Daily Buzz: Tuesday, 13 August
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PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news.
A Melbourne real estate agent has been banned after misusing rental bonds, underquoting training is now mandatory for NSW agents, and the preliminary clearance rate increased in last week’s auction market.
Welcome to Property Buzz! I’m Orana Durney-Benson.
Today is Tuesday, the 13th of August, and a Melbourne agent has been banned from holding a real estate licence for five years after misusing rental bond money.
– The agent, Christopher Kontossis, moved 26 electronic bond claims into separate bank accounts not linked to the legitimate claimants. In total, over $21,000 of rental bond money was misused.
– As well as having his licence cancelled, Kontossis has been fined $2,500, with Consumer Affairs Victoria warning agents that bond money is not theirs to keep.
Over in New South Wales, all residential real estate agents must complete a mandatory course on underquoting by June 2025 to comply with their training requirements.
– The course aims to educate agents on the importance of providing accurate selling price information, communicating market changes, and reporting unacceptable behaviour related to underquoting.
– The course, which has been developed in partnership with TAFE NSW, must be completed annually by all agents in the state.
And turning to last week’s auction market, the national preliminary clearance rate tipped over 70 per cent, with over 1800 homes going under the hammer.
– Strong results were seen in Adelaide, where the clearance rate was over 88 per cent, while Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra saw more lukewarm results.
– Going forward, Corelogic predicts auction activity is set to increase in the leadup to the spring selling season, with over 2,000 homes scheduled for auction in the week to come.
That’s all for today.
See you again tomorrow, the 14th of August, for your daily dose of Property Buzz.
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