For a period of time, my friends and I were waiting with great interest regarding a particular land release/ development in the Western suburbs of Melbourne. So, we went onto their website and registered our interest with a view that we would be informed of the release and pricings. Subsequently, on the announcement of the first release, we were told to lock in an appointment with a deposit of $1000 (fully refundable) so we could view the lots and pricing on the day of appointment and make our decision on the spot. We were also told that the pricings will not be available until the very day of release.  We also heard from other buyers that there were also sudden price increases on the day of release!

The tactic used by this agent seems one of 'silent auction' where pricings are based on registered 'buyers interest', gauged via the willingness of buyers that were keen enough to go along with their conditions.  As such, we decided that we would ditch the development and buy elsewhere nearby as we felt the practice was rather 'unethical'.  If these guys are using the prospective buyers to price their land, then they should come clean and auction their land instead! Any thoughts on this?  How do we warn other buyers from falling into such traps.