There is a serious issue that will affect every buyer and seller in Queensland at the moment, with the State Government currently considering a proposal to ban price guides on properties marketed via auction. This Queensland real estate news is total insanity.
That means when you go looking for your next home or investment in Queensland, you won’t be able to have a conversation with the agent on price.
You also won’t be able to search by price on any property website. It will be a guessing game, especially for the thousands of people both interstate and overseas who are showing increasing interest in Queensland real estate.
It is complete lunacy.
The ban on price guides is contained in the Property Occupations Bill 2013 currently before Parliament.
In a nutshell:
- Agents will be prevented from discussing anything to do with price with buyers
- Price guides will not be allowed on any print material or advertising
- Internet searches will be useless with thousands of auction listings appearing in random order on realestate.com.au; domain.com.au and others
- Auctioneers will not be able to ‘call properties onto the market’ to let buyers know when the reserve has been passed
- Newspapers will not to be able to mention price guides in their editorials
I have been highly vocal on this issue as you may have seen in the media. I recently published a full page open letter in The Courier-Mail and the Gold Coast Bulletin and we’ve handed out flyers at opens to inform our buyers and sellers of the issue.
The Real Estate Institute of NSW has also voiced its disapproval. In a recent media release REINSW President Malcolm Gunning said “a ban on auction price guides would cause havoc for those interested in buying property in Queensland.
“It is a step backward for consumers. Now more than every buyers are demanding transparency in regard to property. To take away price guidelines with turn back the clock on Queensland real estate,” said Mr. Gunning.
Over 32 years in this industry, I have always advocated the use of price guides except in circumstances where the property is absolutely unique with no comparable sales.
I believe in transparency from day one of a campaign. Price guides help buyers make decisions; and they also enable agents to attract qualified buyers willing to compete at the appropriate level.
Sure, agents sometimes get it wrong. And there is also that small contingent of non-professionals who ‘underquote’ or use bait advertising on buyers – a practice I abhor and one that attracts very harsh penalties for agents these days.
But that doesn’t mean we should ban price guides altogether. In most cases, price guides are helpful to everyone in the buying and selling process.
If this bill is passed, it will take us back to the dark ages. There is no other jurisdiction in the world that bans price guides on properties. In fact, most other states and countries are moving in the opposite direction, with the research showing 9 out of 10 buyers will ignore properties advertised online without a price guide (independent residential consumer omnibus research for real estate.com.au).
Buyers want information so they can evaluate their options and make informed decisions. They want integrity, transparency and full disclosure on important facts. They want straight talk from agents without the spin or hyperbole of the past.
Importantly, we are now in the age of the internet, which has opened markets up to a much bigger audience. Queensland is becoming increasingly popular with southern state and international buyers and the government should be welcoming this by making it as easy as possible to research property and invest in the state.
Shouldn’t this be a decision for vendors and their agents to decide whether they want to use price guides… or not?
More than 1,800 people have so far signed an online petition calling for the Queensland Attorney-General, Jarrod Bleijie, to amend the legislation and remove the ban on price guides. If you are in agreement, please support us by signing this petition as soon as possible – with my thanks. JM.
To take action against the Queensland price guide ban, visit: change.org
