Website to help combat underquoting
The practice of agents providing unrealistically low quotes to attract buyers may become a thing of the past as a new website claims to predict sales prices with 95 per cent accuracy.
The free website, RealAS, will help buyers determine the true value of a property through calculations and crowdsourcing.
The site claims its predictions are, on average, accurate within five per cent of the final price.
A breakdown of its performance shows 64 per cent of predictions come within five per cent of the sales price, 90 per cent within 10 per cent and 99 per cent within 20 per cent.
Investors can use the site to determine the likely value of a property and avoid the risk of underquoting, buyer’s agent and director David Morrell said.
“RealAS will turn the real estate industry on its head – it’s about giving buyers faster, more accurate property prices and predictions, providing transparency, buyer-to-buyer,” he said.
Buyers using the site will also have a forum to share information and tips online, he said.
Underquoting is of growing concern in the real estate industry, prompting the Queensland government to ban price guides for auction properties earlier this year.