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Sydney real estate agents will find themselves under the hammer as Fair Trading launches a blitz on agents deliberately underquoting property prices.
Inspectors will attend agencies, auctions, and open homes across the city this week to call out agents falsely advertising property or indicating it will sell for less than its estimated selling price.
Those sprung underquoting face fines of up to $22,000 and could lose their commission under the Property Stock and Business Agents Act.
In a single week Fair Trading inspectors identified 14 beaches while inspecting 33 sales agents.
Better Regulation Minister Kevin Anderson said $6000 worth of fines were handed out that week for a range of offences, including underquoting, operating without a licence and failing to have the right insurance.
“With so many people in NSW looking to buy, the last thing that potential homebuyers need is to have their time and money wasted by real estate agents providing misleadingly low and incorrect price estimates,” Mr Anderson said.
“We will also be using this opportunity to educate the industry and ensure agents are crystal clear on their obligations under the law.”
Prospective homebuyers are now being warned to always ask the agent what their estimated selling price is and what the seller’s expectations are.
“We want buyers to do their homework. Researching recently sold properties in the area will give you a good idea of what to expect – and if the price is dramatically different for a similar property, question it,” he said.
Anyone who suspects an agent has deliberately underquoted their reasonable estimate of a property‘s likely selling price can lodge a complaint online or call NSW Fair Trading.
In the year to September, NSW Fair Trading carried out a dozen compliance operations of real estate agents and issued almost $400,000 in fines.
Last month the state government also found 13 real estate agents had illegally pocketed $6m since November 2019 by stealing from trust funds and rental bonds.
“The number of real estate agents doing the wrong thing is small but it can have enormous consequences for people who are victims of an agent’s criminal behaviour,” Mr Anderson said at the time.
“What I have seen with a number of recent cases of trust account fraud are some of the worst examples of deception, manipulation and gross breaches of consumers’ trust.
“I am putting real estate agents on notice that if you attempt to fleece consumers you will be caught, prosecuted and potentially jailed.”
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