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Another leading western Sydney agent has had his licence suspended over misrepresented selling prices, denying any wrongdoing and blaming the situation on rivals’ jealousy.
Deepak Bangarh, owner and principal of DKB Real Estate in Sydney’s western suburbs, has been hit with a 60-day suspension by Fair Trading while authorities investigate his property price estimates.
NSW Fair Trading said Bangarh’s licence suspension followed findings that he misrepresented selling prices, did not substantiate the estimated prices, and did not pass on all offers of purchase to vendors, as required by law.
The watchdog suspension also extended to Bangarh’s private real estate firm, which is now being managed by McGrathNicol partner Matt Fehon.
Bangarh’s suspension is the second case of a leading Quakers Hill agent coming under scrutiny for underquoting.
In August, start agent Josh Tesolin had his licence suspended by the Office of Fair Trading over allegations of dummy bidding, underquoting, high-pressure sales tactics, and falsifying documents.
Following Tesolin’s suspension, Bangarh took the top spot, achieving 139 sales last year and earning a top-three national ranking in a real estate dealmakers award.
Bangarh, now suspended, told REB that the situation was solely due to rivalry between agents.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. No wrongdoing. It’s purely jealousy,” Bangarh told REB.
“My competitors are full of jealousy because after the suspension, there were lots of messages online and brochures left under my vendors’ doors.
“I’m even getting threatening calls with no number ID – I have no idea who is behind it. They’re stealing my pointer signs and doing all sorts of things.”
“This is not the right way to do business. Competition has to be healthy.”
Bangarh said that he understood that underquoting is illegal, but claimed he had not misrepresented prices and that the higher sales were simply due to the bidding competition at auction.
He insisted on having followed standard procedures, discussing the appraisal process with vendors, running open homes, and informing them of interested buyers.
“There are a few properties which are going higher than the guides, of course, in the auctions, it depends on the competition as well.”
While Bangarh claimed innocence, an anonymous buyer told REB that the agent’s behaviour was quite known in the area and had left property seekers out of reach of homeownership.
The anonymous buyer told REB that he attended several Bangarh property auctions, where the homes sold hundreds of thousands above the guide price.
“He’s very unethical, quotes low and sells high and needs to be banned from Quakers Hill, it was very frowned upon,” the anonymous buyer said.
“I ended up losing faith in him as he had all the listings for sale due to his underquoting antics, people sold with him.”
The anonymous buyer said that after wasting time and money every weekend for over six months, he lost faith in the industry.”
“I never attended open homes again after 6 months of looking. I was so down, disheartened and depressed by the whole buying process. It broke my heart.”
“I never bought. I’m now stuck renting, the markets gone up, and I’ve lost my chance and my family’s Australian dream to buy. This is due to Deepak. And the whole DKB staff.”
According to Fair Trading, manipulating estimated selling prices or advertising properties at inaccurate prices misleads buyers and sellers, leading to wasted time, added costs, and delays.
The watchdog said the state government has been consulting on stricter underquoting regulations that would require agents to include a Statement of Information (SOI) on every listing, giving buyers clear insight into how the selling price was determined, including recent comparable sales and the suburb’s median price.
Additionally, since January, NSW Fair Trading has added disciplinary actions to its new “Name and Shame” list, allowing users to check the records of licensed agents.
NSW Fair Trading commissioner Natasha Mann said the Strata and Property Services Taskforce will continue to strengthen its regulatory oversight through ongoing random and targeted unannounced audits to ensure agents comply with their obligations.
“NSW Fair Trading has taken disciplinary action against more than 50 real estate agents in the last 12 months, suspending and disqualifying licences to protect consumers.
“This has included for misappropriation of trust accounts, price misrepresentations including underquoting, and failure to submit trust accounts,” Mann concluded.
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