Property Directions: Untangling the Knot. Join Our Next Business Forum After Dark

Thursday 16 April from 18:00 in the Dining Room

Cost: $50 per person and $60 for guests (includes a 2-course dinner and a glass of wine or beer)

Business Forum After Dark is back for 2026.

As you know, the Business Forum crew usually meets for breakfast every six weeks. However, a few times each year the format changes, and the conversation moves to the evening for a discussion that is always lively, insightful and memorable. Topics vary, but members consistently say these sessions are most rewarding for the deep conversations and diverse perspectives they provide.

Last year’s finance discussion took place on the evening of Trump’s “liberation day”, leading to a fascinating discussion and, remarkably, some accurate and valuable predictions about what was to follow.

This time, a new expert panel from the Business Forum sub club will discuss property and real estate trends. The timing could not be more relevant as we face stubborn inflation and the likelihood of multiple interest rate increases. What will happen next? Should property owners and investors change plans or lock in? What is really driving the market, and most importantly, what does it mean for the next generation?

Your Property Panel
• Oliver Quach – Service First Property Group (Residential Real Estate)
• Ben Hendriks – Mecone (Planning and Development)
• Lexi Airey – CEO, Gateway Bank (Banking)

Topics to be explored include:

• The RBA Rate Shock and banking reality: navigating the shift to a higher for much longer interest rate staircase, and how persistent inflation may impact borrowing capacity, mortgage stress and lending criteria in 2026.
• The supply and demand paradox: why Sydney property prices appear to defy gravity despite higher borrowing costs, and where the residential market and rental squeeze may head next.
• Planning, TODs and the missing middle: unpacking the NSW Government’s push for 377,000 new homes and whether Transport Oriented Development zones and zoning reforms will unlock supply.
• The generational divide: will expanded government deposit schemes genuinely help first home buyers, or are we locking an entire generation out of the market?
• Investor strategies for 2026: cutting through the noise to consider whether property owners, renters and investors should hold, fold or shift plans to find opportunities in the current climate.

This event is open to all members and their guests. To ensure the most open, honest and valuable discussion possible, the evening will be held under the Chatham House Rule. The ticket includes a two-course dinner along with a glass of wine or beer.

If you would like to RSVP for this event, please click the button below.

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