Property Now Issue #7

PROPERTY A

PUBLICATION

NOW

ISSUE 7

WHAT’S INSIDE 2-3

Data: Strong early year volumes in WA

4-5

Analysis: National sales settlements trending upwards

6-9

Feature: Female leaders in property share their stories ahead of International Women’s Day

10-13

Security: Email phishing and property – what you need to know

14-15

CX: The connection between customer experience and business growth

Industry: Future Leaders committee kicks off

Around the grounds: PEXA and industry updates

Western Australia leads the way to kick off 2021 By Isabelle Harris

Western Australia has spearheaded a strong start to 2021 for the property sector, with a 48% year-on-year increase in transfers in January reported by PEXA, Australia’s leading online settlement platform. Queensland closely followed with a similarly healthy 31% year-on-year spike, driving an overall 14% rise nationally. Mike Gill, PEXA Senior Research Manager, said that while numbers across the board were pleasing, there was a clear standout. “In every jurisdiction, sales settlement volumes were at pleasing levels to kick off the new year, but Western Australia truly was the star performer.”

Damian Collins, President of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia says the Western Australian market began to pick up midway through 2020 and foresees continued momentum in the months ahead, with dwelling value growth of up to 1.5% per month on the cards. He’s identified a population boost from returning expats, the healthy job market, and resilient economy as supporting factors, among others, for this boom.

“It’s been a long time coming. We’ve had a market that was down from 2015 right through to 2019 and we declined 15% to 20% over that period,” he said.

Sentiment is predicted to be generally buoyant in the state throughout 2021, led by this promising start to the new year – which has not shown any signs of slowing down.

Notably, Mr Collins shared that per REIWA And Mr Collins believes some buyers are suffering from FOMO – putting in offers data, listings were at an all-time low. well above asking prices and even on properties they have not inspected. “They’re sitting

at around 8,000 which is a chronic shortage, we normally have stock around 13,000, which is a balanced market and 17,00018,000 at the height of oversupply.” However, it’s the combination of a recovery from a low growth period and shortage of rental properties that’s driving high consumer confidence, with Western Australians eager to play in the market.

“It’s definitely a seller’s market. If you’ve got a property for sale, you’re likely to get multiple offers, especially if it’s a good property in a decent location,” he said. Increased incentives to move and work in Western Australia such as job openings and increased affordability, making Perth Australia’s most affordable capital city, are likely to further power a property surge. This market growth is expected to continue into the coming months as the nation recovers steadily from the coronavirus pandemic.

National settlement volumes trending upwards as property continues to bounce back By Jarrod McAleese

With Australia having seemingly weathered the worst of its COVID-19 storm, many eyes are now keenly fixed on the property market as it seeks to bounce back from a testing 2020. And the initial signs in 2021 have been positive. All states saw year-on-year increases in sales settlements, with the exception of Victoria, though notably it recorded the most property transfers overall.

“These projections are indicative of settlement activity starting earlier in the year – combined with high sales volumes and clearance rates.”

This upward trend appears set to consolidate in February with PEXA seeing greater than 20% growth year-on-year at the time of writing.

Property remains the trusted asset

Mike Gill, PEXA Senior Research Manager, said there were a number of factors laying a strong foundation for the property market’s current performance.

In spite of the challenges faced by industry, traditionally, property has not been as prone to fluctuation as other markets, such as the stock exchange1. Leah Calnan, President, Real Estate Institute of Victoria believes the Victorian property market has endured COVID-19

and emerged as an appealing option for consumers.

“Certainly, low interest rates, government incentives including stamp duty concessions and first home buyers grants added to buyer appetite for the December quarter, while volatility and uncertainty in the Australian equity market have secured property as a preferred investment option for Victorians.” Meanwhile, Tim McKibbin, CEO, Real Estate Institute of NSW, predicts the sector will be key to Australia’s overall road to recovery.

“While residential housing has been largely unaffected by COVID-19, the market is poised to play an influential role in the economic recovery.” While the next few months will be key for the sector, there are certainly encouraging signs across the nation that indicate a positive 2021 is on the cards.

1 Property ‘less volatile’ than equities: Smart Property Investment

Choose to challenge By Aoife Garvan

It’s International Women’s Day on 8 March 2021 and to celebrate, we spoke with some of the many inspirational female leaders from our industry. We asked them to share an achievement that they are proud of and how they’re helping to forge a gender equal world. Jodie Tai, Loans Processing Officer, P&N Bank “A personal achievement for me is the growth in my self-confidence. Being female as well as a minority race in Australia, I couldn’t help but feel different or excluded. This impacted my confidence out of home at an early age. I have been fortunate to have an amazing manager who has supported me and provided the tools to develop my confidence. She has not only been a mentor but a strong female leader who encourages self-development in all her employees. Now, for the first time, I’m confident to be myself and feel comfortable in my own shoes. I come from a traditional family background, with traditional expectations for women. For example, on my wedding day I was repeatedly asked when I was going to have

children. The expectation being that I would, and soon. Every day, I challenge gender bias by pushing past traditional expectations and doing what makes me happy, as an individual, and setting an example for future generations.”

