Cutting down on Underquoting!
Underquoting of Property Prices…. Clients often ask us about prices that are advertised versus what the properties actually sell for. Consumer Affairs Victoria in collaboration with the Victorian Government are working towards legislation that will help consumers more clearly work their way through property values and quoted prices for sale.
Underquoting Laws to Protect Homebuyers:
The Victorian Government has introduced new legislation into Parliament on 18th August designed to stop underquoting. The proposed changes to the Estate Agents Act 1980
will require agents to provide prospective buyers with an information statement about the property for sale which includes 3 recent comparable sales, an indicative selling price and the median price for the suburb.
The new laws will also :
- ban advertising price ranges of more than 10%
- ban words or symbols in advertising such as ‘offers above’ ‘from’ or ‘+’.
- require advertising to be promptly updated if the seller rejects a higher written offer to purchase the property, or the agent’s price estimate changes.
- Estate agents caught engaging in underquoting will face penalties of more than $31,000 (equivalent of 200 penalty units) and risk losing their commissions. Consumer Affairs Victoria will have new powers to require agents to demonstrate how they arrived at a property’s estimated price.
If passed by Parliament, the new laws will commence next year.
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