Best practice
What are we talking about?
Jim Lourandos & David Dundas REIV Information Officers
REIV Information Officers David Dundas and Jim Lourandos address some of the current common questions from Members.
Price Quoting – avoid the pitfalls Price quoting can be simple or complex depending on how you approach the process. The simplicity is in the basic principle underlying the legislation - the price representation must not be misleading or deceptive. This can be found in Consumer Law, and it was under this law which many of the notable prosecutions for underquoting took place. The Estate Agents Act sections 47A to 47D sets out compliance requirements to assist agents avoid being misleading or deceptive when marketing residential real estate. The
matter becomes complex when there is an attempt to mislead or deceive. The detail contained in the Estate Agents Act is not dealt with here as it is comprehensively covered in an information sheet on the REIV website: reiv.com.au/information-sheets. This article only looks into some scenarios that the Institute has become aware of. 1. The agent completed the authority and then searched for and selected comparables, properties that recently sold in the same range as the estimate on the authority. However, they were not like the listed property, so should not be
considered a comparable sale. Wherever possible the estimate on the authority must be based on the sale of three comparable properties, so finding the comparable properties needs to precede the completion of the authority. 2. The agent could not identify sales of three comparable properties, but a CAV inspector asks them to substantiate their estimate on the authority. Was it based on older sales of comparable properties but adjusted in line with price movements in the market since then, was it based on the price achieved per square metre where the value is entirely CONTINUED ON PAGE 30
The Estate Agent – NOVEMBER 2021 | 29
