Latest news with #underquoting
Daily Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Telegraph
‘Serious': Why top Sydney agent Josh Tesolin was suspended
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News. A high-flying Sydney real estate agent has been suspended for allegedly underquoting the selling price of more than 100 properties and dummy bidding at auctions. NSW Fair Trading also alleged Josh Tesolin, of Tesolin Consulting, had produced false documents to the watchdog and breached rules of conduct by using 'high pressure sales tactics'. The regulator announced over the weekend that Mr Tesolin had been suspended immediately for four months, pending possible disciplinary action, for engaging in 'serious and repeated breaches of the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002'. 'The conduct is believed to have occurred while Mr Tesolin and Tesolin Consulting operated under the banner of Ray White (Quakers Hill – Tesolin Group),' it said. Former Ray White real estate agent Josh Tesolin has been suspended for four months. Picture: Supplied Mr Tesolin was named agent of the year in 2021. Picture: AAP/Monique Harmer Mr Tesolin, 29, was raised in Sutherland Shire by parents who owned Fantastic Furniture stores. Before his suspension he was Ray White's top-performing realtor internationally and was crowned the number one residential agent at the Annual REA Excellence Awards in 2021. He boasted on social media he had earned more than $9 million in commissions this financial year. The Rolex-wearing and Bentley-driving agent's own property portfolio was worth more than $15 million. As principal of Ray White Quakers Hill he had a focus on properties in Sydney's western suburbs. In 2023 he employed 30 staff at the branch, including his mother as general manager and his wife as office manager. Mr Tesolin and Ray White have reportedly terminated their franchise agreement. When contacted Mr Tesolin on Monday, his lawyer said he would not be making any statements to the media. NSW Fair Trading said David Mansfield of Deloitte had been appointed manager of Tesolin Consulting during the suspension. Impacted customers were encouraged to direct any enquiries to Deloitte or reach out directly to NSW Fair Trading on 13 32 20. Originally published as 'Serious': 'Top-performing' real estate agent suspended
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Serious': ‘Top-performing' real estate agent suspended
A high-flying Sydney real estate agent has been suspended for allegedly underquoting the selling price of more than 100 properties and dummy bidding at auctions. NSW Fair Trading also alleged Josh Tesolin, of Tesolin Consulting, had produced false documents to the watchdog and breached rules of conduct by using 'high pressure sales tactics'. The regulator announced over the weekend that Mr Tesolin had been suspended immediately for four months, pending possible disciplinary action, for engaging in 'serious and repeated breaches of the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002'. 'The conduct is believed to have occurred while Mr Tesolin and Tesolin Consulting operated under the banner of Ray White (Quakers Hill – Tesolin Group),' it said. Mr Tesolin, 29, was raised in Sutherland Shire by parents who owned Fantastic Furniture stores. Before his suspension he was Ray White's top-performing realtor internationally and was crowned the number one residential agent at the Annual REA Excellence Awards in 2021. He boasted on social media he had earned more than $9 million in commissions this financial year. The Rolex-wearing and Bentley-driving agent's own property portfolio was worth more than $15 million. As principal of Ray White Quakers Hill he had a focus on properties in Sydney's western suburbs. In 2023 he employed 30 staff at the branch, including his mother as general manager and his wife as office manager. Mr Tesolin and Ray White have reportedly terminated their franchise agreement. When contacted Mr Tesolin on Monday, his lawyer said he would not be making any statements to the media. NSW Fair Trading said David Mansfield of Deloitte had been appointed manager of Tesolin Consulting during the suspension. Impacted customers were encouraged to direct any enquiries to Deloitte or reach out directly to NSW Fair Trading on 13 32 20.
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
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. 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.'
Daily Mail
08-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Bombshell update on Josh Tesolin, Australia's top real estate agent at the centre of a Fair Trading probe
Australia's top-ranked real estate agent, Joshua Tesolin, has had his licence suspended by NSW Fair Trading. The suspension, which came into effect on Friday, will remain in place for 120 days, according to the NSW Fair Trading website. The exact reason for the suspension has not been confirmed, but it comes in the wake of an investigation by NSW Fair Trading into Mr Tesolin, first reported by Daily Mail. In a statement to Daily Mail, the department previously said that Tesolin and his agency were under investigation due to 'following proactive compliance blitzes into underquoting and complaints.' Under NSW law, real estate agents must provide a reasonable estimate of a property's likely selling price in the agency agreement. If a price range is used in advertising, the highest price must not exceed the lowest price by more than 10 per cent. In NSW, underquoting is an offence, attracting penalties of up to $22,000. Daily Mail doesn't suggest that Mr Tesolin has engaged in underquoting, only that NSW Fair Trading was investigating him. Despite the official scrutiny, the western Sydney-based agent was one of Australia's highest-performing agents, reportedly raking in $9million in commissions over the past financial year. The NSW Fair Trading website shows that Josh Tesolin's real estate licence has been suspended Tesolin isn't just a top-selling real estate agent – he and his wife, Sophia, have amassed a property portfolio estimated at more than $15million. It comes just weeks after Mr Tesolin rebranded from Ray White, to Queensland-based NGU. The rebrand was confirmed by his lawyer, Lisa Jemmerson, in a statement to Daily Mail. 'Ray White and Josh Tesolin, Australia's number one real estate agent, today announced they will be parting ways at the end of July following a mutual agreement that supports Tesolin's ambitions to further his own business ventures,' she said. Jemmerson emphasised the decision to part ways was mutual, despite Ray White previously telling Daily Mail there were 'no plans to terminate' the relationship. NGU chief executive Emil Jesuric bragged about Tesolin joining the company in a post to social media, calling it 'a new era' for the expanding real estate brand. '[NGU is] excited to officially welcome Josh Tesolin, Australia's #1 Agent, and his powerhouse team to the NGU family,' Mr Jesuric wrote. He praised Tesolin's accolades, including multiple number-one rankings by RateMyAgent and and highlighted their shared values of trust, loyalty, and a relentless drive for excellence. Tesolin's departure came in the face of a 'compliance review' initiated by Ray White, following public reports relating to his incentive fee structures. 'Given the seriousness and very public nature of the allegations regarding the incentive fees, we have agreed with Josh that we will undertake our own compliance review into his incentive fee arrangements,' Ray White's head office stated. 'This will include looking at the nature of these arrangements, how they operated, and whether there was any misalignment with client interests.'
