Buyers are losing out as homes sell far above their price guide
Hopeful buyers are losing time and money as homes sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the price guide, with a property expert warning genuine real estate bargains are scarce.
Aaron Scott, founder of agent comparison service Bright Agent, said buyers were wasting cash on due diligence as homes were advertised in a lower price bracket in order to capture a wider audience.
“Underquoting is one of the most frustrating parts of house hunting,” Mr Scott said.
“You fall in love with a place, line up your finance, pay for reports…and then bang – it sells hundreds of thousands above the guide.”
Homehunters David Bennett and his partner Kate Crowe say properties are selling for as much as $200,000 over the quoted price
He advised buyers to treat online price guides with scepticism, using resources such as realestate.com.au’s suburb profiles and recent sale searches for comparison.
“Trust your gut, and if every comparable sale looks much higher than the guide, ask why,” Mr Scott said.
“Is the home smaller? On a main road? Lacking features?
“If there’s no genuine reason, the price guide probably isn’t realistic.”
The warning comes amid a crackdown on underquoting, with Victoria last month proposing new rules forcing agents to reveal a property’s reserve price ahead of auction, while NSW put forward fines of up to $110,000 for agents caught underquoting.
Queensland is the only state where properties are taken to auction without a price guide. Picture: Glenn Hampson
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Queensland is the only state in the nation where properties are taken to auction without a price guide, with no plans for reform.
Buyers falling into the “wishful thinking trap” were setting themselves up for disappointment, as well as losing valuable time in the market.
“We all hope to get a diamond in the rough that has been overlooked by everyone else on the same property portal.
“But more often than not, there’s a reason it’s so cheap or that everyone else has avoided it,” Mr Scott said.
Properties genuinely priced below recent comparable sales could have water damage, asbestos, or even, “two big dogs in the neighbour’s yard”, he said.
NSW and Victoria are cracking down on underquoting
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