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I've been thinking a bit lately about confidence, and what that word actually means. People often assume that as you become more experienced, confidence simply grows with you. That once you've led enough people or spent enough years in your career, you eventually stop questioning yourself.

The Regulatory Systems (Occupational Regulation) Amendment Act 2026 received Royal assent on 8 July after passing its third reading in Parliament on 30 June. Among its changes is the removal of a five-year disqualification period that could follow the cancellation of a real estate licence for certain administrative or continuing professional development failures.

Vendors are returning to the market in greater numbers, but softer sales and rising stock levels suggest the next test for agencies will be converting listings rather than simply winning them.

Every real estate professional builds their business around a collection of valuable assets. Some spend years developing a database of past clients and referral partners. Others invest heavily in their personal brand, social media presence or the latest technology.

Across Australia and New Zealand, agency leaders are discovering that attracting experienced agents has become one of the industry's biggest challenges. It's not because there aren't talented professionals in the market. It's because those professionals have become far more selective about where they choose to build their businesses.

Two budgets landed in May. One tightened settings for property investors, while the other got out of the way. The contrast between Australia and New Zealand's fiscal settings has sharpened a question that was already forming: is the Tasman Sea wide enough to keep Australian investors from looking at what's on the other side? And how soon will they act?

New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty managing director Mark Harris says the Government’s latest Budget is best viewed through a broader economic lens rather than as a set of direct housing market interventions.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has left the Official Cash Rate unchanged at 2.25%, and from a housing perspective that feels like the right outcome for the market right now. The property market is still relatively soft and activity remains below more normal levels, so we still need more buyers back in the market. Holding rates steady should help support confidence and avoid placing additional pressure on households at a time when buyers are already becoming more selective.

🎙️ Welcome to this episode of The Chat, proudly brought to you by Real Estate Today. Real estate is changing faster than ever before. AI, tech, social media, branding, automation, freedom, support, growth, noise, burnout, opportunity. The industry is evolving daily, but one question remains, where do you even start? In this episode, we are joined by Paul Findlay, Director of APAC for Cloudstaff, and Mark Morrision, CEO of Agency HQ, for a powerful conversation about what the

BWA Insolvency’s Quarterly Market Report shows 772 insolvencies were recorded in Q1 2026, down 17 per cent from 936 cases in Q4 2025. While the quarterly decline suggests business stress may have peaked late last year, insolvencies remain 13.9 per cent higher than the same quarter in 2025, reinforcing that many firms are still operating under sustained pressure.

Budget 2026 arrives in a different mood to its predecessor. Last year's "Growth Budget" had a centrepiece in the “Investment Boost” and a forward-looking tone to match. This year, the government has set aside $2.4 billion for new spending, which is a step up from last year's historically low $1.3 billion, but existing commitments have already absorbed most of it, leaving only around $1 billion for genuinely new decisions.

The market is stabilising, but momentum remains patchy New Zealand’s housing market has spent much of the past 12 to 18 months finding its feet.