Leading Australian property journalist Jen Melocco reckons there's never been a better time to invest in regional property.
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That's why the editor of the flagship Domain Magazine in the Sydney Morning Herald is joining Antony Catalano's ACM as national head of property content.
Melocco, who was also editor of the weekly luxury property liftout Domain Prestige Magazine in The Australian Financial Review, joined ACM on June 1 in the new role of National Property News Director.
Melocco's appointment follows ACM's successful rebranding of real estate content across its national network of 150 regional titles as part of a $100million joint venture with property listing portal realestateview.com.au.
ACM Managing Director Tony Kendall said Melocco's extensive career in property journalism would enhance and expand ACM's property-related news and analysis as audiences sought credible insights into Australia's surging real estate market.
"We have seen strong growth for realestateview.com.au (REV) across our network, which demonstrates the power of the ACM suite of assets," he said.
"A key driver in attracting and retaining a property audience is more local, metro and nationally relevant property content. Jen will lead the evolution of our property content strategy as we look to build national property audiences for ACM and REV."
The announcement of Melocco's appointment comes as ACM sharpens its national property focus with the recruitment of a team of property reporters focused on key regional population centres as well as metropolitan markets.
Melocco, who has previously led and edited property sections for both News Corp and Nine Entertainment, said ACM and REV were uniquely positioned given the strong growth being recorded in regional housing markets.
"There has never been a time where regional Australia and property in regional Australia has been such a focus for all Australians," Melocco said.
"In the past 12 months regional housing markets have grown by more than double capital city values according to CoreLogic.
"It's exciting to lead the coverage of a dynamic sector and a team of dedicated property journalists in our communities to provide the latest news and features that really speak to people."
Before joining Domain, Melocco was Property Editor at The Wentworth Courier, News Corp's most profitable weekly publication covering Sydney's eastern suburbs.
She also played a pivotal role in the Sunday Telegraph's auction coverage and news.
With a career covering more than 25 years in journalism, she has also worked for the Daily Telegraph for 10 years, including as the masthead's fashion editor.
Passionate about regional Australia, Melocco has also worked as a reporter and feature writer at The Newcastle Herald and studied Communications at The University of Canberra.
ACM and realestateview.com.au will collectively invest about $100million over five years to build a market-leading, multi-faceted property media and data business