Alright, good afternoon and welcome back to another SLG Meetup. Now I'm very excited about today's episode because we're gonna be flying all the way to Sydney, Australia to talk about all the amazing things that are going on with real estate. And for that we're gonna have the face and one of the cast members of the TV show in Amazon Prime, Luxe, Listens, Sydney. Her name is Tammy Sorkmanish and she's gonna tell us all about her role in the whole luxury real estate industry as a property buyers agent and also everything that is going on with the show now with the third season coming up.
There she is, yes we made it. What's happening Tammy? Oh my god. Good, very good.
Very good, very good. No, but what I will tell you is that you are way ahead on the scale. It's what? 5am over there?
Yeah, 4.30 actually, yeah. Yeah, almost 5am. Wow. Look, I appreciate you joining us at this time and it's a wonderful day to get started, right?
To talk about your beautiful story. Oh. So, now listen, I wanted to touch base a little bit on how everything is at the moment with the luxury real estate market in Sydney, Australia. I was making a quick introduction about yourself and how not only you are a property buyers agent in Sydney, but also how you are a cast member of the TV show in Prime of Luxe, Listens, Sydney.
So, how is the market right now in Australia? You know, the market's pretty crazy in Australia. I think things move at a faster pace than some of the states over in the US. At the moment we're seeing, you know, obviously, inflation is still increasing and so interest rates are increasing.
And so the buyers are a little bit cautious, but deals are still happening and they're still happening pretty quickly. I think buyers are just being picky about what they're sort of buying. And the top end is still super strong. They're still such a low amount of stock in the sort of 20 mil plus range.
And so, you know, if there's something available for a buyer to buy, they're going to jump on it. Right. So, I guess right now it's turning to be a bit more of a buyers market where maybe there's not that hype of everybody jumping into property. So, there's a bit more of a rule for negotiation.
That's what we've seen globally at the moment. Is that happening specifically in Sydney? I would definitely say it's a buyers market. But the funny thing is, you know, the top end is sort of a market in itself.
So, the really sort of top luxury real estate, given that there's such a lack of supply and still certainly buyers around. We're still seeing that there's strong results in that market. Right. And obviously, in order to position yourself as somebody that not only understands what's going on with the market and where the opportunities are laying, but also because of the branding that you've developed over the last years, especially now with the TV show, how's that affected your career?
You know, it's been great that this show's been, you know, for start is super fun. It's been such an exciting project to be involved in and we've all had a lot of fun making it. I think it's great for common handler. We're already sort of known as a prestige brand.
And this is kind of just catapulted that globally. And I think if anything, it's raised awareness about what buyers agents do. It's quite different over there in the US. You can be a real estate agent and a buyers agent and you kind of get paid by the same person.
Whereas we work, you know, exclusively for the buyer. We don't sell property. And so it's a very different concept. And I think it's, you know, I showed a lot of life in our industry, which is great.
Right. And that's a quite interesting approach because you're right here in the States. It's all about like, how can you get listings, right? Because if you have listings, you control the market.
That's how can you represent the seller. But there over there, it's in Sydney, it's kind of like different because there's a loyalty with the buyer. Because you're actually representing the buyer and your guiding them through the entire journey. And they're not jumping one to another because you actually have that establishment.
So, and the show obviously is talking about that, which I saw a little bit of it. And I kind of want to look more into it. It looks fine. It looks interesting.
And how is that like in terms of your credibility? Is that something that has helped you acquire more clients? I think it's given like our brand, Great Exposure. And I mean, definitely from an international point of view, we've had a lot of international clients who kind of went away, what car in hand was and what we were doing.
And they've kind of all of a sudden been like, oh, you know, Sydney looks amazing. I need to buy a home there. And they've sort of engaged us. So yeah, it definitely would say it's been great.
So you just mentioned about that, you know, like more of an international clientele wanting to buy Sydney. Why would somebody want to buy Sydney? What are some of the benefits? All right, look, I think Sydney is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
I mean, look at our harbour. And I think we have incredible. I think it's something very different, you know, to buy waterfront home, looking at the harbour bridge is like the absolute dream, right? So who wouldn't want to?
No, I mean, listen, it looks amazing. I haven't been yet to Sydney. Well, me that's really a general. And it's one of the things that is on my list.
I was not too far by being in Bali. I thought it was a good job. But definitely looks amazing. And this show is obviously showcases even more the lifestyle of what it represents.
So no, that's one of the factors that I believe a lot of people are seeing in there. But I wanted to ask you because obviously you were coming out of this big pandemic situation with COVID. Like Australia was one of those places that remained locked. And how do you handle that situation, especially in real?
Yeah, gosh, Australia had some hectic lockdowns. I know we're sort of the butt of the world's jokes for a while because we were up there on the street rules. What's crazy is we kind of went through a small period of a couple of weeks when the border shut and everyone was freaking out, as you would. All our clients were worried.
A lot of people decided, okay, now's not the time to buy. They're going to put their search on hold. And then we just saw a complete flip of people going, well, now's opportunity. And I think Australians are quite property savvy in a sense that when the markets down with the smart ones will go, okay, we're now with the buy.
And instantly the market just went like that. It was still had low stock levels, but interest rates below, people had a lot of cash, everyone was saving, no, it was traveling. So there was a lot of disposable money and people were just investing it. That's awesome.
Now, how do you, I mean, obviously the show has helped a lot when it comes to the exposure, not just of the company or what you do, but yourself. Any other angles on how you promote yourself, especially in these times where more than ever you want to make sure that people want to work with you. Absolutely. I looked at the biggest way that I promote myself is through clients and past clients.
