{"id":617169,"date":"2026-04-19T13:32:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T13:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/617169\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T13:32:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T13:32:47","slug":"the-mirror-has-many-faces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/617169\/","title":{"rendered":"The mirror has many faces"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" Image: Google AI<\/p>\n

If someone who\u2019s spent 13+ years writing about this industry can be charmed into writing the success story, what chance does an average seller have when that same charm shows up at their kitchen table with a listing agreement?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a while for me between \u201cserious\u201d editorials, but my word for this year is \u201cvalues.\u201d Maybe I knew in my gut that it would be tested this year. These are interesting times, and so, well \u2013 here we are.<\/p>\n

Grab a cuppa and strap yourself in.<\/p>\n

The catalyst<\/p>\n

Josh Tesolin has been banned from real estate for 10 years. You know this. Everyone knows this. It was front page of the SMH<\/a>, trending in real estate Reddit threads<\/a> around the country, and probably discussed at length over at least two thousand or more open home conversations last Saturday.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m not going to rehash the details. NSW Fair Trading<\/a> did that quite thoroughly.<\/p>\n

Tesolin\u2019s response to the ban, via podcast?<\/a> \u201cI\u2019ve got lots of money, lots of good friends. I\u2019ve got a great legal team as well.\u201d <\/p>\n

And, my personal favourite: \u201cJournalists that write erroneous articles\u2026 they need Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dear Josh, we do not need Jesus. What we actually need is change and the truth.<\/p>\n

My relationship with Josh<\/p>\n

I met Josh Tesolin quite a few times. Elite Agent documented his rise. One of our former employees wrote one of the first stories about him, about how he made a million at GCI in his first year.<\/p>\n

I thought I\u2019d seen it all before. I reluctantly invited him in for a podcast, and I actually didn\u2019t want to like him. But he somehow won me over. He was charming and funny, with the gift of the gab. What really got me was how he spoke about his mother with such genuine love that you couldn\u2019t help but warm to him.<\/p>\n

I feel a bit like an idiot now.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s kind of the point, isn\u2019t it? The charm was always the product. The system just never asked what it was being used for.<\/p>\n

We celebrated him<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with what\u2019s really uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

The industry that just watched one of its most celebrated agents get a decade-long ban is the same industry that celebrated him. Repeatedly. Publicly. With trophies, stages, keynotes, and accolades.<\/p>\n

Top Agent. Number One. Record-breaker. Six-time this, three-time that.<\/p>\n

Every one of those awards was based on volume and revenue. But the unfortunate thing is that real estate awards have never factored in consumer outcomes.<\/p>\n

\"\"Image: Google AI<\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s a big part of the problem.<\/p>\n

One suburb, two suspensions<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the detail that should worry everyone as much as, if not more than, the Tesolin ban itself.<\/p>\n

After Tesolin was suspended, another agent in the same suburb \u2013 Quakers Hill \u2013 stepped up to become the area\u2019s top seller. Within months, that agent was also suspended by Fair Trading<\/a>. Same allegations. Same practices. Same suburb.<\/p>\n

Two top-performing agents. One suburb. Both suspended for underquoting.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a personnel problem. That\u2019s a system problem. And when the person who replaces the person who got caught is doing the same thing? Again, that\u2019s a system, not one person.<\/p>\n

NSW Fair Trading has now taken disciplinary action against more than 50 agents<\/a> in the past 12 months. The \u201cName and Shame\u201d<\/a> register is live. <\/p>\n

I hate the idea that this thing even has to exist, because it affects all the good people in the industry who spend their lives in these shadows while doing the right thing.<\/p>\n

Culture is caught, but these practices are taught<\/p>\n

Tesolin did the wrong thing<\/a>, but he didn\u2019t invent underquoting. <\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t invent auction conditioning. He didn\u2019t invent \u201cincentive commissions\u201d or the practice of over-quoting to win a listing and then grinding the seller\u2019s expectations down to meet the market.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re in coaching programs around the world. They\u2019re on stages at industry events. They\u2019re framed as \u201cvendor management,\u201d \u201cprice conditioning,\u201d and \u201ccommercial discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n

The language is always clean. The outcome isn\u2019t always. I\u2019ve been vendor conditioned. I literally wanted to throw something at the agent who was doing the conditioning and earnestly delivering scripts I\u2019d heard delivered on various stages over the years.<\/p>\n

My point is, these practices did not emerge in isolation. They\u2019ve evolved over time through a mix of training, experience and market pressure. And a lot of remixing of materials over the years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The situation we\u2019re looking at now isn\u2019t only about Josh Tesolin. You\u2019re looking at a standard set list that gets played at conferences and behind many a closed door. The only real difference is who\u2019s in the DJ booth.<\/p>\n

