The Elephant In The Room Property Podcast | Inside Australian Real Estate

NSW tenancy reforms are designed to better protect renters, particularly victims of domestic violence. But as new responsibilities fall on property managers, are we asking them to handle situations they may not be trained or equipped to manage safely?
In this episode, Veronica Morgan and Chris Bates speak with Alexandra Haggarty, an experienced property management business owner and industry advocate who has been directly involved in tenancy reform negotiations. They unpack the growing responsibilities placed on property managers, from domestic violence termination notices and tenant privacy to workplace safety and compliance.
The conversation also explores the unintended consequences of regulation for landlords and investors, including property damage, insurance gaps, rent-setting restrictions, rental supply and the growing compliance burden on small agencies.
If property managers are increasingly becoming the frontline of tenancy reform, who is responsible for giving them the training, systems and protection they need to do the job safely?
Episode Highlights
00:00 – Meet Alexandra Haggarty: Property Manager and Reform Advocate
02:13 – What NSW’s New Tenancy Reforms Actually Change
05:34 – When Domestic Violence Laws Can Be Weaponised
07:23 – Who Pays for Domestic Violence Property Damage?
10:23 – When Property Managers Must Face the Perpetrator
13:23 – Are Property Managers Being Given Enough Safety Support?
17:22 – Tenant Privacy vs Property Manager Safety
22:04 – How Photo Consent Could Change Property Sales
26:55 – Are Rising Costs Pushing Investors to Sell?
28:15 – The Problem With Keeping Rents Below Market
30:30 – How NSW Rent Rules Increase Landlord Risk
32:21 – Why Below-Market Rent Can Hurt a Future Sale
36:41 – The Hidden Housing Pressures Driving Rental Demand
38:06 – Why Social Housing Is Breaking Down
42:11 – The Exploding Compliance Burden on Small Agencies
45:42 – The Witches Who Took Over a Victorian Mansion
51:10 – The Sewer Surprise No Property Manager Expected
52:53 – Wrap Up and Key Takeaways
About the Guest
Alexandra Haggarty has worked in real estate since 2001, beginning her career within the First National Real Estate network and progressing through reception, property management and sales. She is now Managing Director, Licensee in Charge and owner of First National Maitland in the Lower Hunter Valley.
Widely recognised for her expertise in domestic violence and homelessness, Alexandra pioneered an Australian-first partnership in 2014 between a real estate agency and a domestic violence and homelessness service provider. The initiative has helped more than 220 Maitland families escaping violence access housing and is now being replicated across New South Wales.
Alexandra was elected to the REINSW Property Management Chapter in 2019 and currently serves as its Chair. She also chairs the First National Real NSW Regional Council and has represented the industry in negotiations concerning reviews of the Residential Tenancies Act.
Connect with Alexandra
Phone (02) 4933 5544
Mobile 0427 530 784
E-mail | Alexandra Haggarty
Website | First National Real Estate
LinkedIn | First National Real Estate
YouTube | First National Real Estate
Facebook | First National Real Estate
Instagram | First National Real Estate

Resources
Visit our website: https://www.theelephantintheroom.com.au
If you have any questions or would like to be featured on our show, contact us at:
The Elephant in the Room Property Podcast - questions@theelephantintheroom.com.au
Looking for a Sydney Buyers Agent? https://www.gooddeeds.com.au
Work with Veronica: https://www.veronicamorgan.com.au
Looking for a Mortgage Broker? alcove.com.au
Work with Chris: chrisbates@alcove.com.au

Enjoyed the podcast? Don't miss out on what's yet to come! Hit that subscription button, spread the word, and join us for more insightful discussions in real estate. Your journey starts now!
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See you on the inside,
Veronica & Chris

