Series
Bidding blind: Underquoting exposed
In this 18-month special investigation, we lift the lid on an open secret in Australia’s property market that’s costing potential home buyers in Melbourne millions of dollars a year and making many sellers uneasy.
- Exclusive
- For subscribers
Half the time you waste your time: Melbourne’s rampant underquoting revealed
Our special investigation examined 26,000 auctions to reveal just how badly the state’s property guide system misleads buyers.
- Aisha Dow, Nigel Gladstone and The Visual Stories Team
- Investigation
- For subscribers
This suburban street says so much about the problem with auction price guides
Veronica Crescent is a microcosm of a wider pattern that has taken hold across swaths of the city and fuelled hot debate about the extent of underquoting.
- Aisha Dow, Nigel Gladstone and The Visual Stories Team
- Exclusive
- For subscribers
Buyers beware: These are Melbourne’s underquoting hotspots
An 18-month-long data investigation by The Age analysing almost 26,000 auction listings in Melbourne found that homes in these postcodes are regularly selling above the listed price.
- Aisha Dow, Nigel Gladstone and The Visual Stories Team
- Exclusive
‘Massive reform’: New laws will lock in pre-auction honesty
Real estate agents will be legally required to advertise a property’s reserve price at least a week before an auction or private sale deadline.
- Aisha Dow
The simple, seven-day change that could stop Melbourne real estate agents from underquoting forever
The state government is set to introduce a new rule that will change everything about how houses are sold.
- Aisha Dow
- Exclusive
No offers, don’t ask, don’t tell: The real estate agent tricks used to duck price rules
Buyers are furious, experts aren’t surprised, and here’s how property underquoting rogues get away with it.
- Aisha Dow
- Exclusive
‘I’ve got a paper trail on this’: Hundreds of allegations of brazen underquoting
New data revealing the extent of bait pricing in the property market comes as the Victorian government considers ways to crack down on the illegal practice.
- Aisha Dow
Real estate agents forced to follow stricter price guidelines in underquoting crackdown
Real estate agents who “cherry-pick” comparable sales prices to low-ball their property price guides will face penalties as the government announces stricter guidelines.
- Angus Delaney and Aisha Dow
The slow burn and hard slog of a cracker investigation
Whether it’s exposing real estate underquoting or the negligence of a celebrated surgeon, impactful journalism takes time and resources, as well as skill and dedication.
- Mathew Dunckley
- Exclusive
‘Demands a response’: Peak real estate lobby backs underquoting overhaul
Mandating public reserves, tougher penalties and vendors providing condition reports to buyers are some of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s proposals as it adds its voice to wider calls for change.
- Aisha Dow and Rachael Dexter
- Opinion
Public reserve prices, tougher penalties: A plan to tackle underquoting
We at the Real Estate Institute of Victoria accept that agents who underquote should have licences suspended or cancelled and that building/pest reports should be paid for by the vendor.
- Jacob Caine
- Editorial
Government’s underquoting failure abandons consumers making their biggest financial call
Promises to end the odious practice have not delivered, a review remains inexplicably buried and Victorians are left in the dark.
- The Age's View
- Analysis
How we revealed the truth about property auction guides
Why a lack of price transparency, hidden listings and elusive sales data in NSW and Victoria ensure the property market remains heavily skewed in favour of real estate agents.
- Nigel Gladstone
Melbourne real estate agent allegedly breached underquoting laws on 11 properties
Consumer Affairs Victoria says advertised price guides were lower than the estimated selling price given to the seller.
- Elizabeth Redman
Continue this series
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- Exclusive
Buyers beware: These are Melbourne’s underquoting hotspots
An 18-month-long data investigation by The Age analysing almost 26,000 auction listings in Melbourne found that homes in these postcodes are regularly selling above the listed price.