Bait Advertising

Bait Advertising


Bait advertising is the practice of advertising a property far less than what it is actually worth. In Victoria they refer to this process as underquoting and it is an illegal practice that is still widely used by real estate agents.

Recently reported in The Age newspaper was the suggestion that underquoting was so rife within the Victorian property market, they estimate 80% of all advertising in the residential market falls into this category.

The idea of bait advertising, particularly with auctions is a no win process for both the buyer and seller.

The seller may have decided to auction their property, and then they have an agent advertising a price range up to 30% less than what they will accept. This may attract many buyers to the auction, but it will not generate a good price for the owner on the day, as most people will struggle with paying 30% more than they expected for a property. No wonder clearance rates for auctions are so low.

Think of all the buyers, who have had their precious time and money wasted by these real estate agent practices.

A real estate agent was actually quoted in the AGE. Greg Hocking from Hocking Stuart actually stated they are not blameless either when asked to quote on this story. He clearly acknowledges that some of his employees have done this and they (being management) will now have to speak to the individuals involved.

This process was legislated against in Victoria 2 years ago, they have a Consumer Affairs department that deals with these very issues. Now we have a leading agent saying, yes look at what that agent does, it’s simply not right, and then acknowledges they do it themselves.

No wonder no body trusts real estate agents.

Bait advertising should be for fisherman, not for people buying and selling property.


Michael Eroz
Property Analyst
http://www.zeroagents.com.au