(Woodards) 1/5 Beverley St,Glen Huntly - Quoted $380-$420K - Auction 20/09. We expressed interest in theproperty  and placed a prior offer of $452K. The offer wasn’t accepted.The next couple of days should have seen the price quote CHANGE to reflect thatthere had been prior interest from a buyer above the selling range quoted.However the quote wasn’t changed, and when we called to ask why, we wereinformed that the vendors reserve had already been set and it was in thatrange. The agent was aware I was going to be bidding at the auction.

On the day the bidding openedat $380K with a vendor bid. At $420K I asked if the property was on the market– the answer was of course NO. In fact it didn’t go on the market until thepoint where we had placed our prior offer (around the $450K mark) – surprisesurprise. The property sold for $490K with strong bidding from four parties.There were buyers there from Warrnambool - They had driven to Melbourne just to attend the auction (theydidn't even get one bid in - it went way over what they had been told toexpect). During our conversation with them after the auction, we asked if theyhad been informed about any prior offers on the property. (The buyers were wellknown to the agent who had been addressing them by name during the auction andobviously knew they were interested in purchasing the unit and clearly expectedthem to bid.) They had NOT been told of prior offers

It’s clearly unfair to the buyer – particularly the first homebuyer who would have invested time effort and emotion into this property - tokeep them in the dark about genuine offers that are above the quote rangeespecially as the reserve was clearly NOT set in the quote range. TheReal Estate Industry wonders why it has such a low standing in the community asa whole.

This is truly underquoting.This should be stamped out. Licensed, reputable agents should not stand up forthe ridiculous antics of the few. If the REIV cannot stop its members doingthis, then hopefully Consumer Affairs Victoria can. This goes way beyondgetting the best deal for your vendor. There were plenty of potentialpurchasers that were going to bring the price up to high $400’s which is whatit finally sold for. The comparable sales in the area showed the property wouldmost likely go into the high$400’s – which it did. The agent had a writtenlegally binding offer well in excess of their asking price that met everycondition identical to that which we were allowed to bid on (in other words itwas declined on price) more than a week out from the auction. If the agencycan’t sell real estate without doing irreparable damage to our industry, then Ithink it is time they find a vocation they are more suited too. Real EstateAgents are one of the least trusted professions according to a stack ofnewspaper polls and it is operators like this that add to that standing