Real estate agents subject to inaccurate quoting claims by RealAs revealed: “For too long secrets have been kept from both sides of the equation”

RealAs has exclusively released research to SmartCompany it claims proves some of Stockdale & Leggo’s Melbourne offices have been inaccurately quoting on some auction prices.

SmartCompany reported yesterday RealAs, a Melbourne-based property startup which uses an algorithm to work out house prices, has received legal threats   from Stockdale & Leggo with research showing some of the agent’s offices had been out on quotes by as much as 30% on some sales.

But agents have defended the variance between what was quoted and what was paid on some sales, saying the Melbourne market is experiencing such a boom, some very popular properties will inevitably sell for more than expected.

Agents have also said the data does not take into account quoting ranges that change over the course of a campaign, as properties prove to be more popular.

RealAs says the data, for Stockdale & Leggo auctions only in the month of March, shows the difference between the price quoted publicly by some offices on some sales and the price they eventually sold for. It also shows the variance between the Stockdale & Leggo quote and the RealAs prediction.

The figures show several of Stockdale & Leggo quotes have been more accurate than RealAs on the quoting of property prices, while a number have been in favour of RealAs.

RealAs chief executive Josh Rowe this morning told SmartCompany his motivation for releasing the data is to promote transparency in the industry.

“We want to make it easy for homebuyers and sellers – even agents – to see what the market is actually doing,” says Rowe.

“For too long secrets have been kept from both sides of the equation.”

“It’s not an attack on real estate agents and in the case of Stockdale & Leggo, the data shows some agents have been more accurate than RealAs,” Rowe continues.

“But in a number of cases, their results are quite further out.”

But several Stockdale & Leggo directors this morning hit back at the claims, telling SmartCompany the hot market is producing a number of unexpectedly large sales.

Stockdale & Leggo Sunshine director David Falcone, whose office was shown in the data to have been off by 39.5% on the sale of 37 Chapman St Sunshine, says competition is blowing out the price on some sales.

“We definitely are quoting within 10% of the reserve price, as per the law,” says Falcone.

“If it goes a lot higher, that’s what people are willing to pay because the state of the market is hot right now and supply is so low. It’s just supply and demand,” he says.

Mark Imbesi, director and auctioneer of Stockdale & LeggoGlenroy, agrees agents are currently bringing in sales well above reserve prices and says that gives the wrong perception of inaccurate quoting.

“Vendors are being very realistic, and if buyers are paying way more, then it looks like that,” he says.

He also says many quoting ranges change over the course of the campaign and this research does not indicate that.

The data shows four sales by the Glenroy office had a variance of over 20% in March.

“It’s been red hot in Glenroy recently, I don’t know if it will continue like that, but it’s been very good for vendors, they’ve been very happy.”

Robyn Adair, Stockdale & Leggo Glen Waverley director, whose office had one sale at 2 Colebrook Way Mount Waverley which showed a 33% variance, said the market strength in the suburb led to some unpredictable big sales.

Meanwhile, Stockdale & Leggo Gladstone Park director Rick Goodman, whose office was shown in the data to have inaccurately quoted on the price of 26 South Circular Rd, Gladstone Park, refutes the price RealAs states the agent quoted of $330,000-$350,000, saying the range actually quoted was $370,000 to around $410,000.

Neil Butler, director of Stockdale & Leggo Dandenong, said any of the over and above sales were driven by the market, were above what the agent expected and were caused by demand.

SmartCompany contacted Stockdale & Leggo Croydon, one of the other agents listed in the research, but did not receive a response proper to publication.

John Gdanski, the lawyer representing Stockdale & Leggo, declined to comment further on behalf of the company.