More agents needed to serve in ‘crazy hot’ Western Australia
Booming WA’s 697 licensed settlement agents - working in 350 businesses - completed 90,354 transactions in the past financial year as the state continues to see a housing growth spurt. Risks from cyber, fraud and government compliance are adding to their workload.
WA’S 697 licensed settlement agents – in 350 businesses – completed 90,354 transactions in the past financial year as the state sees a housing growth spurt.
Risks from cyber, fraud and government compliance are adding to their workload.
The newly appointed chief executive of the AIC WA branch, Brook Durling, says the “crazy hot” property market in Western Australia in 2024 is keeping the state’s settlement agents very busy with many experiencing difficulty in finding enough employees to carry the load.
This past financial year its 697 licensed settlement agents – working in around 350 businesses statewide – have completed 90,354 transactions (figures: EAS2).
“There appears to be a lack of available staff to support businesses in this industry,” Durling tells Australian Conveyancer magazine.
He believes a possible solution to the understaffing issue could lie in AI carrying some of the settlement agent’s burden in the future.
“AI could make things interesting,” he says. “It remains to be seen but I am leaning in to the AI ‘revolution’ as I believe there are use cases where it will provide benefit to business. I am actively exploring this space currently.
“It’s early days with some members adopting the technology albeit in limited capacity – that is, ChatGPT for content creation, document checking, etc.”
Durling says other factors affecting his 280 members are the “increasing obligations being stacked on settlement agents by government departments, for example, ATO requirements”.
“Also, the fraud and scam landscape is growing in sophistication and success – when it is successful they grow in number and intensity.”
The AIC WA is actively instructing its members how to deal with cyber scammers.
“I have just launched a new fraud/scam awareness training tool for all my members and their office staff,” says Durling, who has also recently onboarded a new sponsor partner in the cybersecurity support space.
Durling says it is important to be prepared for the challenges ahead which he identifies as: “Technology change, AI, fraud and scam and the housing market cycle downturn – if it happens!”
But he also sees great opportunities ahead for Western Australia’s settlement agents.
“They will be able to re-imagine the role of a settlement agent in the property value chain as consumer expectations in this space change and evolve,” he says.
