Massive Underquoting Caught - Listed @ $850K, passed in @ $997K

Zero sympathy for these peanuts, the fines are almost too small. They need to be bigger. One of them was enough silly enough to put the underquoting in an email. "It's just a little marketing ploy we do". Vendor dobbed them in!

'It's a little marketing ploy': two more agencies admit underquoting

Anyone seen some crazy underquoting lately?

 

Even this is dodgy.."The vendor set an auction reserve price of $1.05 million, and the property was passed in at $997,550" There is something wrong if the auctioneer/agent cant negotiate that gap !

 

That's a $52,450 gap.
Were you thinking it was 1.005m ($1,005,000)?

 

Seems to be a pattern with Hocking Stuart, I think that's the 3rd one to get fined?

 

Auctions should be banned
But humans are greedy by nature.

 

They all underquote, nothing new been going on for years. I always review the SOLD properties to compare, no point looking at auctions and the numbers stated it will be BS

 

The companies must also display notices on its website and in its office that it underquoted properties.​

Hehe. I like that

 

Dup, yeah I was . Thanks

 

Yes Hocking Stuart Yarraville are very sneaky and underhand in their dealings in my opinion. I and a few associates would never recommend them..They are untrustworthy even if it's written in the contract they have contravened it. (Associate had no money to sue them). A $45k fine however is a pinch of salt for the amount of properties they have sold. In the end it is the home buyers that get hurt the most. I wonder if there is any compensation avenue for the home buyers who were lured into their web? Would be interested to know.

 

...but they all do it, just part of the game. When I auctioned a property, the agent underquoted just a strategy to lure them in, does not make it right, don't know whether the fines will deter??

In Perth we rarely go to auctions, however going in at a low base is common to lure more buyers

 

This is one of the primary reasons I steer clear of auctions.... they are a waste of my time, they are a "pressure" sales technique & I just don't need that nonsense in my life. I know I'll get a bit of grief over this sentiment because "I don't understand that some markets are auctions only".... yeah... yeah I do.... enjoy those markets yourself.

Each to their own....

 

I recently attended an open house for a conventional sale (not auction) listing was 330K but the agent intends to sell close to $400K. Also a block listed for $270 and sold for $300. These are very clearly tactics to bait and switch or just bait and bait and bait. I asked the agent if i could submit a full price offer on the $330K listing and he said it was a waste of time!! I just walked at that point.

Maybe we are getting influenced by american lifestyle shows that normalise these sneaky behaviours?

 

Years ago in a heating up market there was a property that was advertised for offers above $800k,
on the first day I offered $800k,

I got a smart alec reply saying wherhter I understood english or not,

so I resubmitted my offer at $801k,

I didnt get a reply

 

One of the issues that selling agents grapple with is that they have data to prove that if they can get a buyer to view, and subsequently fall in love with, a property, that the buyer will pay up to 20% over their original budget. ......and how better to get a buyer to view a property that they otherwise would not take time to inspect? ..... under-quote.
I'm not condoning the agent's actions as it is unlawful and causes unnecessary costs for intending purchasers that were never in the race. But I understand why they do it, but not why they do it in this seller's market as they'll still get it sold to someone anyway.

 

yes, 'offers above' is annoying. In the recent case i was outlining niether property was 'offers above' they just had asking prices. The nice part of me thinks that the agent made a mistake ( the owner was at the open and he was furious). But the nasty part of me thinks that this is used openly as a bait and switch strategy. The agent can only sell hte house once, and he spent most of his time plugging his other listings.

 

Did you complain to your state authority? Only way these things progress...

 

I've had a $1,030,000 offer on price guide $920,000 for 2 weeks now and they are still pushing new inspections. $110,000 above asking? Disgusting..

 

118 Bindi Street Glenroy Vic 3046 - House for Sale #124556750 - realestate.com.au

This one is ridiculous.

Nothing has sold anywhere close to that in the past 12 months i was monitoring Glenroy on that size block.
Houses already subdivided even go higher than that..

 

There should be a rule that if vendors list a property with a reserve price of 500k that they need to accept any offers that are at least 10% above the reserve price or more e.g. 550k in this example. If they get an offer of 550k, but decide not to accept the offer imo that's underquoating and penalties should apply.

 

I don't understand why they do it. Everybody has a budget, most can't go much over that budget. It's annoying having to factor in an extra 10-20% on top of the asking price to be in with any sort of chance. Would make so much more sense to have a realistic sale price rather than waste buyers time, especially first time buyers who do t know how it works.