Latest news with #REIV
The Age
11-08-2025
- Business
- The Age
Victorian underquoting laws: Expert calls on Allan government to release review
The Victorian Greens said they would this week introduce a bill to parliament requiring the reserve price of a property to be disclosed before auction day, in a bid to stop buyers unwittingly forking out thousands of dollars on inspection reports for homes they can't realistically afford. The REIV is calling on the government to start fresh consultation on how to improve fairness in the property sector. The peak real estate lobby group is also now backing mandatory pre-auction disclosure of reserve prices by sellers, in a significant policy pivot announced on Monday. Premier Jacinta Allan earlier this month. Credit: Eddie Jim 'Reserve price disclosure isn't just backed by consumer advocates, even the Real Estate Institute of Victoria and leading property industry figures support it,' said Greens public and affordable housing spokeswoman Gabrielle de Vietri. 'With the public and industry on board, Labor has no excuse to delay.' Premier Jacinta Allan said she would seek advice on that proposal and also the merits of a model that would result in those selling their home providing prospective buyers with a free pest and building inspection documents. 'We are open to looking at what we can do to make the property market fairer for everyone,' Allan said. She described underquoting as a 'pretty shabby practice, which is why we're cracking down on it and made it illegal'. Enzo Raimondo, pictured in 2014 when he led the REIV. Credit: Fairfax Raimondo said he couldn't disclose the recommendations made by him and his property market review co-author, consumer advocate Carolyn Bond, due to a confidentiality agreement. But he confirmed the 2022 report did include recommendations he believed would reduce the prevalence of underquoting. 'We spent months on it. We interviewed consumers, we interviewed industry groups, we interviewed agents, and there's some, I think, excellent recommendations on the issue of reserve price [disclosure],' he said. 'It's odd that the review, which is meant to assist, hasn't been released … I can only speak for myself and not the other panel members, but I was certainly disappointed that it wasn't released and at least debated openly on what should occur.' When asked if there was any reason not to make the report public, Allan said the report was a cabinet document, and she was more focused on 'acting now, leading the nation in cracking down on illegal underquoting'. Raimondo said the review received fairly consistent feedback from the public that agents were providing price guides that were off the mark. He said while agents would use the excuse that they're not property valuers, they generally worked in the same sector for a long period and should know their market. The use of three comparable properties to justify price guides was being manipulated by agents and the criteria around this needed to be tightened up, Raimondo said. 'In Victoria, it's not a bad system. It's just that it's not being used correctly,' he said. Start the day with a summary of the day's most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Sydney Morning Herald
11-08-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Victorian underquoting laws: Expert calls on Allan government to release review
The Victorian Greens said they would this week introduce a bill to parliament requiring the reserve price of a property to be disclosed before auction day, in a bid to stop buyers unwittingly forking out thousands of dollars on inspection reports for homes they can't realistically afford. The REIV is calling on the government to start fresh consultation on how to improve fairness in the property sector. The peak real estate lobby group is also now backing mandatory pre-auction disclosure of reserve prices by sellers, in a significant policy pivot announced on Monday. Premier Jacinta Allan earlier this month. Credit: Eddie Jim 'Reserve price disclosure isn't just backed by consumer advocates, even the Real Estate Institute of Victoria and leading property industry figures support it,' said Greens public and affordable housing spokeswoman Gabrielle de Vietri. 'With the public and industry on board, Labor has no excuse to delay.' Premier Jacinta Allan said she would seek advice on that proposal and also the merits of a model that would result in those selling their home providing prospective buyers with a free pest and building inspection documents. 'We are open to looking at what we can do to make the property market fairer for everyone,' Allan said. She described underquoting as a 'pretty shabby practice, which is why we're cracking down on it and made it illegal'. Enzo Raimondo, pictured in 2014 when he led the REIV. Credit: Fairfax Raimondo said he couldn't disclose the recommendations made by him and his property market review co-author, consumer advocate Carolyn Bond, due to a confidentiality agreement. But he confirmed the 2022 report did include recommendations he believed would reduce the prevalence of underquoting. 'We spent months on it. We interviewed consumers, we interviewed industry groups, we interviewed agents, and there's some, I think, excellent recommendations on the issue of reserve price [disclosure],' he said. 'It's odd that the review, which is meant to assist, hasn't been released … I can only speak for myself and not the other panel members, but I was certainly disappointed that it wasn't released and at least debated openly on what should occur.' When asked if there was any reason not to make the report public, Allan said the report was a cabinet document, and she was more focused on 'acting now, leading the nation in cracking down on illegal underquoting'. Raimondo said the review received fairly consistent feedback from the public that agents were providing price guides that were off the mark. He said while agents would use the excuse that they're not property valuers, they generally worked in the same sector for a long period and should know their market. The use of three comparable properties to justify price guides was being manipulated by agents and the criteria around this needed to be tightened up, Raimondo said. 'In Victoria, it's not a bad system. It's just that it's not being used correctly,' he said. Start the day with a summary of the day's most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Herald Sun
11-08-2025
- Business
- Herald Sun
Major real estate reform revealed to combat Victoria underquoting
The Victorian government is facing calls to fix the state's underquoting problem with the same solution it has failed to act on since at least 2009. Industry experts have been warning the state's legislation to protect homebuyers has been flawed since its most recent iteration was brought into play in 2017. The Herald Sun reported in 2023 on a forum held by prominent real estate identities John Keating of Keatings Real Estate and David Morrell of Morrell and Koren buyers agency, calling for mandatory reserve disclosure as a potential way to improve the situation. RELATED: Victorian homebuyers warned unquoting is on the rise by property experts Call to name and shame, disclose reserves in bid to finally nail underquoting Housing underquoting system 'broken' as fines spike Mr Keating had run another similar forum in 2010, and the Herald Sun had reported on his call for mandatory disclosure as early as 2009. It has not previously been backed by the state's peak real estate group, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria. But in a statement today the REIV has indicated it 'supports reforms to strengthen professionalism and public trust', and specifically denounced 'unlawful underquoting'. Acting chief executive Jacob Caine said practical reforms were needed to transform the property sector, such as 'mandatory reserve price disclosure rules for sellers prior to the auction'. The REIV statement also notes that the legislation is not clear on what is and isn't underquoting, and leaves many scenarios of a competitive sale exposed to accusations of poor agent behaviour — despite it being agent's duty to achieve the highest price possible. 'We urge the Victorian Government to undertake a thorough consultation process involving sector stakeholders, like the REIV and its members, aimed at arriving at a clear and robust legal framework for underquoting,' Mr Caine said. 'While the immediate focus is rightly on underquoting, this shouldn't distract from the way in which continuing housing supply issues are compounding the problem and the vital need for property sector settings that deliver a fairer and more efficient property market for all Victorians.' He added that it was important to distinguish that a sale above reserve doesn't 'categorically prove underquoting' — as values can change quite rapidly in some circumstances. Mr Caine said that with only 49 fines issued in the past 12 months, and about 30,000 auctions held across Victoria in the same timeline, there was evidence underquoting was not 'endemic or prevalent'. 'Though, certainly, within those 30,000 there are people who have underquoted and gotten away with it,' he said. 'But agents are the number one group making complaints and that's because the sector despises the practice.' Keatings Real Estate's John Keating said he had been publishing reserves for homes sincer 2003, and had sought to have it mandated as early as 2009 when the Herald Sun ran several stories on the topic. While not convinced there would be change now, Mr Keating said he hoped 'it's not just another regular media bashing of the auction practice, which has been done and faded away before'. He said debate on the topic of mandatory disclosures was important, and that he still believed it was the best solution to underquoting – though it was challenging to price some properties. 'It's not an exact science,' Mr Keating said. Prominent buyer's agent Cate Bakos said while sometimes homes just sold for more than expected, 'the legislation is so wrong'. Ms Bakos said Victoria's Statement of Information legislation, brought in to remedy the situation in 2017, had in many instances made things worse by giving bad agents a chance to justify poorly priced properties — then leaving it to the buyer to spend half an hour reviewing those comparisons to work out if they were being misled. 'Some are obvious but others have a flood plain or the wrong development zone,' she said. 'That's a lot for an inexperienced buyer to work out. 