From Agent to Coach<\/p>\n

So now we\u2019ve come full circle, and there was a recent event where we\u2019re not seeing anything that\u2019s actually new, just people on stage \u201coperating at a meaningful level within the industry\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Again, there\u2019s outrage. Everyone I\u2019ve spoken to in the past week has said some version of the same sentence: \u201cIt\u2019s not good enough.\u201d \u201cHow can they be allowed to coach?\u201d<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t be a coach if people don\u2019t listen to you. The industry has to accept some responsibility here as enablers of some of the problems we complain about. <\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the bit that grinds me. A lot of the loudest voices right now are calling for cancellations and demanding new MCs at conferences \u2013 even though they deeply understand the ecosystem that built the problem. Outrage is easy. A cheap LinkedIn post costs nothing. <\/p>\n

But not one of those posts has offered a single macro idea for what comes next. If your contribution to the conversation is calling for individuals to be cancelled and nothing else, it might be worth taking another look at the bigger picture.<\/p>\n

The future: You cannot charm an algorithm<\/p>\n

So\u2026 what\u2019s the industry\u2019s realistic response going to be?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to be outraged once it\u2019s safe, and I\u2019m not going to pretend I am above that. <\/p>\n

Too hard basket, perhaps? Again, not helpful.<\/p>\n

Elite Agent published content featuring Josh Tesolin. We\u2019ve since taken all of it down. Not quietly archived. Removed. And\u2026 we are actively reviewing more of our content now.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a victory lap. That\u2019s a late start. But it\u2019s a start.<\/p>\n

In my AI keynotes, I talk about the \u201cmessy middle,\u201d which, in terms of the real estate industry, is right now.<\/p>\n

When I look at the various governments\u2019 fixes for underquoting \u2013 like mandatory price guides and statements of information \u2013 through the lens of 2026, it feels a little bit like requiring a man with a smartphone to carry a map just to prove he knows where he\u2019s going.<\/p>\n

My crystal ball says that when a 2030 buyer uses their personal AI agent to cross-reference an agent\u2019s quoted price against their historical sales data, any discrepancy will be instantly flagged.<\/p>\n

The AI won\u2019t just tell the buyer the house is underquoted; it will put a warning label on the agent.<\/p>\n

Looking at the wave of tools in our hands right now, I would think that by 2030, consumers shouldn\u2019t need a government \u201cName and Shame\u201d register.<\/p>\n

By that, I mean if an agent has a verifiable digital history of underquoting, dummy bidding, or shady tactics, buyer AI will simply filter their listings out of the feed.<\/p>\n

Shady agents won\u2019t need to be banned by the government; they will be shadowbanned by the market.<\/p>\n

But we\u2019re not yet in 2030, and the messy middle is where we live right now. <\/p>\n

And it\u2019s going to get messier\u2026<\/p>\n

What AI still can\u2019t fix<\/p>\n

I can show you how to whip up a spreadsheet of comparables with Google\u2019s AI in about 5 seconds. I can even show you how to research a property to find its hidden value, hidden risks, and more.<\/p>\n

But underquoting is not just about the data. It\u2019s a psychological tactic designed to manipulate human behaviour \u2013 artificially inflating the crowd size on auction day.<\/p>\n

This is the part that deserves more attention than it usually gets.<\/p>\n

While AI is moving fast and doing a great job of democratising information, it has not and cannot surface or democratise human intent.<\/p>\n

Even if your AI tells you a house is worth $1.5 million, if the agent lists it at $1.2 million, a primal, irrational part of your brain might think, \u201cMaybe the seller is desperate. I should go just in case.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then\u2026 when 50 people show up hoping for a bargain, the AI\u2019s logical valuation goes out the window. The sheer presence of competition triggers FOMO<\/a>, driving the final price higher than the AI predicted.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the gap. AI can get close to market value. But it doesn\u2019t know what the vendor needs to move. The agent and the seller still hold a monopoly on that specific piece of information.<\/p>\n

And as long as that asymmetry exists, the psychological playbook still works \u2013 even on informed buyers.<\/p>\n

Closing the gap<\/p>\n

So, right now, we have one foot stuck in the 2019 playbook of vendor conditioning and information hoarding, and the other is hovering over a 2030 reality of AI-driven transparency.<\/p>\n

