In property, an old adage is “location, location, location!” But don’t discount the importance of timing.
Five days after Domain shareholders approved the sale of the company to US property listings group CoStar, the Nine papers ran big on Saturday, Sunday and today with a series of stories about systematic underquoting in the Sydney and Melbourne property markets.
Nine owned nearly 60% of Domain, which it picked up in the unspectacular $4 billion merger of Nine and Fairfax Media in late 2018. Like its parent, Domain has not been a stellar performer in the housing boom, especially compared to the partially News Corp-owned REA Group. But the August 4 vote by Domain shareholders will see Nine get around $1.4 billion in net cash (50% of its current market value of $2.7 billion) — a good deal given Domain’s current number two status. The CoStar purchase will be completed in the September quarter, now that Domain shareholders have given their thumbs up.
Presumably they would’ve been very happy to have given the green light after Saturday upon reading Nine’s stories investigating one of the banes of home buyers’ lives: deliberate underquoting by real estate agents.
Related Article Block Placeholder
Article ID: 1176176
Nothing signals to home buyers, especially first home buyers in Australia’s most expensive property market, that the system is rigged against them more than the realisation that the work they’ve put into being competitive in an auction for a property was a waste of time, because the real estate agents involved have misled them about the price guide. To that end, Nine has been serving up excellent stories confirming numerous reports and allegations of underquoting and other rorts.
Independent. Irreverent. In your inbox
Get the headlines they don’t want you to read. Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletters for fearless reporting, sharp analysis, and a touch of chaos
By continuing, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Just imagine the impact on the CoStar sale had the story broken before it was completed. It was a triumph of timing for Nine.
The Saturday splash was the ideal day for the stories to appear, given it’s the big day for property inspections and auctions across Australia. The headlines in The Sydney Morning Herald could not have been missed by the tens of thousands of people out looking, kicking tyres and bidding hopefully for an investment, a first home or a move up the market. In Melbourne, The Age had a similar take on the Victorian capital’s property market.
If the Domain sale had not happened, it would have been very interesting to see how Nine would have handled what is bad publicity for Domain, the housing market and the real estate industry.
The sale of Domain will leave the Australian real estate listing market basically foreign-dominated. CoStar is American, and REA Group — 61% owned by the Murdoch clan’s News Corp — is also American. The lack of competition in the online real estate market is reflected in the fact that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is investigating REA over claims about price fixing, gouging, deceptive practices and pressuring real estate agents.
Best to keep your hopes well-grounded when you enter the property market, it seems.
Have you had an experience with underquoting?
We want to hear from you. Write to us at letters@crikey.com.au to be published in Crikey. Please include your full name. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.