'The statement of information is a terrible way to police this.' Ms Bakos added that if legislation was changed, vendors would follow it. One simple change would be to require agents to provide buyers the same three comparable sales they provide to the vendors when they are looking to list the sale. There would also need to be some consideration provided as to how vendors set their final reserve, which currently does not have to match what is advertised or on the sales authority. Another high-profile buyer's agent, Property Home Base's Julie DeBondt-Barker said while obvious solutions like disclosing vendor's reserves or requiring prices to be within 10 per cent of them made some sense, the notion would meet resistance as there could be complicating factors. But there could be solutions to minimise buyer frustration by requiring vendors to provide building and pest inspections upfront, instead of buyers paying for one at each home they consider purchasing. 'And one other thing that should be absolutely legislated is, if it's a public auction — why aren't all auction results published,' Ms DeBondt-Barker said. 'And that would give a little bit more transparency to the buyers.' Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox. MORE: Kilsyth estate with Buddhist shrine tipped for $7m+ record sale Mt Eliza: The Block 2026 location revealed in $11m Peninsula deal Melbourne house prices: The suburbs booming after rate cuts
Sydney Morning Herald
10-08-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Demands a response': Peak real estate lobby backs underquoting overhaul
'My message is very clear to these dodgy operators. It is illegal and it must stop,' she said. 'There are severe penalties in place for those who break the law, and we will continue to go after these dodgy operators.' As defined in Victorian law, underquoting occurs when the published price for a property is set lower than it might reasonably be expected to sell, but is notoriously difficult to prove. There is also no requirement for the advertised price to match the owner's reserve, unless they disclose this to the agent ahead of time. This is one reason properties are passed in even after bidding passes the top of the advertised sale price range. The REIV's change of policy on reserve prices represents a fundamental shift for the group, who in their submission to the 2022 property review said it strongly opposed the mandatory public advertisement of a reserve price, arguing it would 'undermine the entire auction process'. In detailing the REIV's changed position on reserve price disclosure, Caine said he believed it would be appropriate that the reserve price would be disclosed some time during a property's auction campaign, rather than at the very beginning. 'In the initial phase, we're leaning towards later in the campaign… closer to the auction, so the owner and the agents have had the opportunity to receive the feedback from the buyers who will ultimately inform where that price will sit.' In 2022, the Consumer Policy Research Centre surveyed 500 Victorians who had purchased, or were in the process of purchasing, a home. It found that 17 per cent of those surveyed had paid for seven or more building or pest reports. 'At the time, we calculated that's costing them $4200 additional to their search process,' said the organisation's chief executive, Erin Turner. Turner said she had begun the research unsure that underquoting was a major problem, but was left convinced the illegal practice caused real financial and other harm. The centre made the same recommendations to the Victorian government that are now being backed by the REIV; that a property's reserve price is published and that home sellers provide potential buyers with free building and pest reports, a model already in place in the ACT. 'One of our theories here is that first home buyers, or people buying in areas they're less familiar with, are more likely to be caught paying for multiple building and pest inspections. It's your less sophisticated buyer that's more likely to be harmed,' Turner said. 'It's so important that we put these protections in place generally, but we also suspect that these protections are going to help the people who need it most.' Victorian opposition consumer affairs spokesman Tim McCurdy has backed a middle-ground solution, where vendors would not have to reveal their exact reserve but make sure it sits somewhere between the advertised guide. 'If their reserve price is not within the band, it is farcical,' he said. This masthead found examples of homes where the reserve was hundreds of thousands of dollars above the advertised price, while a survey of about 8000 readers overwhelmingly backed the disclosure of reserve prices. Almost 92 per cent supported the policy shift. Melbourne man Jeremy van Dijk is among them. While searching for a property to buy with his wife in the city's inner north last year, the pair were the highest and only bidder at an auction for a two-bedroom home in Brunswick East, and made a bid within the advertised range. However, they were unable to secure the home because they had not yet hit the reserve. Loading When he questioned the agent about the discrepancy between the price guide and the reserve they replied that it was the owners who determined the reserve price. 'I think it would make the whole system more efficient and stop wasting so many people's time,' said the economist, in support of the proposed change to disclose reserve prices. 'It was just wasting so much of our time, and when you multiply that across the whole population, it's just so many hours lost, it's unbelievable.'
