I grew up in a household where my dad, an orthopaedic surgeon, read four newspapers every morning before he left the house to go to the hospital to fix people’s broken bones. I was always in awe of his work. He’s still a media sponge. He’s an avid reader and loves current events. He still falls asleep listening to the ABC Radio on his little portable wireless. So his life long love of the fourth estate was instilled in me at a very early age. I spent a large chunk of my career as a finance reporter, so my dad and I had lots of good chats about micro and macro economics, monetary policy and which stocks were paying the best dividend for income investors.
I have always been curious about the world, especially personal finance and the property market so naturally I studied economics and became a finance reporter, and later a real estate editor. My two sons learned to read by circling ‘high frequency’ words in the newspaper.
Information is power and no matter who you are or where you work in the world you need to make informed decisions every day.
As the world has moved into a higher gear where news travels faster than ever through our phones, I cannot stress how important it is to stay informed. Before my feet even hit the floor each day I read my Twitter feed to catch up on the overnight news. Real estate agents should be no differently informed. Agents are often the most hyper connected people in their community so they need to stay up-to-date, not just about who is buying or selling but which new businesses are opening, closing or expanding in their area.
I urge every agent in our group to form a close relationship with their local newspaper editor or real estate editor. I know they need your insights and observations about the local market. Journos and agents have a lot in common, as they all love to tell yarns and every newspaper in the first world loves to run stories about the property market. You should initiate a relationship with your local paper as journos are some of the best people you’ll ever meet. If reporters work in local news - then they also love their community as much as you do.
Don’t be scared, they won’t bite! They don’t want to burn you. But remember you cannot sell a secret. You may be able to sell a house off market (although it’s always debatable as to whether you’ll get the best possible price) but you certainly cannot sell yourself that way.
