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Consumer Affairs Victoria has revealed it is once again monitoring the real estate industry closely for signs of underquoting.
It comes as the state reopens after lengthy COVID-19 lockdowns, and agents benefit from the return of normal sales activity.
According to the government body, “it’s more important than ever that buyers, sellers and agents understand the obligations that come with selling property”.
“Victoria’s underquoting laws require agents to fulfil specific requirements related to advertising and promoting the properties they sell,” Consumer Affairs has reminded agents.
Agents must not advertise a property at a price below the estimated selling price, the seller’s asking price or a price that has been rejected as too low by the seller under the laws.
Consumer Affairs Victoria has issued the reminder that agents who do the wrong thing can face penalties of more than $33,000 and the loss of sales commissions.
They can also face penalties under the Australian Consumer Law of up to $10 million for corporations and $500,000 for individuals.
Consumer Affairs highlighted that providing the transparency required by the laws helps ensure home buyers don’t spend significant time and money chasing properties outside their price range.
A statement of information must also be provided – to help buyers make informed decisions.
Since May 2021, Consumer Affairs Victoria has reportedly issued more than $300,000 worth of infringement notices for underquoting law breaches across the state.
Highlighting its compliance activity, the department said that in May alone, Consumer Affairs Victoria inspectors had made unannounced visits to 29 metropolitan and regional estate agents’ offices to monitor compliance.
This is in addition to the regular auction monitoring, inspection activity, and investigations it conducts.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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