Today’s headlines, weather and court lists

We have compiled everything you need to know to start your day.Here’s your morning briefing of today’s top stories, overnight news, today’s weather and court lists.TODAY’S TOP STORIES‘No end in sight’: Supercharged home sales storm past $4.4bn Tassie's remarkable Covid-defying property market has reached new heights and broken records again, this time at an unheard of pace.Can this Tassie ‘free spirit’ steal Bachelorette Brooke’s heart? Four intruders are set to enter The Bachelorette mansion on Thursday night, and one of them is a Tasmanian. ‘Unending cycle of crisis’: Inside Tasmania’s hospital hell Tasmanian hospital staff have spoken of the “exhausting” nature of their work in a report highlighting a major crisis within the public hospital system nationally. Shock details emerge during police interview played in murder trialNew details have been revealed as the Launceston Supreme Court jury hears a police interview with a woman accused of the murder of her mother.READ TODAY’S PAPERClick here to read the digital edition of the Mercury newspaper – just as it was printed.CARTOONCOVID-19 TOOLSCOVID-19 Stats - Horizontal with Lazy LoadNational - 2021 - Covid Vaccination StatsNED-4476-Australia-Vaccinations-by-LGANED-4409-How-to-get-proof-of-vaccinationLETTER OF THE DAYMEDITATION ON REAL ESTATE AGENTS IN these times of historic property prices, it is interesting to look at the true winners (bar the vendors): real estate agents. So who are these agents on commission? In a market so hot houses are often sold within seven days of going online, the agent is a facilitator connecting the vendor to a buyer. The role of the agent is important but the skillset must be questioned. Their engagement will usually provide a wider range of potential purchasers and accessibility to a greater marketing strategy, sure. But what is their value in a hot market when open homes on a Saturday resemble the Salamanca Market pre-covid and the majority of purchasing traffic is through realestate.com? To be eligible to be a registered real estate agent, you must have been employed as a property manager or property representative continuously for two years and complete about 20 hours of study and sit an exam. For their efforts, the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania recommends that on a $600,000 property their commission should be over $25,000. To put that into context, the stamp duty the purchaser pays on a $600,000 purchase is less than $23,000 and the cost of a brand new Honda Jazz is $19,000. The increases in property prices seem to be in perpetuity. Is it not a worry that people charged with selling the properties have no mandated qualifications for property valuation, less than 20 hours formal education in their industry? The governing body in the REIT seldom seems to investigate their own agents. There are 1655 registered property agents in Tasmania. I have no doubt most are fantastic people with good morals and a great work ethic. But should there not be more oversight in an industry that is a cog in one of the key social issues this generation? Camilla TorpferSandy BayTODAY’S WEATHER:TODAY’S COURT AND BUSINESS LIQUIDATION LISTS:Click here for today’s list of people appearing in Tasmania’s Magistrates Courts and business closures.Mercury digital subscription factbox

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October 28, 2021 at 12:30AM
We have compiled everything you need to know to start your day.Here’s your morning briefing of today’s top stories, overnight news, today’s weather and court lists.TODAY’S TOP STORIES‘No end in sight’: Supercharged home sales storm past $4.4bn Tassie's remarkable Covid-defying property market has reached new heights and broken records again, this time at an unheard of pace.Can this Tassie ‘free spirit’ steal Bachelorette Brooke’s heart? Four intruders are set to enter The Bachelorette mansion on Thursday night, and one of them is a Tasmanian. ‘Unending cycle of crisis’: Inside Tasmania’s hospital hell Tasmanian hospital staff have spoken of the “exhausting” nature of their work in a report highlighting a major crisis within the public hospital system nationally. Shock details emerge during police interview played in murder trialNew details have been revealed as the Launceston Supreme Court jury hears a police interview with a woman accused of the murder of her mother.READ TODAY’S PAPERClick here to read the digital edition of the Mercury newspaper – just as it was printed.CARTOONCOVID-19 TOOLSCOVID-19 Stats - Horizontal with Lazy LoadNational - 2021 - Covid Vaccination StatsNED-4476-Australia-Vaccinations-by-LGANED-4409-How-to-get-proof-of-vaccinationLETTER OF THE DAYMEDITATION ON REAL ESTATE AGENTS IN these times of historic property prices, it is interesting to look at the true winners (bar the vendors): real estate agents. So who are these agents on commission? In a market so hot houses are often sold within seven days of going online, the agent is a facilitator connecting the vendor to a buyer. The role of the agent is important but the skillset must be questioned. Their engagement will usually provide a wider range of potential purchasers and accessibility to a greater marketing strategy, sure. But what is their value in a hot market when open homes on a Saturday resemble the Salamanca Market pre-covid and the majority of purchasing traffic is through realestate.com? To be eligible to be a registered real estate agent, you must have been employed as a property manager or property representative continuously for two years and complete about 20 hours of study and sit an exam. For their efforts, the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania recommends that on a $600,000 property their commission should be over $25,000. To put that into context, the stamp duty the purchaser pays on a $600,000 purchase is less than $23,000 and the cost of a brand new Honda Jazz is $19,000. The increases in property prices seem to be in perpetuity. Is it not a worry that people charged with selling the properties have no mandated qualifications for property valuation, less than 20 hours formal education in their industry? The governing body in the REIT seldom seems to investigate their own agents. There are 1655 registered property agents in Tasmania. I have no doubt most are fantastic people with good morals and a great work ethic. But should there not be more oversight in an industry that is a cog in one of the key social issues this generation? Camilla TorpferSandy BayTODAY’S WEATHER:TODAY’S COURT AND BUSINESS LIQUIDATION LISTS:Click here for today’s list of people appearing in Tasmania’s Magistrates Courts and business closures.Mercury digital subscription factbox