I know I'm being a littlebit philosophical and holistic,
but the reality is good peoplethat do good things have a lot
of good that happens to them.
So don't over-engineer this.
Let's not try to, you know,just kind of sniper everything
and everyone.
Let's just get in there and seewhat's the best outcome for the
client.
I'd love to help you, Tom.
(21:38):
I'd love nothing more than tobe able to give you my opinion
and maybe a fresh approach on adifferent strategy that might
get you a better result.
But look, if you're reallyhappy with David, David's a
really good guy.
We've done some work before.
I'll leave you in great hands.
It's not that hard.
David Walker (21:52):
There's some comm.
And also I was so go, David.
I was just going to say, and Ithink everyone now sees through
the whole I've got a buyer.
I know you've listed, you'reabout to listen with someone,
but I've got a buyer I want toshow through.
Everyone just sees through thatnow.
It's just, it's the it's thelaziest way of trying to win a
listing.
That's the I think what mostagents think.
I'm going to tell somebody I'vegot a buyer and then I've got
(22:13):
to come up with somebody to takethrough there.
Um, like I if if you if you'vegot a buyer, then contact their
agent that they've alreadychosen.
Or but actually, if you want towin a listing over an agent,
give some good reasons whyyou've got a point of difference
and how you're actually goingto do the client uh the the the
best service.
Um but I think if you justthrow get get an opportunity to
throw your hat in the ring andsay, I'll give you another
(22:35):
opinion, it's gonna take me 20minutes.
Um, the worst you can get is ano.
Um, and I'd really appreciateit.
You had a great house, and Iactually think the agent that
you've chosen is a really goodperson, so good luck with it.
If it doesn't work out, um, andI'm sure it will, but if it
doesn't give me a call.
You know what, you know what,Dave?
Kon Stathopoulos (22:52):
Uh I heard a vendor say to a competitor,
competing agent, um, um, and thevendor actually ended up
picking us, um, that said, youknow, that the the agent said,
I've got a buyer, and he goes,Well, that would I I I would
expect you to have a buyer,you're a real estate agent,
right?
So that's the first thing.
The second thing is, right, um,is but buyers don't follow real
(23:13):
estate agents, they vo theyfollow property.
So there's no one that's got asecret little buyer in their
pocket that that they can shieldwith an invisible force field
around every other listing.
So when you actually bring itback to you, it sounds
ridiculous, doesn't it?
I've got a buyer.
Oh, what about I've got astrategy that I can prove to you
in 20 minutes if you give methe opportunity that will
(23:35):
deliver you an above marketpremium price?
Would that be okay for me to beable to share that with you?
Tom Panos (23:40):
That's beautifully, that's beautifully said, and
you're you're spot on.
In fact, I don't think it's abad idea to actually say to the
Vendor, the Bendor that says,you know, about an agent having
a buyer saying, Hey, listen, Iwant to ask you, Mr.
Vendor, when you bought thishouse, did you go to one real
estate agent and say, I'm notgonna look with anyone else.
(24:02):
I won't look on realestate.com,I won't look at the main, I
will only look with you, even ifthere's other properties out
there.
Did you do that?
The minute you say that tothem, they'll realize how false
that comment is, and it normallycomes from a false Freddie.
Talking about agent rivalry andyou know people bagging others,
(24:23):
something weird happened on onTuesday.
I think, David, you might evenknow him.
I've got a client called AndrewHarding at Darwin, right?
And I hadn't seen him in ages.
He owns Ray White at Darwin,right?
And he dropped me off to theoffice called uh Real Estate
Central, which is so Real EstateCentral and Ray White Darwin
(24:45):
are the two biggest offices inDarwin.
They control the market.
So he's the principal there,and he drops me off and he says,
I go, thanks.
Because you the reason hedropped me off, it was 40
degrees heat in Darwin, right?
So he's dropped me off there,and I've walked in and he's
followed me in.
I go, Are you coming in?
He goes, Yeah.
And then he goes, I just comein and say, Hi to guys, and I
(25:06):
just get myself a drink.
It's bloody hot out there.
He walked into the office as ifhe was a salesperson, and I go,
Hey, there's Harding.
How are you, bro?
And they're fist pumping there.
And he walked in straight intothe kitchen, and I thought to
myself, that doesn't happen inthe metro metro areas.
Like, you you I mean, ifanything, you feel like having a
(25:26):
slingshot at a guy if they'reacross the road, right?
But I think you can besuccessful, you can have a good
life and get on with competitorsif they're decent people.
David Walker (25:37):
That that's the way it should be, Tom.
Like, that's so what we con andI talk about this all the time.
Like, in theory, on paper, Conand I shouldn't like each other
from what real estate was like10 years ago, but we're best of
mates because we we're doing thesame stuff, we go through the
same things, we've got the sameproblems, we've got the same
wins.