Australia’s latest budget and tax changes have forced investors to rethink some of the strategies that have shaped wealth creation for decades. So what actually works now?
In this episode, Ben Nash joins Veronica Morgan and Chris Bates to unpack what the changes mean for property investors, negative gearing, capital gains tax, superannuation and investment structures. They also examine whether rentvesting still stacks up, when buying your own home can hold back broader wealth creation, and why property leverage remains powerful despite a tougher cash-flow environment.
The conversation goes beyond tax strategy. Ben explains how he stress-tests investment decisions against real-life changes such as children, parental leave and rising costs, why behavioural barriers can stop people acting on good advice, and the risks of relying on financial “hacks” from social media.
With the rules becoming more complex and the cost of getting investment decisions wrong potentially significant, this is a practical look at how Australians can rethink their wealth-building strategy in a post-Budget environment.
Episode Highlights
00:00 – Meet Financial Adviser Ben Nash
03:23 – Why Rentvesting Can Beat Buying Your Home First
09:44 – Why Good Advice Gets People To Act
12:30 – Why Property Still Matters For Wealth Building
21:36 – Does Rentvesting Still Work After The Rule Changes?
26:45 – How Investors Are Feeling After The Budget
29:49 – Building Financial Buffers For AI Disruption
34:59 – The Frustration With Constant Tax Policy Changes
36:02 – Are Tax Changes Holding Back Ambition?
39:28 – Why Smart People Still Fail To Take Action
42:04 – The Costly Mistakes Investors Make With Structures
46:01 – Can You Afford Advice Or Should You DIY?
48:52 – Final Thoughts: What Should Investors Do Now?
About the Guest
Ben Nash is a financial adviser and the founder of a financial advice business that works with professionals navigating major financial decisions around property, investing and wealth creation. He has spent more than a decade working with clients in their 30s and 40s and has built more than 10,000 financial plans on a fixed-fee model, without product commissions.
Ben brings a different perspective to property because his advice is not tied to whether a client buys a property, invests in shares or chooses to do nothing. His focus is on the numbers, strategy and long-term financial outcome.
In this episode, Ben shares how he is advising clients in the wake of recent Budget and tax changes, including the evolving role of negative gearing, rentvesting, property structures, superannuation and shares. He also explores the behavioural barriers that stop people acting on good financial decisions, the risks of DIY strategies and why comprehensive financial planning is becoming increasingly important.
Connect with Ben
LinkedIn | Benjamin J. Nash
Website | Pivot Wealth
Instagram | Ben Nash

Resources
Visit our website: https://www.theelephantintheroom.com.au
If you have any questions or would like to be featured on our show, contact us at:
The Elephant in the Room Property Podcast - questions@theelephantintheroom.com.au
Looking for a Sydney Buyers Agent? https://www.gooddeeds.com.au
Work with Veronica: https://www.veronicamorgan.com.au
Looking for a Mortgage Broker? alcove.com.au
Work with Chris: chrisbates@alcove.com.au

Enjoyed the podcast? Don't miss out on what's yet to come! Hit that subscription button, spread the word, and join us for more insightful discussions in real estate. Your journey starts now!
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theelephantintheroom-podcast
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/the-elephant-in-the-room-property-podcast/id1384822719
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3r0nnJrLUu3t1GpO7X3j6E

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share the show! There’s more to come, so we hope to have you along with us on this journey!
See you on the inside,
Veronica & Chris

The property market may be turning, but the headline numbers don’t tell the whole story.
Gerard Burg joins Veronica and Chris to unpack what’s really happening beneath the national figures, from Brisbane’s rapid shift from growth to decline to the growing gap between premium and more affordable markets.
They explore what rising listings actually reveal about buyer and seller behaviour, why affordability has become such a powerful constraint, and whether recent policy changes are driving the downturn or simply arriving after the warning signs were already there. Gerard also explains what Cotality’s suburb-level data reveals about how different parts of the market are responding.
The conversation then moves beyond property prices to the bigger economic picture: stubborn inflation, a tight but unusually sticky labour market, construction constraints and Australia’s worsening rental shortage. With rental listings still well below their 2020 peak, the discussion raises a bigger question about what happens to long-term rental supply if investor participation continues to weaken.
And finally, Gerard shares the property purchase that reminded him that even economists aren’t immune to emotion when buying a home.
Episode Highlights
00:00 – Why Property Markets Are Moving in Different Directions
09:35 – Listings Rise as Buyers Pull Back
12:14 – Are Rates or the Budget Driving the Downturn?
15:35 – Investors and First Home Buyers Are Pulling Back
19:04 – Why Inflation and Jobs Aren’t Behaving Normally
25:13 – Energy Costs, Inflation and the Housing Squeeze
30:12 – Affordability Is Reshaping the Property Market
35:22 – What the Data Says About Market Fear
38:06 – What Past Property Downturns Can Tell Us
41:08 – The Signals That Could Mark a Market Turn
45:43 – Even Economists Make Emotional Property Decisions
49:01 – Wrap-Up and Listener Questions
About the Guest
Gerard Burg is a national research leader at Cotality, bringing more than two decades of experience as a macroeconomist at NAB to the analysis of Australia’s property market.
His background gives him a perspective that connects property with the broader economy, including interest rates, affordability, labour markets, inflation, migration and consumer behaviour. At Cotality, Gerard has access to detailed property data that allows the team to examine market movements well beyond national and capital-city averages, including trends at suburb and price-segment level.
In this episode, Gerard draws on that data to explain how the current downturn is unfolding, why different parts of the market are behaving very differently, what rising listings and weak buyer activity reveal about market sentiment, and how affordability and investor behaviour could shape both property prices and rental supply.
Connect with Gerard
LinkedIn | Gerard Burg
LinkedIn | Cotality Australia

Resources
Visit our website: https://www.theelephantintheroom.com.au
If you have any questions or would like to be featured on our show, contact us at:
The Elephant in the Room Property Podcast - questions@theelephantintheroom.com.au
Looking for a Sydney Buyers Agent? https://www.gooddeeds.com.au
Work with Veronica: https://www.veronicamorgan.com.au
Looking for a Mortgage Broker? alcove.com.au
Work with Chris: chrisbates@alcove.com.au

Enjoyed the podcast? Don't miss out on what's yet to come! Hit that subscription button, spread the word, and join us for more insightful discussions in real estate. Your journey starts now!
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theelephantintheroom-podcast
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/the-elephant-in-the-room-property-podcast/id1384822719
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3r0nnJrLUu3t1GpO7X3j6E

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share the show! There’s more to come, so we hope to have you along with us on this journey!
See you on the inside,
Veronica & Chris

Do you really need 10 properties to build wealth? Or has the property industry convinced investors that bigger portfolios automatically mean better outcomes?
In this episode, Jordan de Jong, founder of Gameplans, joins Veronica and Chris to unpack the realities of property portfolio planning, borrowing capacity and the growing grey area between property strategy and financial advice.
We explore why buying more properties can actually work against investors, how outdated strategies can send people down the wrong path, and why the quality of the asset may matter far more than the number of properties you own. Jordan also reveals what his data shows about portfolio sizes, why investors shouldn’t feel behind, and how much property you may actually need to achieve your goals.
The conversation also tackles the uncomfortable issues facing the buyer’s agency industry: advisers operating outside their expertise, the use of modelling tools, SMSFs and trusts, commercial property, and whether large-scale buying can actually push prices higher in concentrated markets.
If you’re building a property portfolio, working with a buyers agent, or questioning whether more property is really the answer, this episode challenges some of the industry’s most persistent assumptions.
Episode Highlights
01:21 – Meet Jordan de Jong: The Story Behind Gameplans
04:09 – The Borrowing Capacity Trap Investors Miss
06:26 – Why Quality Matters More Than Property Count
09:06 – What Gameplans Actually Helps Investors Do
10:22 – Why Property Modelling Can Create False Confidence
23:21 – Can Buyers Agents Push Property Prices Higher?
27:36 – Why Property Alone Isn’t the Whole Financial Plan
29:12 – Why Investors Need a Team Around Their Property Strategy
30:38 – Why Financial Advisers Often Avoid Property
34:53 – The Risks of Pivoting Into Commercial Property
37:11 – What Investor Activity Is Really Doing Post-Budget
40:08 – The Property Portfolio Size Reality Check
46:00 – Overleveraging: When More Properties Become a Problem
49:05 – Jordan’s Own Property Investing Mistake
50:48 – Wrap Up + Listener Questions
About the Guest
Jordan de Jong is the founder of Gameplans, a portfolio planning software platform used by property professionals across Australia and New Zealand. His involvement in property investing began early, buying his first home at 18 and later building his own investment portfolio.
After becoming a qualified property investment adviser, Jordan founded Gameplans during the 2020 lockdowns after becoming frustrated by the lack of practical, long-term planning available to property investors. The platform allows professionals and investors to model property portfolios, cash flow, borrowing capacity and long-term financial outcomes.
In this episode, Jordan draws on his experience working with hundreds of property professionals to examine how investors approach portfolio building, where modelling can create false confidence, and the challenges of keeping property advice within appropriate boundaries.
He also shares Gameplans' data on portfolio sizes and explains why he believes investors should focus less on the number of properties they own and more on whether their assets actually help them achieve their goals.
Connect with Jordan
LinkedIn | Jordan de Jong
Instagram | Jordan de Jong
Linktree | Jordan de Jong

