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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is looking into the REA Group following concerns from peak bodies and agents over escalating fees.
On Tuesday, 27 May, the REA Group Ltd has released an ASX statement confirming the property group has received a notice from the ACCC and was required to provide more information “regarding certain subscription offerings”.
According to the Financial Review, the watchdog had been meeting with industry peak bodies and realtors over allegations of “price gouging”.
The Real Estate Institute of NSW (REINSW) said it had approached the ACCC about 18 months ago with agents, businesses, and consumers’ concerns after having evidence of increasing fees charged by the platform.
REINSW CEO, Tim McKibbin, said that agents have seen REA pricing increase well above the consumer price index (CPI), which is then reflected on consumers.
“Agents report annual REA price increases well above the CPI, often in the realm of 10 per cent, and in many instances, even more. It needs to be called out,” McKibbin said.
“One agent this week claimed the fees charged by REA, which are borne by his vendors, increased by 30 per cent in a year. These escalating costs significantly increase the cost burden for consumers and are clearly unsustainable.”
According to McKibbin, the probe shows the need for more property advertising platforms in the Australian market.
“When one entity holds so much control over the property transaction, the lack of choice leaves consumers vulnerable and diminishes their power.”
The REA Group has been dominating the Australian property market with realestate.com.au, alongside realcommercial.com.au, Mortgage Choice, and data firm PropTrack.
The group is now worth over 32 billion on the ASX and is owned at 61 per cent by News Corp and Rupert Murdoch.
REA’s competitor, Domain, has made the headlines last month after confirming its acquisition by the US-based CoStar Group for $3 billion.
Founder and CEO of CoStar Group, Andy Florance, said the company’s technology, scale, and innovation would help foster more competition on the Australian property market.
McKibbin said that more competition in the property market is essential.
“While the escalating costs charged by REA are obviously a concern, of greater concern is the response from the market.
“Because agents and vendors cannot afford or are unwilling to advertise across multiple platforms, consequently those platforms no longer enjoy the industry’s support, further eroding competition.”
“Whether or not REA’s conduct amounts to an abuse of market control is for the ACCC to determine. There are clearly questions to be asked and answered,” McKibbin said.
This is not the first time REA has been under the ACCC scrutiny, with the watchdog investigating the group in February 2024 over the acquisition of Dynamic Methods, a platform that allows realtors to access documents such as contracts for the sale and leasing of homes.
At the time, the ACCC feared the proposed acquisition could stifle competition across digital real estate markets tied to REA Group’s ecosystem, including advertising, forms, agency software, and property data services.
ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said in February 2024 that industry professionals had raised concerns about the acquisition and unfair potential competition.
“Many are concerned that REA Group, which operates realestate.com.au, will have the ability to control access to, and data from, digital forms which are necessary for providing real estate-related services,” Carver said.
Following the probe, the acquisition of Dynamic Methods did not happen.
Through an ASX statement on 27 May 2025, REA said it was focused on giving buyers, sellers, and renters a better property experience through flexible, high-value solutions and greater customer choice.
“The value that REA provides is underpinned by the 12.3 million people who visited realestate.com.au each month on average in the March quarter, with 6.4 million exclusively using realestate.com.au,” the statement said.
“REA is cooperating fully with the ACCC and is unable to comment further for confidentiality reasons. REA will continue to comply with its disclosure obligations and will update the market on this matter as appropriate.”
REB contacted the ACCC for comment on the probe; the watchdog advised it “does not comment on potential investigations”.
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