What’s Next For Brisbane’s Evolving Property Market? An Industry Insider Weighs In
seeing the vision
By Victoria Lewis | 27th October 2026Carly Cottam has built a career on understanding people and the way they want to live. With MOTIV, her multidisciplinary agency specialising in luxury residential spaces, she creates the vision of a lifestyle that goes well beyond the four walls.
Looking out at the cobblestoned streets that surround the Lobby Bar, in one of Fortitude Valley’s most developed pockets, I chat with Carly Cottam over coffee about the unique position of the current Queensland property market. For reference, she orders an almond piccolo, an espresso order that matches her business ethos: straight to the point. As the founder of MOTIV, a sales-driven project marketing agency specialising in luxury residential projects, she is uniquely equipped to give me industry insights.
What is next for the Brisbane property market?
With luxury apartment living becoming increasingly popular and the Brisbane 2032 Olympics fast approaching, Carly anticipates significant changes in the years ahead. But what excites her most “is the opportunity for developers especially, [as well as] project marketers and agents, to think differently.”
Thinking differently is something she has become well accustomed to since founding MOTIV. As the luxury property sector continues to evolve, Carly says so do buyer expectations. “It’s not just necessarily around the hardware of that luxury product; it’s around design integrity, the experience, and the authenticity behind it.”
It should come as no surprise that the drawcard for many buyers these days lies in the lifestyle that comes along with a property. Carly tells me wellness amenities are huge at the moment in the luxury property space, but it’s all about how they are implemented that makes all the difference. Carly tells me that she uses insights from wellness consultants, as well as comments from locals on the ground, MOTIV’s sales team, and market trends to truly understand who the buyer is, and meet them where they are at.
“Transactions are obviously taking a lot longer. People are very diligent about making investment decisions,” she says.
Seeing and selling the vision
Essentially, Carly is in the business of anticipating how people want to live and creating a vision of this lifestyle, navigating constant market shifts and working closely with developers to find solutions for commercial success. Unlike traditional agencies, Carly takes a multidisciplinary approach, integrating marketing, PR, and sales into a business model informed by her earlier career working in-house for property developers such as Gurner.
Having developed a strong appreciation for teamwork through her background in rowing, Carly has carried that same collaborative mindset into MOTIV’s approach to working with developers. “I could already see the tug-of-war between agency and developer,” she recalls, “but also the disconnect between a sales and marketing team.”
A holistic approach to property
The result is MOTIV’s signature collaborative approach, built on relationships that begin at a project’s inception, often before it is launched to the public. Now, with MOTIV having led overarching sales and marketing strategies for projects by developers including GRAYA, McNab, and BPG Developments, Carly has established herself as a considered voice in a male-dominated property industry, recognised for her authenticity and ability to adapt to a changing market.
For Carly, it’s about what comes before a buyer steps through the front door.
“You’re selling someone an experience of how it would make them feel, and then you’re showing a floor plan,” she says.
This is both MOTIV’s strongest asset and an ongoing problem-solving exercise. After all, creating a lifestyle for a project that hasn’t yet been built, one that needs to resonate with buyers years into the future, is no easy feat. But if Carly’s project completion record is any indication, she is certainly up for the challenge.
Want to see what’s on the horizon? Discover more about MOTIV and its projects here.
Imagery: @motiv_projectmarketing