Resources
Visit our website: https://www.theelephantintheroom.com.au
If you have any questions or would like to be featured on our show, contact us at:
The Elephant in the Room Property Podcast - questions@theelephantintheroom.com.au
Looking for a Sydney Buyers Agent? https://www.gooddeeds.com.au
Work with Veronica: https://www.veronicamorgan.com.au
Looking for a Mortgage Broker? alcove.com.au
Work with Chris: chrisbates@alcove.com.au

Enjoyed the podcast? Don't miss out on what's yet to come! Hit that subscription button, spread the word, and join us for more insightful discussions in real estate. Your journey starts now!
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theelephantintheroom-podcast
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/the-elephant-in-the-room-property-podcast/id1384822719
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3r0nnJrLUu3t1GpO7X3j6E

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share the show! There’s more to come, so we hope to have you along with us on this journey!
See you on the inside,
Veronica & Chris

For years, Steve Palise told people not to buy the home they live in. Then he bought a $6 million home on Sydney’s Northern Beaches himself. So what changed?
In this episode, Steve joins Veronica and Chris to explain the shift from a purely financial decision to one shaped by family, lifestyle, security and the freedom that comes with success.
The conversation then turns to the growing rush into commercial property. With investor interest surging, Steve explains why commercial property is fundamentally more complicated than residential, from lease reviews and tenant risk to vacancy studies, planning, land content and local market dynamics.
We unpack why a high yield doesn't necessarily mean a good investment, why scarcity and owner-occupier demand matter, and how different commercial assets can perform very differently depending on their location, use and tenant base.
Episode Highlights
03:12 — Steve Palise Changed His Mind About Buying a Home
07:42 — The Opportunity Cost of Owning Your Home
12:43 — Why Investors Are Rushing Into Commercial Property
17:24 — Too Many Buyers, Not Enough Commercial Property
22:35 — The Commercial Property Mistakes Investors Miss
27:41 — Why Land and Scarcity Matter in Commercial Property
32:38 — What’s the Best Price Point for Commercial Property?
34:06 — When Commercial Property Risk Really Comes From
37:47 — The Vacancy Lessons Steve Learned the Hard Way
42:38 — The Commercial Buyers Agent Boom Has a Catch
49:28 — Should You Buy a Home Before Building a Portfolio?
About the Guest
Steve Palise is a commercial buyers agent and property investor who has spent almost two decades investing in property, beginning with a residential portfolio before shifting into commercial property. He spent six years working as a buyers agent with Rethink Investing before establishing his own business.
Steve now leads a commercial property acquisition team with six acquisition staff across the capital cities, alongside a due diligence team that includes an experienced commercial property manager and three qualified commercial valuers. His approach focuses heavily on tenant quality, vacancy rates, location, land component and the long-term fundamentals of commercial assets.
Having experienced the transition from residential investing to commercial property firsthand — and more recently changing his own view on home ownership — Steve brings a practical perspective on both the financial and personal decisions behind property investment.
Connect with Steve
Steve Palise - Palise property | LinkedIn
LinkedIn | Palise Property

Resources
Visit our website: https://www.theelephantintheroom.com.au
If you have any questions or would like to be featured on our show, contact us at:
The Elephant in the Room Property Podcast - questions@theelephantintheroom.com.au
Looking for a Sydney Buyers Agent? https://www.gooddeeds.com.au
Work with Veronica: https://www.veronicamorgan.com.au
Looking for a Mortgage Broker? alcove.com.au
Work with Chris: chrisbates@alcove.com.au

Enjoyed the podcast? Don't miss out on what's yet to come! Hit that subscription button, spread the word, and join us for more insightful discussions in real estate. Your journey starts now!
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theelephantintheroom-podcast
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/the-elephant-in-the-room-property-podcast/id1384822719
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3r0nnJrLUu3t1GpO7X3j6E

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share the show! There’s more to come, so we hope to have you along with us on this journey!
See you on the inside,
Veronica & Chris