When a property price guide looks too low, or a sale price flies too high at auction, where is the consumer watchdog?
The number of underquoting inquiries received by Consumer Affairs grew year-on-year to 1650, up from 1450.A property could be considered underquoted if it’s advertised at a cheaper price than the estimated selling price or less than the seller’s asking price.Dion Oryzak was scouring Balaclava to buy a home and studying local property price guides, so he knew when one looked too cheap.
a property is advertised at a price that is less than the estimated selling price, is less than the seller’s asking price, or has already been rejected by the seller.But it is hard to prove. Especially when the property market was booming due to rock-bottom interest rates in autumn 2021, when the Balaclava auction took place. A stronger-than-expected sales result is not necessarily underquoting. And buyers who make a complaint are often unsatisfied by the response.
“A dedicated taskforce backed by $3.8 million has already been launched in a blitz to combat underquoting and other breaches of consumer property laws.” The taskforce has tracked hundreds of sales campaigns, often after receiving information from the public.were made to Consumer Affairs in 2022-2023, up from over 1450 the previous year.
Bariamis became so incensed he complained to Consumer Affairs – but like Oryzak, was dissatisfied with their response.“After I lodged my complaint which was detailed … [Consumer Affairs Victoria’s response] was just a stock email they pump out to every schmuck.”Chamberlain Property Advocates’ Wendy Chamberlain gave up complaining about underquoting, calling it a “complete waste of time”, after one incident when investigators told her to make a complaint directly to a real estate agency.
Property Home Base director and buyer’s agent Julie DeBondt-Barker similarly said nothing had ever eventuated from her complaints to Consumer Affairs.“I’ve given up because they don’t do anything,” DeBondt-Barker said. She said some agents don’t know what a seller’s reserve price will be until they pause midway through an auction and check.
Veteran top-end buyers’ advocate David Morrell, of Morrell and Koren, said he makes three to four complaints a week. “The buyers would automatically take a quote of $1.4 million to $1.5 million and say ‘oh that’s going to make $1.7 million’ and discounted themselves,” he said.
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