NSW to crack down on property underquoting, forcing sellers to publish price guides on all listings

Underquoting and ‘dummy bidding’ will attract fines of $110,000 in bid to create a ‘fair property market’
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TheNew South Walesgovernment will introduce new laws this week to force property sellers to publish a price guide on all advertising, and impose a fivefold increase to fines for underquoting real estate agents.

The government says the draft laws,first flagged last year,are aimed at cracking down on agents providing misleading price estimates on property listings, a practice often used to inflate interest.

Agents caught underquoting can now be fined $110,000 – five times the previous penalty – or three times their commission, whichever is greater.

“Dummy bidding” will also attract a $110,000 fine.

The NSW government says it will also legislate to force sellers to publish a price guide on all advertising, and require agents to publish a “statement of information” to help buyers understand how the price was calculated.

This would include providing information about comparable sales and average prices.

Agents will also be prohibited from advertising a property for sale at a lower price than has previously been rejected.

The move comes amid momentum across the country for more regulation of the real estate sector.

The Victorian government announced last week it would introduce similar disclosure rules to force agents to sale prices to be published.

If re-elected, Labor in Victoria says it wouldrequire vendors to pay for mandatory building and pest inspections.

The NSW fair trading minister, Anoulack Chanthivong, said the government wanted “a fair property market that works for everyone”.

“These reforms are a significant step forward in protecting homebuyers from unscrupulous real estate agents taking advantage of a tight housing market,” Chanthivong said.

“We are ensuring misconduct can no longer be written off as a cost of doing business, but as a meaningful deterrent.

“The changes will also empower NSW Fair Trading to tackle misrepresentations of property prices through stronger disciplinary action, better enforcement tools and improvements to mandatory education and professional standards.”