And let\u2019s be clear: an agent\u2019s job is to get the highest possible price for their vendor. That is genuinely hard work. But let\u2019s be brutally honest \u2013 it\u2019s not just agents who are clinging to an old playbook.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of sellers out there who aren\u2019t squeaky clean either.<\/p>\n

Every time a seller chooses the \u201cbulldog\u201d agent who promises a massive crowd, knowing full well that crowd is being lured by a fictional price guide, they are complicit, too.<\/p>\n

Some vendors out there have historically loved the dark arts of real estate because the agent takes the ethical and regulatory risk, while they cash the cheque. <\/p>\n

They want the highest price, and they rarely care if a few dozen buyers get their hearts broken and their wallets drained on building inspections along the way.<\/p>\n

So, how do we actually achieve transparency if some sellers resist it and agents are still being trained to fight it?<\/p>\n

We cross that bridge if and when the technology flips the financial incentive.<\/p>\n

The shift won\u2019t happen because we all suddenly have a collective moral awakening. My best guess is that it will happen because, in an AI-filtered world, hiring a deceptive agent will taint the asset. It will literally cost the seller clicks, leads, and money.<\/p>\n

The messy middle ends the day all parties \u2013 sellers, buyers and agents \u2013 realise that absolute, verifiable truth is the only way to get their property past the algorithmic bouncers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Trust can shift from a regulatory burden to the ultimate premium feature.<\/p>\n

What can we do now?<\/p>\n

Of all the people I\u2019ve talked to over the years in this industry, the vast majority agree that trust remains the foundation of this profession. <\/p>\n

So in practical terms, what needs to change?<\/p>\n

Over the coming months, I will be asking industry captains for their thoughts and ideas. But here are a few from me in the meantime:<\/p>\n

Awards need a compliance filter. Volume without integrity is just noise. You shouldn\u2019t be able to win a volume award without a customer outcome metric.<\/p>\n

The franchise networks see the numbers before anyone else \u2013 they could intervene before someone goes off the rails, not after. Let\u2019s promote radical transparency as a feature, not a flaw.<\/p>\n

The portals and other platforms are data companies. They are perfectly positioned to pioneer algorithmic trust, if they choose to.<\/p>\n

Coaching needs transparency. Unregulated doesn\u2019t have to mean unaccountable. Choose wisely who you give your attention to.<\/p>\n

The trade press \u2013 including Elite Agent \u2013 needs to be far more circumspect about who we hand the microphone to. I\u2019ll be working hard on that one personally. I\u2019d like to call on REB to do the same.<\/p>\n

Conference organisers \u2013 rethink who gets the stage and your microphone. Maybe it\u2019s time we invited some consumers up there, too \u2013 let\u2019s actually hear what they want.<\/p>\n

My point is this: No one micro-fix will solve this. And while the industry debates who to cancel next, the technology will continue to quietly rewrite the scoreboard regardless. The question is whether we work together \u2013 or wait until the technology decides for us.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The profession you want to be<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I keep coming back to.<\/p>\n

Real estate agents \u2013 the good ones, and there are so many of you \u2013 are fiercely proud of what you do. You\u2019ll tell me about the family you helped find their first home. The widow you guided through selling the house she\u2019d lived in for 40 years. The investor who trusted you with a decision that changed their financial future.<\/p>\n

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of stories about these agents on eliteagent.com.<\/p>\n

That pride is legitimate. You are good humans.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s exactly why this moment matters.<\/p>\n

Because every time an agent is caught doing the wrong thing, it doesn\u2019t just hurt that agent\u2019s reputation. It hurts yours. It lands on every doorstep conversation, every listing presentation, every auction registration where a buyer looks at you and wonders: Can I trust this person?<\/p>\n

To the leaders of our major franchises, the heads of our portals, and the principal advertisers who fund this ecosystem: you are not the target of this frustration; you are the solution to it.<\/p>\n

The agencies that survive the next decade will be the ones that adopt verifiable transparency. If an agent\u2019s primary value is \u201ckeeping secrets to drive up the price,\u201d AI will replace them. If their value is \u201cmanaging a highly complex transaction with absolute, verifiable truth,\u201d they will thrive.<\/p>\n

What I care about at this moment is whether the industry treats this as a line in the sand \u2013 or if change is just too uncomfortable. <\/p>\n

But if the industry doesn\u2019t clean house, the technology will do it for us, and it won\u2019t ask for permission.<\/p>\n

Note: We don\u2019t have comments on the website to keep the user experience fast, but you can leave a comment here on my LinkedIn post.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image: Google AI If someone who\u2019s spent 13+ years writing about this industry can be charmed into writing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617170,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,105],"class_list":["post-617169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}