If you’re a property investor or homebuyer in New South Wales, chances are you’ve had a run-in with underquoting, and it probably left a bad taste. A year ago, the NSW Government promised to crackdown on this illegal practice with a dedicated Fair Trading task force.

Now, 12 months on, the big question is: has anything actually changed?

 

what’s underquoting [and why all the fuss]?

 

Underquoting is when a selling agent advertises a price guide for a property that’s well below what they know it will sell for. It’s a tactic to attract more buyers, but gives false hope to people who were never in with a real chance.

While underquoting has long been illegal, it hasn’t always been enforced. But buyers have had enough. In the first half of 2024, over 100 complaints were made to NSW Fair Trading, a 25% increase from the year before.

According to NSW Strata and Property Services Commissioner, John Minns, many cases of underquoting go unreported, meaning the actual numbers could be much higher.

 

what were the August 2024 changes?

 

After many years of buyer frustration, the NSW Government finally took action.

Here’s what they introduced:

  • A dedicated underquoting task force within NSW Fair Trading, focused solely on cracking down,
  • Proactive monitoring of listings, not just reacting to complaints,
  • 55 fines were issued in the first half of 2024 alone [most linked to complaints and incidents in 2023],
  • Serial offenders were targeted, and court action was flagged for the worst offenders, and
  • New CPD requirements came into force from 1 July 2024, requiring agents to complete training on price misrepresentation.

 

one year later: is it working?

 

So here we are, one year since the new rules. What’s changed?

 

1. increased compliance visibility

Buyers are starting to see more realistic price guides in listings. There’s still the occasional outlier, but fewer properties are outside the guide provided without good reason.

 

2. agents are more cautious

With the Fair Trading task force active and agents’ CPD requirements needing to have been completed by 30 June 2025, agents are thinking twice about quoting too low.

Proactive agencies have also stepped up, many are running internal compliance checks before listing a price guide.

 

has it solved the problem?

 

Buying a property can still be a difficult and frustrating process. Price guides are getting more accurate, but there’s still work to do, and buyers still need to do their due diligence.

We’ve seen first-hand how professional buyer’s agents, particularly those aligned with the Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia [REBAA] play a key role in supporting buyers through these complexities.

Craig Harrison and I recently kept this conversation going at the REBAA Conference in Melbourne. We caught up with others in the industry who, like us, are keen to see stronger compliance and higher standards across the board.

 

need help navigating the rules?

 

Whether you’re a buyer, seller, or agent, our businessDEPOT Legal team can help you with advice on contracts, disclosure, and all the fine print that comes with property deals. Give us a buzz on 1300BDEPOT or get in touch via legal@businessdepot.com.au.

 

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