A majority of my business and our business as a company is referral based. And that's exactly why I was so strong on making sure that client has an amazing experience and that we get them the result. And they're so happy because they go out and tell 10 of their friends. And it's the biggest compliment to me when a past client, even if it's one year, two, three years down the track will send me a text message connecting me to one of their friends and their family members and saying, you know, Tammy, you've got to help this person.
I think that just shows that they've had such a good time with you and they really respect what you've done to them that they want to make sure everyone else knows about it. Yeah, your company for your powerbase. And it's about feeding that powerbase so that not only they have a good experience and they refer you to the other friends, but they also remember about you in the future encounters, which is important because people forget very easily. Now let me ask you, let me ask you about it because talking to different people from different destinations around the world, I see different ways of how people prepare themselves for what's coming.
I mean, there is no nothing to hide. Everybody knows that we're heading towards. Big recession. The market is going to slow down a little bit.
How do you prepare yourself to that? Well, I think you see in these markets that, you know, it's unlike what we've experienced. Most of the people I work with have generally experienced in their career. I mean, since 2008 when we had, you know, the GFC, but it's just about going back to basics and, you know, it comes down to just working harder.
I think you really have to just push that little bit extra because it is getting harder to, you know, get deals across the line, you know, soft levels are tied by his accourses. So I think you've just really got to be positioned as an expert in your field and you've just got to, you know, really, really work hard. Exactly. That's all for you.
All right. Work hard, but work smart. Exactly. The formula.
Talking about real estate and the situation, she obviously are dealing with some of the most amazing properties in Sydney and the world luxury, right? Even on the show of likes, listening in Sydney, the world luxury gets used in so many different ways, but why is it really luxury to you? I think you can really tell luxury by, you know, the quality of fittings and finishes in a home. When someone's clearly renovated or built a home to live in, you can just tell that there's, you know, not necessarily no expense there, but they've really thought about how they're going to use different materials in the home and how they're going to bring it together.
And if they, you know, thought about the floor plan, I mean, there's luxury on so many different scales, you know, there's one bedroom apartments that are luxury and then there's $50 million of estates in the luxury. I think it's just how, you know, how you feel in a house. Right. Is the perception on what it really represents that luxury lifestyle.
Anyway, that's great. I wanted to ask you also about, this is more on a personal level because obviously it's 4.30am in Australia, Europe. I mean, that's commitment. Do you have a specific morning routine that you follow?
I do. I'm a very morning person. So I get up usually around 5am. My morning is sort of my time because obviously a lot of the other real estate agents or, you know, generally buyers are asleep, so it's quite quiet.
And I'll just get on top of my emails and, you know, flick through my phone, make sure I've gotten back to everyone to get back to. And then, you know, I got a gym actually been doing Barry's boot camp at the moment. So yeah, so I've been loving that. So yeah, the morning's really important to me.
And then after that gym, I'll grab a coffee usually with my husband. He's also a real estate agent. So we're pretty... I know it's a teamwork.
Yeah, exactly. We're pretty much always just talking about property. So yeah, we're doing we have a coffee together. And I think because we live such busy lives and we both have such crazy jobs that sort of morning together, even if it's just 15 minutes of a coffee in the morning, it's like really important for us and something that I really enjoy.
It's sort of my favorite part of the day. That's pretty much it. And I'm just out and off to work. Fantastic.
Now I wanted to pick up your brain a little bit. I mean, you've been in the industry for a while already and different cycles. So I'm sure that in your entire career, you've faced a lot of difficulties and lessons. So what's been the one thing that you will say, this is the main takeaway of what I learned in my career so far?
It's a tough one. I think I've learned to not get emotional. You know, you end up having such a close relationship with some of your clients and, you know, everyone that I work with, I genuinely want to do the best job possible for. I'm really strong on that.
And sometimes, you know, there's... you have to let them down. Sometimes, you know, they might show them a house and they might not get it for whatever reason, whether some of the buyer pays more or the owners decide not to sell. And you might lose the deal.
And I think that's the hardest thing. And I'm, you know, growing up in the industry, I used to get really emotional about it. Like I get really upset because I'm really interested in it. And I think I've learned to just kind of, you know, separate myself from that a little bit because at the end of the day, you know, you've got to be calm and you've got to be a sort of rock for your clients.
And even if you're so upset that they didn't get the house or, you know, the owners just got to change their mind, you've got to kind of just be there to reassure them that, you know, they're going to get the next thing. Yeah, it's a tough position to be on, especially when there's so many things on the line. But as you said, we're here in the people's business. So in order to maintain those relationships and get through the finish line, you need to stay calm.
Do you have a meditation also or not? I don't. I should have a meditation. But I don't, I don't.
Not yet. It's so funny because I know a lot of people in the real estate space that they're saying, Oh my God, the education is like, this is the new thing. Like everybody stays still zen and it's such a heck take and stressful environment. Sometimes you need to find that peace of mind and especially the control on your mind.
Right. So I really like your routine and I like the mindset of your head. So I don't want to take too much of your time. I know it's super early over there.
It's in me. So I want you to carry on with your morning routine and wishing you best of luck and everything can we just see you on the TV show. And if you ever come down to the other side of the world here in the US, please let us know definitely stop in Miami. And yeah, looking forward to seeing all your successes.
Yeah, awesome. Thank you. I've got family over in Dallas, Texas. So I'm there quite often.
So definitely will stop on Miami next time. Thank you so much for the chat. There you go. I appreciate it.
We'll speak soon. Bye. Bye. Bye.
Bye. Bye. And thanks again for everybody tuning in today. We hope you enjoyed it.
And remember, embrace it's beautiful success in life. My name is Alvaro and I'll see you next time.