Sydney’s Underquoting Crisis: How Homebuyers Are Being Played

Sydney’s real estate market has always been a battlefield for buyers, but now a growing problem is making the process even more frustrating. Underquoting has become one of the most common complaints among frustrated home seekers, with misleading price guides turning the property search into an emotional and financial rollercoaster.

Underquoting is not a new phenomenon, but in twenty twenty-four it has reached an alarming level. Ninety-five real estate agents across Sydney have been fined for misleading buyers with significantly lower listing prices compared to what properties actually sell for. Collectively, these agents have been penalized with over two hundred thousand dollars in fines. The issue is that these penalties are merely symbolic. The maximum fine for underquoting in New South Wales is twenty-two thousand dollars per offense, yet many of these agents are getting away with penalties as low as one thousand one hundred dollars. For real estate agencies making millions in commissions, these fines are a minor inconvenience rather than a serious deterrent.

The impact on homebuyers is devastating. Many are experiencing shattered hopes after spending weeks planning finances and bidding at auctions only to realize the homes they were chasing were never realistically within their budget. A young couple from Parramatta shared their experience of bidding on five different properties, only to see each one sell for twenty to thirty percent above the advertised price.

“It is exhausting. We get our hopes up every time, thinking we might finally be able to afford something, and then boom. It sells for way more than we ever expected,”  said Sarah Collins, a first-home buyer.

The numbers tell the same frustrating story. Data from real estate firm Spachus shows that nearly nine hundred properties in Sydney sold for more than twenty percent above their initial listing price in the past year. One of the most extreme cases involved a home in Fairfield West that was listed for one point two million dollars but sold for an astonishing one point eight million, a fifty-five percent increase.

Opposition Fair Trading spokesman Tim James has been vocal about the lack of real action from the government. In a recent press conference, he called out the weak penalties, stating that fines of one or two thousand dollars were a joke. He called for tougher laws that would impose meaningful consequences on repeat offenders. Fair Trading Minister Anoulack Chanthivong has suggested publicly naming and shaming agents caught underquoting as a possible solution, but critics argue that this is more of a political maneuver than an actual fix for the problem.

With house prices continuing to rise and competition fiercer than ever, buyers need transparency rather than deceptive marketing strategies. The real estate industry is already under scrutiny due to affordability issues, and if it continues on this path, it risks losing what little trust it has left. Without stronger enforcement and meaningful penalties, Sydney’s housing market will remain an unfair playing field where hopeful buyers continue to be misled and left behind.