Sheetal Deo, Lawyer, Advocate and D&I Consultant (QLD) “I truly believe in using positions of power and privilege to support others. I’ve worked hard to get where I am today, but I’m acutely aware that I was afforded certain privileges simply by virtue of where I was born, my able body or sacrifices my parents made - things outside of my control. So why should I have more access to justice than someone else?

That’s why after only four years PAE, I launched my own law firm, Shakti Legal Solutions – Shakti meaning the divine feminine. The firm’s ethos encompasses our fundamental human right to seek and obtain justice, and doing what we can, as lawyers and advocates, to facilitate access to it. Shakti Legal Solutions was created to bridge the justice gap and enable others to support our efforts. In terms of challenging gender bias, one of my proudest moments was facilitating the establishment of the QLS Future Leaders Committee and the Diverse Abilities Network at the Queensland Law Society (QLS). In an industry that has an abundance of male leaders it was important for me to ‘pass the mic,’ to female role models of diverse backgrounds and abilities. Not only does this provide our future lawyers and leaders with visible representation but encourages and empowers them to ‘own the mic’ and elevate others in furtherance of a more inclusive and equitable environment for our industry and beyond.”

Carmel Noon, CEO, The Australian Institute of Conveyancers – SA division “One of my greatest achievements and one I hold close to my heart was being appointed CEO of Kangaroo Island (KI) Council and the outcomes we achieved during my four-year placement - the KI Council looks after infrastructure in a substantial geographic area with a small rate payer base. At the time, I was the first female CEO in a decade to be appointed for a South Australian council – and there are 68 councils in the state. It was so “unexpected” that at Local Government functions, before we were introduced, my peers and elected members assumed that I was the Mayor’s executive assistant rather than a Council CEO. By the end of my four years, the elected members (in my first three years), my team and I had the attention of both State and Federal Governments. We secured much needed government funding for roads and infrastructure and the KI Future Authority (KIFA) was

established which enabled the revamp of the KI airport (with the airport and ferry being the life-line for locals), funding for roads and major infrastructure projects. It is still nice to read the written reference from the Mayor where she says, “The future of KIC is a positive one and can be attributed to Carmel’s legacy of management and leadership”. Throughout my career, I’ve found myself as one of few female leaders in a cast of men, especially in CEO/Senior Executive roles across many sectors. I have never given airtime to gender bias. My personal approach has been to ignore assumptions and judgement that have come my way and practice inclusive behaviour in every part of my life. People are just people, not male or female, and we deserve equal opportunity based on merit not gender. My mantra is that Culture eats Strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner!”

Sarah Rizk, Lawyer “I’m extremely proud to have become a Partner at a young age, having only practiced law for just five years. The odds were stacked against me from the beginning. In my family, female roles are predominantly traditional. I wasn’t expected to apply for university, let alone get in and go on to become a Partner. Similarly, when I attended university, the imbalance between male and female students was phenomenal. It didn’t look like there was much room for women to succeed. In more recent years, and particularly during my time teaching at ACU, it’s evident that there’s been a shift in that balance with the female presence dominating the classroom. The future of law is most certainly female.

Institute of Australia’s Women in Property Committee (Vic Division). There are so few women in the property industry relative to men, and that Committee created a network for us to enhance our profiles, engage with I choose to challenge gender bias for the next generation. Every day as a mum industry and build each other up. There were several times along the journey of two young girls, I choose to show up that the Committee had to justify its and forge ahead despite the additional existence. But now, there’s similar pressures of motherhood bestowed upon me by my traditional family, society, groups and forums coming to life across the broader industry, paving the way for and my own high expectations. our current, and future generations.” I’m also extremely proud to have been Chairperson of the Urban Development

Phishing and property settlements: What you need to know By David Willett, General Manager, IT Security, PEXA

What is phishing? Phishing refers to any fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information or data, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by disguising oneself as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Phishing can be conducted via email, text message, phone call and other digital means.

