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More than 65 per cent of agents believe prospective buyers should undergo identification checks at open houses, a straw poll by Real Estate Business has found.
Of the 550 respondents, 372 thought ID checking was an important practice while 170 were against the idea.
Richardson and Wrench’s Armidale principal Peter Cooke told Real Estate Business that thorough ID checks were a waste of resources and would be almost impossible to manage.
“At an open house, an agent’s job is to look after the house while providing details and information to the prospective buyers. It would be impossible for them to do this while also inspecting the licenses of every person that walks through the door,” Mr Cooke said.
“You would basically need two agents at each open house which is a waste of time, energy and resources.”
Managing director and principal of Ray White Glebe, Nathan Pacer, agreed that conducting physical identification checks on every prospective buyer pushed the boundaries of good will.
“Most reputable agents already record the details of each person that wishes to inspect the property. Most are more than happy to give their basic details – suggesting they are fairly reliable,” Mr Pacer said.
“I don’t think there are any further benefits to be achieved by asking prospective buyers for some form of physical identification.”
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