EFFIE BATEMAN | Lifestyle | Contact
Purchasing a property is set to become an even more difficult and frustrating experience for the average Aussie, as real estate websites now require interested applicants to contact an agent if they want to see photos and a location.
Though prices listed for properties in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria can’t be too open ended, houses and apartments do not require a definitive price. Instead an ad may list a guidelines such as ‘Expressions of interest’, ‘Price on application’ and ‘Price by negotiation.’
Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia have even fewer advertising regulations than other states.
This not only makes the buying process less transparent, but also requires interested applicants to hand over their data to agents, who can then legally and professionally use the data how they please.
As of the first of July, real estate websites will now only allow users to search for the general area they’d like to live in, and provide options that may or may not be in their price point.
Speaking to Tom Knoll from Cunce Real estate, The Advocate learns that websites will also stop showing properties that have been recently sold, so that there’s no way to gauge what anything costs anymore.
But according to Tom, this new user experience will apparently benefit the average Australian, because it encourages ‘fewer time wasters.’
He says the new filters have already been trialled in Tasmania, and have led to a 300% increase in users giving over their data.
Unless of course, they pay for a premium membership.
“I mean, you have to pay $20 a month to use Flatmates to find a rental, so why not charge a membership to find a house?”, asks Tom.
“Haha…stupid renters.”
More to come.