The Age
10-08-2025
- Business
- The Age
‘Demands a response': Peak real estate lobby backs underquoting overhaul
'My message is very clear to these dodgy operators. It is illegal and it must stop,' she said. 'There are severe penalties in place for those who break the law, and we will continue to go after these dodgy operators.' As defined in Victorian law, underquoting occurs when the published price for a property is set lower than it might reasonably be expected to sell, but is notoriously difficult to prove. There is also no requirement for the advertised price to match the owner's reserve, unless they disclose this to the agent ahead of time. This is one reason properties are passed in even after bidding passes the top of the advertised sale price range. The REIV's change of policy on reserve prices represents a fundamental shift for the group, who in their submission to the 2022 property review said it strongly opposed the mandatory public advertisement of a reserve price, arguing it would 'undermine the entire auction process'. In detailing the REIV's changed position on reserve price disclosure, Caine said he believed it would be appropriate that the reserve price would be disclosed some time during a property's auction campaign, rather than at the very beginning. 'In the initial phase, we're leaning towards later in the campaign… closer to the auction, so the owner and the agents have had the opportunity to receive the feedback from the buyers who will ultimately inform where that price will sit.' In 2022, the Consumer Policy Research Centre surveyed 500 Victorians who had purchased, or were in the process of purchasing, a home. It found that 17 per cent of those surveyed had paid for seven or more building or pest reports. 'At the time, we calculated that's costing them $4200 additional to their search process,' said the organisation's chief executive, Erin Turner. Turner said she had begun the research unsure that underquoting was a major problem, but was left convinced the illegal practice caused real financial and other harm. The centre made the same recommendations to the Victorian government that are now being backed by the REIV; that a property's reserve price is published and that home sellers provide potential buyers with free building and pest reports, a model already in place in the ACT. 'One of our theories here is that first home buyers, or people buying in areas they're less familiar with, are more likely to be caught paying for multiple building and pest inspections. It's your less sophisticated buyer that's more likely to be harmed,' Turner said. 'It's so important that we put these protections in place generally, but we also suspect that these protections are going to help the people who need it most.' Victorian opposition consumer affairs spokesman Tim McCurdy has backed a middle-ground solution, where vendors would not have to reveal their exact reserve but make sure it sits somewhere between the advertised guide. 'If their reserve price is not within the band, it is farcical,' he said. This masthead found examples of homes where the reserve was hundreds of thousands of dollars above the advertised price, while a survey of about 8000 readers overwhelmingly backed the disclosure of reserve prices. Almost 92 per cent supported the policy shift. Melbourne man Jeremy van Dijk is among them. While searching for a property to buy with his wife in the city's inner north last year, the pair were the highest and only bidder at an auction for a two-bedroom home in Brunswick East, and made a bid within the advertised range. However, they were unable to secure the home because they had not yet hit the reserve. Loading When he questioned the agent about the discrepancy between the price guide and the reserve they replied that it was the owners who determined the reserve price. 'I think it would make the whole system more efficient and stop wasting so many people's time,' said the economist, in support of the proposed change to disclose reserve prices. 'It was just wasting so much of our time, and when you multiply that across the whole population, it's just so many hours lost, it's unbelievable.'
