Underquoting complaints soar amid Victorian government crackdown
It seems that the Victorian Government is about to launch a marketing campaign claiming that Underquoting is finished; dealt with. It isn’t. The ranges quoted from some agents are quite clearly too low. It’s fairly easy to monitor the range quoted from an agent that has a few properties in the area you are considering purchasing and then follow them through to the sale.
Where a pattern can be seen, this is underquoting. Every agent has a property that sells for a little more than expected (sometimes 5-10%) but if virtually every one advertised sells for at least 10% more, well if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…
Many agents are now quoting realistic ranges in their Statement of Information, which is a compulsory document to be published with every online ad under the new laws. Some are still trying to dodge the system. They aren’t hard to spot. One bright spot for buyers is that the fast fading Melbourne market is now pulling the prices within the range, even though it wasn’t the agents intention at the beginning of the campaign.
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