When Luke Johnston launched Johnston Donoghue Property Group in late 2021, he made two seemingly unconventional decisions. First, he went into business with family—partnering with his sister and brother-in-law. Second, as a new player in rural NSW’s real estate market, he opted to build his business on a foundation of cutting-edge technology rather than traditional industry practices. This is a strategy that has paid off.

“We’ve had tremendous growth in the last few years,” Johnston reflects. Today, the firm has expanded to a team of 10-11 people, handling everything from residential properties and blocks of land to large, rural aggregations, while simultaneously growing a promising rent roll.

 

Technology-first approach

Choosing to use technology early on worked well for Johnston. “Because we didn’t have anything existing in terms of structures, we had an upside,” he explains. The office established itself as a paperless office, ensuring team members could access necessary information from anywhere, even when an hour away from the office.

This modern foundation made Johnston Donoghue Property Group particularly receptive when NAB approached them to trial their new NAB Portal Pay system. For Johnston, whose wife is a chartered accountant, the decision to adopt the payment platform aligned perfectly with their commitment to strict financial processes and technological innovation.

Solving industry challenges

Portal Pay was developed by NAB exclusively for real estate professionals with the aim of tackling longstanding pain points around payment processing

NAB’s Adam Holster explains: “It’s about making life a lot easier for everyone in the ecosystem, particularly for property managers and trust accountants,” he explains.

NAB Portal Pay streamlines payment processing while integrating seamlessly with major real estate software, making it easier for agencies to track, transfer, and reconcile payments efficiently.

“We think that the customer experience is vastly improved by offering real-time* capability,” Holster notes. The system allows agents to receive sales deposits within minutes rather than days, eliminating the traditional three-to-five-day waiting period for payments to clear trust accounts.

“Quite literally, on the day of sale, whether that be an auction or private treaty, within minutes both buyer and seller have received confirmation that the transaction has been processed and cleared.”

 

Client Impact

The firm’s technological approach has resonated strongly with clients. “One of the interesting parts of this whole process has been how much the purchasers are enjoying it,” Johnston notes. “There’s security around the payment and live updates… purchasers get updates through apps and emails.”

This enhanced client experience has been particularly valuable in their predominantly private treaty market, though Johnston sees even greater potential for the system in auction scenarios where rapid, secure transactions are crucial.

Future Vision

Looking ahead, Johnston sees continued technological evolution as key to the firm’s growth. He’s particularly interested in expanding their use of NAB Portal Pay into their rental business operations and is eager to see further developments in trust account disbursement capabilities.

“I’d love to see this whole platform expanded,” Johnston says, particularly regarding trust account dispersal. His vision includes a fully integrated system that maintains the same level of security and efficiency for outgoing payments as it does for incoming ones.

As the real estate industry continues to evolve, Johnston’s forward-thinking approach positions his firm well for continued growth and adaptation to future challenges and opportunities in the property market. Their partnership with NAB, demonstrates how embracing technological change can drive business growth and enhance client service in the real estate sector.

If you’d like to find out more about NAB Portal Pay, speak to your Professional Services banker today, or visit nab.com.au/portalpay

Important Information:

*Real time payments are only available where the payer’s bank supports real time payments and does not impose any holds or delays in respect to the payment (e.g. such as where some banks delay a payment for up to 24 hours when a payment is being made to a new payee for the first time). Some financial institutions may also impose payment limits

NAB Portal Pay is subject to the NAB Portal Pay Terms and Conditions and only works with payments made into NAB Statutory Trust Accounts. NAB Portal Pay is issued by NAB. National Australia Bank Limited ABN 12 004 044 937 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 230686.