Spear phishing Spear phishing is a highly specialised type of scam that involves the sending of targeted communications towards a specific individual, organisation or business, in order to obtain sensitive information. To make their attempts appear legitimate, cybercriminals use details and information specific to the business that they have obtained elsewhere. Increasingly, phishing attacks are becoming more complex and difficult to identify, posing a significant risk to industry. 10

Impact on Australian businesses and clients According to the ACCC’s Scamwatch, in 2020, $176 million was lost to scams in Australia. The total number of reported scams also rose 23.1% year-on-year to a total of 216,089. Additionally, in its latest Targeting Scams report, business email compromise was the number one contributor to financial losses within Australia – costing organisations $132 million in 2019. ACCC data confirms that email phishing is the most common type of scam and the primary threat to businesses. Phishing is a threat that impacts all industries – not just property. However, Louisa Vogelenzang, Associate Managing Director & Country Leader (Australia) – Cyber Risk, Kroll explains that property is a prime target for criminals.

“Cyber criminals may prey on the property industry, due to the large sums of money involved in transaction, and the fact that property transactions naturally occur withing the context of strict deadlines and an element of excitement.

communication of sensitive information. Instructing your client to provide their bank account details via email directly places you at significant risk of a cyberattack. It is urged that PEXA Subscribers verbally confirm bank account details with clients before entering them into the Workspace. We highly recommend you make use of PEXA Key. This free app has been specifically built for industry to eliminate the risk of email phishing and enables clients to provide their bank account details to their legal representative safely.

While senior executive accounts are commonly targeted in BEC incidents, it is important to note that any employee routinely Additionally, the PEXA Key Secure accessing customer account data or Communication Guarantee provides protection to buyers and sellers if treasury functions is at risk.” Best practice The use of email is strongly discouraged for exchanging bank account details – this is NOT a safe channel for the

the communication of bank account details between the buyer/seller and their practitioner’s PEXA Workspace is corrupted within PEXA or intercepted due to fraud – up to $2 million.

Case studies Below are two hypothetical scenarios whereby a settlement has been compromised due to process failings.

Scenario #1

Scenario #2

In this instance, email is being used as the communication channel for the exchange of sensitive information and the email account of the client has been compromised.

A fraudulent email from an illegitimate address, containing fake BSB/Account Numbers is sent to the Subscriber. Often, only a single character in the email ie: from john.smith@hotmail. com to j0hn.smith@hotmail.com) is changed.

The client sends an email to the Subscriber containing the legitimate bank account details required for settlement. Unbeknownst to the Subscriber, a hacker has installed spyware/malware to monitor activity. Having done this, a hacker then intercepts this email, changes bank account details around and then resends the email to the Subscriber.

Having received the email, the Subscriber does not call the client to verbally confirm the bank account details. The Subscriber, unaware that the information is fraudulent, enters the account details into the PEXA Exchange Workspace. Settlement proceeds and funds are disbursed to the fraudulent account.

In these cases, there are two key gaps: • Email is used as the communication channel and is extremely prone to being compromised by hackers, who are actively seeking to intercept communications containing sensitive information. • Failing to verbally confirm account details prevents the fraudulent activity from being detected prior to settlement.

Situations to avoid In general terms, the below are known instances which introduce risk of fraud: • The Subscriber has requested details from the client via email. This email is then intercepted by a third party. • The Subscriber is communicating with their client via email. The fraudster has compromised either the Subscriber or the client’s email account and is falsely posing as the party.

Security team to inspect the email. PEXA would also like to be made aware of any fraudulent emails using our branding. • Delete the email, once it has been provided for analysis. If you click on a link within a phishing email: • Contact the PEXA Support Centre immediately, who will connect you with our Security team. • Additionally, engage your relevant security administrator.

• Details provided to the Subscriber by the client were not verbally confirmed and contained incorrect/fraudulent bank details.

• Report scams to the ACCC via the Scamwatch report a scam page.

• Having previously only communicated via phone call or PEXA Key, a fraudster posing as a client requests that the conversation moves to a new channel, such as WhatsApp, in order to conduct fraud.

“Organisations should conduct regular employee security awareness training on how to spot suspicious emails and other online threats. Use real life case studies from sources like ScamWatch, to help explain cyber risk in nontechnical terms and to stay up to date with the latest tactics that are being used by cyber criminals.

• A fraudster posing as a client sends new bank details as a screenshot from a different number through third party messaging services, such as WhatsApp. In any of the above scenarios, it’s vital to be certain that the communication you have received is from a legitimate source and if uncertain, verify over the phone with the relevant party.

How to protect yourself If you receive an email you believe to be suspicious: • Do not respond. • Do not click links or download attachments.

Expert tips from Kroll

“It’s important to understand that many business email compromise attempts rely on creating a sense of urgency or presenting a business case that pressures the targeted individual to quickly transfer funds or edit banking information, so the attacker can swiftly carry out fraudulent activities. Ensure mechanisms are in place to validate requests before action is taken, such as predefined escalation protocols. Also, build a corporate culture that stresses defined channels and protocols cannot be circumvented by anyone, no matter how senior.”

