Record-breaking US luxury agents to lead high-level real estate summit
From record-breaking US agents to leadership strategists, AREC 2026 is positioning itself as a must-attend event for ambitious property professionals.
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Some of the world’s most recognisable names in luxury real estate will headline this year’s Australasian Real Estate Conference (AREC), as organisers sharpen the event’s focus on practical skills, performance and long-term growth.
Scheduled for May 24 and 25 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, AREC 2026 will bring together high-profile agents, business leaders and performance mentors at a time organisers describe as one of its most complex market environments in recent memory.
Izzy Savva, Head of Total Real Estate Training, says the program has been shaped by feedback from agents seeking guidance on how to stay competitive amid ongoing change.
“After listening closely to agents in this current market, it became clear that now is the time to focus on the fundamentals — the core skills that build sustainable careers,” she said.
“AREC is designed to focus on what really drives success in real estate: client relationships, negotiation, listing mastery, and personal growth.”
Among the headline speakers are internationally renowned US agents Josh Altman and Josh Flagg, known globally through Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles.
Both have built careers representing some of California’s most prestigious homes and have collectively transacted billions of dollars in property.
Flagg will appear in a Q&A session with AREC founder John McGrath, offering insights into reputation-driven business, marketing and client relationships.
Altman, who has sold more than $9 billion in real estate during his career, is recognised for consistently achieving record-setting results in highly competitive luxury markets.
They will be joined by Tim Smith of Coldwell Banker’s Tim Smith Real Estate Group, who has achieved more than $6 billion in sales and built a reputation for strategic marketing and negotiation expertise across Orange County’s sought-after coastal communities.
Beyond sales performance, AREC 2026 will also explore the mindset and leadership skills required to succeed at the top end of the market.
Performance strategist Phill Nosworthy, leadership expert Holly Ransom and high-performance mentor Ben Crowe are among the confirmed speakers, alongside Harvard Business School professor Alison Wood Brooks, whose research focuses on negotiation and communication in high-stakes environments.
Entrepreneur and endurance athlete Jesse Itzler will also join the program virtually, bringing insights from his experience building and scaling global businesses.
According to John McGrath, the event is designed to deliver more than inspiration.
“The real estate industry is facing challenges like never before, and agents need to sharpen the fundamentals while embracing new growth opportunities,” he said.
“AREC is exactly the kind of event that helps our industry step back, reflect, and come away with strategies they can implement immediately.”
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A vibrant 1954 Palm Springs home featuring eight colorful murals by late artist Shawn Savage is on the market for $2.295 million. The 2,237-square-foot property features bold hot-pink doors, three bedrooms, a pool, mountain views and playful interiors blending modern glamour with classic Palm Springs style.
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A bold 1950s home in Palm Springs, California, adorned with eight colorful murals by the late artist Shawn Savage, is coming to market ahead of the city’s annual Modernism Week.
The white stucco home on El Camino Way, built in 1954 and recently renovated, has an asking price of $2.295 million. Its staggered facade features three playfully abstract murals on either side of double-height hot pink doors.
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The sellers are Los Angeles-based partners John Freeman and Mathieu Faure, who knew it was “the one” when they saw it after several months of searching in the winter of 2023. “It’s a happy house,” Freeman said. “We really liked the feel of the house: the uniqueness, the openness, the brightness—and the art.”
Located in the Mesa neighborhood of Palm Springs, which backs up to the San Jacinto Mountains, the 2,237-square-foot house features three bedrooms, an angled bonus room and a yard with a pool, desert mountain views and another colorful mural running alongside the pool.
“I never thought in my life I would have a house with pink doors,” said Faure, a producer at Apple TV who is originally from Paris. “It’s so colorful, it’s so different. And so Palm Springs.”
The layout of the home creates a smooth flow from the front doors through the open-plan common area—a foyer, bar, and living and dining room—into the kitchen around a fireplace wall and out to the yard. A corridor leads to a private bedroom wing, where the primary suite has floor-to-ceiling windows and the primary bath is only a tad smaller than the bedroom.
Faure has filled the home with Jonathan Adler furniture, rugs and accessories, riffing on the energetic California vibes of the house to create an aesthetic of “modern American glamour,” he said.
“It was enjoyable for me to play with different types of furniture and make this house ‘happy chic,’ as I describe it,” he said.
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“He did a fantastic job,” said Freeman, who is an attorney and consultant. “It does kind of bring a smile to my face whenever I walk into the house.”
Since the furniture and decor were chosen for the particularities of the space, the couple is open to selling them with the home. Their West Hollywood house is already furnished; the collection doesn’t match the vibes of a Houston loft they bought near family; and Faure can’t imagine these pieces in New York—where he’s lived in the past—he said.
The duo bought the Palm Springs house for $1.925 million in 2024, according to property records, and will list the home Monday. They are represented by Stewart Smith, Patrick Jordan and Kevin Stanley of Bennion Deville Homes/Luxury Portfolio International.
The previous owners had purchased the home in 2021 for $975,000 and then spent more than two years and $700,000 on the renovation, according to Realtor.com. They commissioned Savage, a local Palm Springs artist and painter known for his joyful abstract work, to decorate the home.
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Savage, who died in 2024, lived in the Coachella Valley from 2003, and his work can be found in various local institutions and is on exhibit at the Illumine Gallery in Palm Springs. “Some artists pass through a place. Shawn Savage became a part of it,” the gallery’s description states.
Unsurprisingly, the murals invite lots of friendly conversations, as well as guided tours and interested lookers, but never to a degree that it disturbed the peacefulness of their home or the neighborhood, the sellers said. “It felt like living in an art gallery, and you have the exterior that you would share with the world,” Faure explained.
The neighborhood also played a role in their decision to buy, because of its access to the hiking trails of the San Jacinto Mountains, the lack of through-roads and the neighborly environment.
“It’s a very friendly place,” Faure said.
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