Shayne Mele has transformed his decades of experience in finance, property investment and entrepreneurship into a thriving buyer’s agency practice at Moove, where he’s completed over 50 transactions in just over a year.
“I’m 45 now. Out of uni, I did banking and finance for a couple of years, then left and joined my father’s mortgage broking business,” Shayne said.
“I kind of grew up talking finance around a dinner table from a very young age.”
By age 20, Shayne had already purchased his first investment property in Adelaide, demonstrating the early financial acumen that would define his career.
After working in mortgage broking for six or seven years, he identified a gap in the market for fast funding solutions.
“I saw a gap in the finance market for people that needed funds fast, whether that was for a property development or to settle on something,” he said.
“I had built up some equity pretty quickly in my property, so I refinanced and set up a side business doing mezzanine and secondary funding.”
From entrepreneurship to buyer’s agency
Following the Global Financial Crisis, Shayne wound down his finance business and spent years working in sales, business development and various entrepreneurial ventures, including a waste transfer station that he describes as “more of a property play”.
“It was a few thousand square metres, a stone’s throw from Adelaide CBD,” he said.
“Property has always fuelled the things I’ve done, whether that’s in business or other ventures.”
After exiting two businesses a couple of years ago, Shayne found himself at a crossroads.
“For the last ten years, I had been in businesses with business partners and capital raising and all these external factors,” he said.
“I kind of missed that one-on-one helping people that I was doing back in my twenties with finance.”
Despite initially thinking it might be too late to enter real estate, Shayne completed the required study, found an opportunity at Moove, and launched his buyer’s agency career.
The results have been impressive, with over 50 transactions in his first twelve months.
“Being licensed in most states in Australia, I’m mainly focused on the leads and clients that come through with an investor focus,” he said.
A unique approach to client education
Shayne’s finance background gives him a distinct advantage when working with investment-focused clients.
“Having that background in finance really helps with those conversations when we talk about cash flow,” he said.
Moove’s pricing structure has attracted Shayne a steady stream of first-time and early-stage investors who might otherwise be deterred by traditional buyer’s agency fees.
“We get a lot of first-time investors probably because our offering and our price point is just so competitive,” Shayne said.
“For the average punter who’s thinking about investing in property and has considered buyer’s agents, they often get discouraged by $20,000–$30,000 engagement fees.”
What sets Shayne apart is his commitment to education, even before clients formally engage his services.
“During our free one-hour strategy call, I’m giving them a lot of knowledge during that session so they truly understand what are the mechanics behind a good investment and a not so good investment,” he said.
He takes an analytical, data-driven approach, showing clients how supply and demand dynamics affect property values and rental returns.
“I’m showing them that area A has tight supply, low inventory, not a lot of future supply, therefore we’re seeing some price action,” he said.
“Then comparing that to areas where there is oversupply and what they can see firsthand in black and white – the vacancy rates are extremely elevated and that’s going to put pressure on rentals.”
This educational approach builds trust before any formal engagement.
“Whether they decide to engage after that initial strategy call, great. If they don’t, then at least they’ve walked away with some knowledge,” Shayne said.
Building for the future
Shayne’s diverse property experience extends beyond buyer’s agency work.
Throughout his career, he has owned and sold commercial and residential property, completed renovation projects, and developed properties for profit.
“I’ve done renovation of properties and sold and made good money along the way,” he said.
“I have experience across most parts of real estate.”
His day-to-day work now involves dealing with clients across Australia, actively buying in all states and the Northern Territory.
Looking ahead, Shayne has clear goals for his business growth.
“I want to just keep writing more business, helping more people, just continue to grow and to learn,” he said.
However, he’s adamant that growth won’t come at the expense of service quality.
“I want to make sure that everyone gets the same amount of care,” he said.
“I don’t want to grow at the detriment of caring for each client like I would if I was writing one transaction a month.”
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