With the new year, comes some welcomed new reforms which aim to stop the practice of underquoting. The amendments made to the Property Stock and Business Agents Act of 2002 will provide clarity for buyers and sellers, ensuring consumers are not kept in the dark and that agents are held accountable for transparency.

Underquoting has been a hot topic for quite some time now. While it’s something we’ve never done, some real estate agents have on occasions followed the saying of ‘quote it low, watch it go’. While over quoting has not received as much attention, some agents have used this practice by promising an unrealistic price in order to win a listing.

Thankfully, with these new rules, we’ve hopefully seen the end of these underhand practices which give real estate agents a bad name. Underquoting and over quoting will now be easier to police and there are going to be harsh penalties for agents found to be underquoting.

As the laws came into effect as of 1 January 2016, you may already have noticed some changes, particularly when you’re reading advertisements of houses for sale.

Here are some of the key changes, which we will discuss with you should you wish to sell your property with us:

• The banning of terms such as ‘offers over’, ‘mid $400K’, ‘bidding from’ or any other similar vague language in advertisements
• Price guides to range no more than 10%. For example, the property will sell for between $400,000 to $440,000
• All advertising must be kept up-to-date
• All conversations about price will be documented
• The provision of evidence to confirm the estimated selling price. Estimated selling prices can be changed if for instance there is a change in economic conditions, but evidence will still need to be provided.

At Professionals Fred Andriessen, we won’t really notice the changes too much because quite simply we always give honest advice.

We have always believed in getting the best possible outcomes for customers – which is why we’re still in business 40 years down the track!

If you have any queries about how the new legislation affects you either as a buyer or seller, or would simply like to speak to us about your real estate needs, please contact us on (02) 4954 8833.