So we're we we probably, as yousaid earlier, um, if you've got
(26:00):
a chip on your shoulder, you'regonna look at other people that
are having success and getjealous.
Whereas if people in mymarketplace that are doing well,
I look at them going, good onyou, like you're working hard
and you're doing well, andthat's great.
And um, and you know what, likeyou look at everyone else
around our industry.
There's people doing well,people that are struggling.
Um, you want to help the peoplestruggling, but you've got to
look at the people doing welland going, I I applaud you.
(26:22):
You might not be the style ofagent that I would list with,
but you're doing well in yourmarketplace, so good on you.
And that's the way our industryshould be.
Kon Stathopoulos (26:31):
I think the other thing is too, is if you're
um you're allowing yourcompetitors to kind of you know
take you know, rent space inyour brain, you're already
letting them win.
So I don't look at competitionas a competitor.
There I'm in my lane, I'mfocusing on what I can control.
Um, and you know, good luck toyou.
If you get that listing, man,we weren't good enough this time
around, but hopefully we'lllearn from it, we'll become
(26:53):
better.
And I think also we we tend toplay the short game.
You want longevity in thisindustry, you've got to have
great relationships, you've gotto have a great reputation
that's bulletproof uh withwithin the agent community and
the agency community, but alsowith obviously the community
too.
So I don't know how it servesyou to, you know, I hate David
Walker because he's what he'sRay White or he's in my market.
(27:16):
Mate, good luck to Dave.
Let him run his own race, yourun your own race.
David Walker (27:20):
Oh my god.
Actually, you it it were youwork better if you actually like
your competitors because whenyou when you lose a listing, you
don't go, I lost it becausethey did a cheaper fee, or they
must have overquoted, you go,they they beat me because they
were better, they're a goodperson, I've got to be better
next time.
Spot on.
Tom Panos (27:39):
I think you either look at life in with eyes of
abundance, or you look at lifewith eyes of scarcity.
Scarcity is about being azero-sum game.
Basically saying is if mycompetitor wins, I lose.
Whereas the reality is if youturn around and look at
(27:59):
abundance and say they can makemoney their way, I can make
money my way, and we're allhappy, right?
Um you don't have to you knowhave someone lose for you to
win.
Now, as people have beenwatching this, if you're feeling
inclined that you'd like to geta few catch and kill extra
(28:24):
listings a month that uh you'renot getting, um thank you,
Susan.
She's read my mind.
That is the link there,localagentfinder.com.au, and I
would suggest that um you hadzero to lose.
Think about it.
What have you got to loseexcept get a listing?
(28:44):
The way the deal works is youget 80% of the fee.
Local agent finder gets 20% ofthe fee.
We always know the hardest bitis getting the lead, and it is
maxed out at around five grand.
Is that right, Warrick?
Yeah, 4,750.
4,750.
(29:05):
And uh, Warwick, thank you forputting on this event today.
We're obviously trying toencourage everyone to understand
what local agent finder isdoing, and we've got two of the
best real estate thought leadersin Australia supporting it.
And in addition to that, I'mgonna remind everyone that
Christmas is on the 25th ofDecember, not the 25th of
(29:26):
October, not the 25th ofNovember.
And the reason I say it is wehave a lot of nine-month agents
in Australia, uh, particularlyin Victoria.
You know, Melbourne Cup's here,sun's out, guns out, life's
good, we'll come back afterAustralia Day.
Listen, there are peopletransacting.
I'm not a big fan of auctionson the 20th of December, right?
(29:49):
Just in previous years.
But up until the 20th ofDecember, right?
Up until the 20th of December,people want to do gills.
And I've got to say, team.
There is no better feeling inreal estate from what agents
tell me when they go on breakand they know that they're
coming back to stock that'ssecured, that they're going to
(30:10):
launch, and they're not going tocome back with the belt on
their stomach being tight.
It's going to be tight.
Everyone puts on one to two,three, or K's over the summer in
Australia, New Zealand.
But you want to come back withyour belt a bit tight, but you
want to come back with listingsthat are launching.
And you know what?
That's happening right nowbecause there's a special rule
(30:31):
in real estate.
It's called the 30-day rule.
And it says that what you do inthis 30 days affects the next
90 days.
2026 has already started,ladies and gentlemen.
Warwick, thank you.
David Walker will be seeing youin Byron at some point over
Christmas.
Now that you're a part-timelocal and Constathopolis, thanks
(30:57):
again.
I still remember Con the day hejoined McGrath many, many, many
years ago.
And John McGrath goes to me.
I said, Well, he's greet,that's a start.
David Walker (31:15):
We're still accusing John, we're still
hoping.
Kon Stathopoulos (31:18):
I'm trying, still learning, still learning.
Always have a great Christmas,everyone.
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