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Citing the saving of time and money for Victorian residents, the state government has revealed a $3.8 million blitz on underquoting.
“At a time when every dollar counts for households, the dedicated taskforce will begin work immediately with a blitz to ensure property prices are being fairly and honestly advertised — to protect buyers’ time and money when it’s needed most,” read a statement from Premier Daniel Andrews.
The new taskforce, which is embedded in Consumer Affairs Victoria, is set to “boost monitoring of sales campaigns, collection and analysis of market intelligence such as complaints from the public and conduct targeted inspections to seize documents and data to ensure compliance with underquoting laws”.
The $3.8 million funding injection adds to Consumer Affairs Victoria’s current underquoting compliance activities — which comprises auction monitoring, inspections, and investigations — and will all fall under the new taskforce’s remit.
The taskforce will also reportedly lean on the efforts of existing and additional officers with a range of skills and experience, including inspectors, investigators, information analysts, and legal officers.
Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation Melissa Horne said a dedicated taskforce “sends a strong message and will ensure those doing the wrong thing are held to account”.
She stated that the state government is cracking down on underquoting “because it is not only unfair and wastes house-hunters’ time and money at a time when every dollar courts — it’s also illegal”.
“Purchasing a property is one of the biggest decisions people make and they deserve honest pricing to make informed decisions about how they spend their money,” she continued.
The latest move by the state government follows on from numerous unannounced visits to real estate offices across the state in May 2021 to monitor compliance with underquoting laws.
Not long after, Consumer Affairs Victoria announced it was monitoring the state’s real estate industry closely for signs of underquoting.
Since 2015, Consumer Affairs Victoria has taken court action and accepted enforceable undertakings from 13 real estate agencies with respect to underquoting, which has led to more than $3 million in fines and court costs for perpetrators.
With the recent Victorian Property Market Review identifying underquoting as a key concern, the government said it is now considering the findings of the review alongside changing market conditions and advised it would “have more to say about this work soon”.
Earlier this year, the equivalent special taskforce in NSW revealed it had handed down $250,000 worth of fines to agents and firms for underquoting.
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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