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Controversial 'top performing' Ray White real estate agent Josh Tesolin finally comes clean with a staggering admission
One of Australia's most divisive real estate agents has finally broken his silence after Daily Mail Australia revealed that he and his agency were being investigated by NSW Fair Trading for underquoting and complaints. Josh Tesolin, who made headlines in 2021 after he made $7million in commissions at just 26 years old, addressed the investigation publicly for the first time in a podcast interview with fellow agent Adrian Bo that was released on May 28. Tesolin, who is the owner and principal of Ray White Quakers Hill in Sydney 's northwest, said the investigation had been 'going on for three years, now'. 'What are we being investigated for? Fair Trading came in, asked for files, we complied with the regulator,' Tesolin continued. 'Anything the regulator has asked, whether it be 500 files... three files... we have completely complied with the regulator at every single stage.' Tesolin also took the opportunity to lash his critics, telling Bo they were simply jealous of his success. 'As you know Adrian... tall poppy syndrome is a big thing in this industry,' he said. His admission about the long-running NSW Fair Trading investigation contradicts the statement the Ray White Group provided to Daily Mail Australia a month earlier, which claimed that 'Josh Tesolin is not aware of any personal investigation into him'. Tesolin (pictured) was awarded the Number 1 Agent in Australia award via RateMyAgent four times in 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020 out of 60,000 real estate agents 'Rather, on 16 March 2023, the corporate licensee responded to an investigation by NSW Fair Trading; since that date, there has been no penalty, fine or regulatory action taken by NSW Fair Trading against the corporate licensee or Mr Tesolin,' it said. A Fair Trading spokesperson confirmed this week that the investigation was ongoing. 'The Strata and Property Services Taskforce within NSW Fair Trading is investigating Quakers Hill Ray White Real Estate and Josh Tesolin following proactive compliance blitzes into underquoting and complaints,' they said. 'As this investigation is ongoing, no further comment is available at this time.' It's understood the investigation will be completed in the coming weeks. When contacted by Daily Mail Australia about Tesolin's comments on the podcast, Ray White said it was unaware of the 'specific matters' under investigation. 'The Ray White Group has always offered its full cooperation and support to NSW Fair Trading in any investigation of its members,' a spokesperson said. 'In relation to Ray White Quakers Hill, we have still not been informed of the specific matters under investigation, despite being told by the media. 'NSW Fair Trading have provided Ray White - the franchisor - with no formal communication regarding its investigation regarding Josh Tesolin.' Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Tesolin has engaged in underquoting, only that NSW Fair Trading is investigating his agency in Quakers Hill. In 2021, Tesolin was awarded the Number 1 Agent in Australia by RateMyAgent, a title he secured four years in a row, from 2020 to 2023, standing out among over 60,000 real estate agents nationwide. Never one to shy away from celebrating his achievements, Tesolin made a bold statement at a real estate conference in New Zealand, debuting a custom-made jacket adorned with images of properties he's had a hand in selling. Under NSW law, real estate agents must provide a reasonable estimate of a property's likely selling price in the agency agreement. If a price range is used in advertising, the highest price must not exceed the lowest price by more than 10 per cent. In NSW, underquoting is an offence, attracting penalties of up to $22,000. A property sold on June 5 by the Tesolin Group was guided at $950,000, much lower than the $1,145,000 it sold for in 2021. The home in Riverstone ultimately sold for $1,351,000, a difference of 42 per cent from the reserve. Tim McKibbin, the CEO of the Real Estate Institute of NSW, said it was unusual for a property to be listed for less than its previous sale price in the current market. 'I'm not shocked that it was marketed at a lower price, but generally, you wouldn't expect a property to sell for less than it previously did,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'There could be a multitude of factors influencing this, the property may have been damaged, or there may have been changes in the surrounding area. 'All of these elements can impact a property's value.' The agent interviewing Tesolin, Mr Bo, made headlines in 2019 after he was forced to resign from McGrath Real Estate in the city's eastern suburbs. His resignation came in the wake of an investigation into a complaint that Bo had reportedly asked a much younger staffer 'how many c***s he had sucked?'
