A buyer’s agent has praised a groundbreaking tool that exposes real estate agents for underquoting, saying it is about time it was created.
Australian Property Advocates director Simon Murphy said the platform will bring ‘accountability’ to an industry that has become ‘cooked’.
The platform, RealEstats, uses artificial intelligence to compile and compare property data, ranking agents by how far off their guides are from the actual sales price.
‘Everyone knows agents are lying about price guides, so I built a free tool to show just how much,’ the creator realestats_sergio wrote on Reddit.
The site features a sortable database of agents, showing who most consistently underquotes, or overestimates prices.
It also breaks down data at suburb and council level, and includes affordability filters, offering buyers and sellers new transparency in one of Australia’s most opaque markets.
Mr Murphy said real estate agents should be ‘called out’ over the dodgy practice.
‘This is awesome. It’s called accountability. It needs to happen,’ he said.
Australian Property Advocates director Simon Murphy (pictured) said the platform will finally bring ‘accountability’ to an industry that has become ‘cooked’
Mr Murphy said now more than ever, potential buyers should do their research, saying that underquoting was rife across Australia.
‘Stop looking at the listed price and start getting educated in the market. Start looking at the sold price,’ he said.
‘Underquoting has become a big issue, it’s a big problem everywhere…. real estate agents have absolutely cooked this industry.’
Under NSW law, agents must provide a reasonable estimate of a property’s likely selling price in the agency agreement.
If advertising with a price range, the upper figure cannot exceed the lower by more than 10 per cent.
Breaches can attract fines of up to $22,000.
‘Agents are putting in price ranges like $900k–$990k for a property worth $1.2million. That’s how they attract buyers,’ Mr Murphy said.
Daily Mail makes no suggestion these agents have engaged in underquoting, but is simply reporting the disparity between guides and sold prices available from public data.
Underquoting is when a sold price is 10 per cent higher than the auction price guide (stock image)
For now, RealEstats only covers Sydney and parts of regional NSW, though it is understood it could be expanded to other states.
RealEstats notes the data is manually collected from public sources, meaning gaps, delays and errors are possible.
The results are estimates, it says, and should be read as opinion rather than fact.
Its disclaimer also emphasises not all Sydney agents are included, and that inclusion or omission does not necessarily reflect professional competence.
‘This material is provided for general information only and does not constitute financial, legal, or professional advice,’ the site warns.
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Dishonest real estate agents have been getting away with a sneaky act for too long… but that’s all about to change