• Engage your relevant security administrator or reach out to PEXA’s 13

The connection between customer experience and business growth By Lisa Dowie, Chief Customer Officer, PEXA

Queensland’s property industry is undergoing significant transformation. Per land registry data, the majority of transfer lodgements are now being processed electronically in the state. But the sector’s legal practitioners continue to navigate this sizeable change and challenges posed by COVID-19 – as they lead the digitisation of buying and selling property for consumers. Keeping pace with customers As matters continue to move online, away from the constraints of physical settlement and associated administrative work, more time is being freed up for firms to reinvest into clients. 14

Paralleling this rapid market transformation is an ongoing evolution of customer expectations, with the demand on practices, the technology they utilise, and the service being delivered growing exponentially.

Chris Collinge, Managing Director, bytherules Conveyancing explains that reflection is critical on both where you are and where you want to be with your service delivery. “We believe in a great client experience, and have always assumed our customers had them, but it wasn’t until we brought it to the fore and made a determined effort to measure it, that we realised we had to do more.” And it’s this introspection that can help drive decisive action.

“Since implementing our CX program, based on the well understood Net Promoter Score (NPS) system, bytherules’ client “Focusing on the clients’ experience is one satisfaction levels has greatly of the most overlooked yet cost-effective improved. As a result, our business and high-impact ways to grow your firm, has grown significantly and the embed a service culture and outperform percentage of business we get in the marketplace,” White said. from referrals has jumped from This reinforces the prevailing 65% to over 90%.” understanding within property circles of Leading industry advisor Carl White, Director and Chief Experience Officer, CXINLAW previously wrote in Property Now that “most clients would tell you that excellent legal advice is expected, with customer experience (CX) now separating the best providers from the rest.”

the distinct correlation between a leading CX strategy and overall growth for the organisation.

CX in action In theory, the concept is simple – deliver an outstanding customer experience and reap the benefits. But what does this look like in practice?

“Focusing on the client experience by its very nature causes you to examine and improve multiple aspects of your business. I believe in this so strongly that I can confidently use our NPS score as the thermometer of the health of the business.” 15

The inaugural Future Leaders Committee takes flight By Lexi Kehl, Queensland Law Society

With nine members in Brisbane, one in Townsville and another based in Washington DC, the inaugural Future Leaders Committee (FLC) certainly didn’t let long-distance get in the way of their very first in-person induction last night, at the Law Society House. After a big election last October, this group of lawyers are the first democratically elected committee of members making up the FLC. With their careers spanning across a wide range of legal areas, the committee is keen to use their diverse experiences and expectations to represent and advocate on behalf of their peers and help shape the future of the legal profession.

Rolf Moses spoke about the importance of their roles in assisting QLS Council in a number of areas including policy submissions to the Queensland Government, cultural change in the profession, mental health support, access to justice and ensuring law students are job-ready when entering the profession. “The sky’s the limit with what this group can achieve!” Mr Moses said.

The Future Leaders Committee are due to meet again on February 25th to begin QLS President Elizabeth Shearer and their strategic planning for the next CEO Rolf Moses spent the evening 12 months and vote in their new FLC personally getting to know the FLC members and guiding them through their President and FLC Deputy President. expectations of the committee for the next 12 months.

Around the grounds

New South Wales and ACT NSW Land Registry Services, the Registrar General, the NSW Law Society and PEXA have collaborated to deploy an enhanced Leases functionality for industry. For more information, please refer to the NSW LRS announcement here.

Victoria In case you missed it: Land Use Victoria’s FAQs have moved, as part of its website revamp. For answers to the most common land registration queries, please visit this link.

South Australia As advised by the Registrar General, the COVID-19 Act amendment means the COVID-19 Emergency Response (Section 16) Regulations 2020 relating to statutory declarations, execution of corresponding mortgage and witnessing requirements (as detailed in NTLP 237) have been extended. These measures will now apply until 31 May 2021.

Queensland The Queensland Titles Registry has advised that there has been an increase in cases whereby practitioners are failing to return the original document to the Titles Registry when complying with a requisition. We kindly request that practitioners ensure the original requisitioned document with the barcode label affixed is returned to the Titles Registry when required.

Western Australia PEXA would like to remind industry to remain alert to phishing scams and other cyber-attacks. If you encounter something suspicious, contact our Security team as soon as possible. We also encourage you to make use of PEXA Key – a free, guaranteed resource that will help safeguard your business and clients. 17

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Do you have feedback, a question or a story pitch? Get in touch with us at industry@pexa.com.au