Real estate services

Real estate agents provided the following services:

act on behalf of owners, buyers and tenants to arrange the sale or lease of property (including houses, buildings, businesses and land)
provide market appraisals of properties and businesses for clients
negotiate the sale or lease of properties and businesses
collect rent and manage rental properties.

To give yourself the best chance of finding the right property to suit your needs and budget, take some time to do your research. Laws relating to real estate and property vary between states and territories, so you should also do some research with the authority in your state or territory.

Handy hints for dealing with real estate agents

Do your research and know your rights. Here are some tips and checks to help you deal more confidently with a real estate agent.

All states and territories require real estate agents to be licensed and some require an agent to follow a code of conduct. Check that the agent you are dealing with is licensed and is abiding by any codes of conduct that apply.
Check the details of any contracts carefully to make sure you understand all the terms and conditions that could apply. Verify and ask questions if you are unsure.
Check that you understand the full cost of the services before you commit yourself.
Check if there are any limitations and qualifications on the value of services carefully.
Consider getting an independent valuation and legal advice before you sign any contracts.
Ask yourself whether the information given to you by agents seems fair, accurate and current.
Remember: it is okay to ask questions and, if you are in any doubt, get a second opinion or consult another agent.

Misleading or deceptive conduct

It is unlawful for real estate agents to:

intentionally mislead you
lead you to a wrong conclusion or impression
give you a false impression
leave out or hide important information (e.g. in fine-print disclaimers)
make false or inaccurate claims.

It makes no difference whether the agent meant to mislead or deceive you—it is how you perceived the conduct that matters.

For example, if an agent decides to 'freshen up' a property by taking it off the market for a short time and then readvertises it as a 'new' listing, it may mislead you into thinking that the property has just been listed for sale.

To reduce the chances of misleading you, real estate agents must take care to:

disclose all information relevant to the price of the property
advertise the selling price based on a reasonable market appraisal or the price the seller has indicated they are likely to accept
not make false claims about the price of the property by:

advertising a property as 'passed in' at a price higher than what was actually bid at an auction
claiming that the vendor has already rejected offers more than they are willing to pay, when no such offers have been made and/or rejected
advertising a property at a price that is less than a previously rejected offer unless the seller is now prepared to accept a lower offer

not advertise or under quote a property at a price significantly less than the selling price to attract interest in the property
not make false claims about the location, characteristics or use that can be made of the land.

For example, a real estate agent would be misrepresenting the characteristics of a property if advertising 'beachfront lots' that did not front the beach.

It is also unlawful for the person making the claims about the land to represent that he or she has a sponsorship, approval or affiliation when this is not the case.

Is 'dummy bidding' misleading?

Dummy bidding is when an agent or a person acting on the vendor's behalf pretends to be genuinely interested in purchasing a property by making bids at an auction.

Dummy bidding is not the same as vendor bidding. Vendor bidding is an acceptable practice used by a seller to make sure the property reaches its reserve price. With vendor bidding, the identity of the person making the bids is announced by the auctioneer at the commencement of the auction and each time a bid is made.

Vendor bids must not continue once bidding for the property has reached its reserve price. Dummy bids, however, may continue after the reserve price has been reached so that the genuine bidder is pushed to pay as much as they can.

Unless it is fully disclosed at both the start of the auction and at the time the bid is made, it is likely to be considered misleading.

Where else to go for help with real estate services

Real estate services are also governed by the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The ACL provides you with extra protections when purchasing or selling your home.

The following links could be a good place for you to do some more research on buying or selling a property in your state or territory.

Victoria

The Buying and selling property and Renting pages of the Consumer Affairs Victoria website.

Queensland

The Property page on the Fair Trading Queensland website.

New South Wales

The Tenants and home owners pages of the NSW Office of Fair Trading website

Western Australia

The Real Estate and Business Agents Supervisory Board website.

South Australia

The Real estate pages of the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs website.

Northern Territory

The Residential tenancies page of the Northern Territory Department of Justice website

Tasmania

The Real estate pages of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading website