I went to six auctions in one day looking for the perfect home… this is the dodgy tactic that real estate agents need to stop doing

An outraged home buyer has spoken out against estate agents who quoted guide prices on houses without intending to sell them for that price.

Chris Sassine and his partner wanted to buy a property in Sydney but became frustrated with dishonest real estate agents.

“If someone follows me, he’s a realtor,” Sassine said in a TikTok video before spitting at the camera.

‘What do you think about that?’

Mr. Sassine explained that the price guide for numerous properties was undervalued by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Don’t put $800,000 as a guideline if it’s $1.3 million or $1.4 million, brother. Put it at $1.2 to $1.3 million as a guideline,” he said.

He admitted that the estimates were not always accurate and that there was some variability between the guide price and the final price of the house.

“If it’s $900,000-$950,000… if it sells for $1 million… fine, whatever,” he said.

“And that for 16 million dollars?! There’s only one bathroom in it, mate!”

Mr Sassine explained that he had attended six auctions in one day and that every lot sold well above the guide price.

“Each auction generated over $300,000 off the guide they gave away online,” he said.

‘Why? Why? That’s a lie!’

He then talked about the emotional impact the fake price guides have on him and his wife.

“You’re not only wasting my time, you’re wasting my wife’s time. And then she gets annoyed and she takes it out on me!” he said.

‘Why?’

Agents often advertise a lower asking price than they intend to accept, in an attempt to attract more people and hope that buyers will spend more than they budgeted for.

Many TikTok users agreed with Mr. Sassine and indicated that they had experienced the same problem.

“It’s really a joke,” someone wrote.

“As an agent I agree with you 1000 percent. Underquoting is a huge problem in our industry. Very frustrating,” wrote another.

Mr. Sassine replied, “I appreciate your honesty, mate.”

“It should be 100% illegal for all these cops to keep prices as low as possible,” wrote another TikTok user.

Mr Sassine said he went to six auctions in one day and the sale price at each auction was $300,000 above the guide price (stock image)

Another added: ‘100 percent bro… $1 million buyer’s guide… sold for $1.4 million… sucking our ass bro.’

However, some commentators disagreed with Mr Sassine, arguing that brokers should not be blamed.

“How can it be the officers’ fault when people will do anything to buy it and pay more for it?” one person wrote.

Mr. Sassine replied, “It’s the guide who’s completely wrong.”

Realtor Veronica Morgan said Good deeds Some people deliberately ask a lower price for a home in order to attract a larger group of buyers.

“But if they set the bid price too high, buyers won’t respond well and they won’t generate the interest needed to run a competitive auction,” she said.

In July, real estate guru Andrew Winter said realestate.com.au it was the ‘Great Australian Scam’.

Some states have laws requiring agents to accept any bid at an auction that is within a certain percentage of the advertised price. But Winter said it was difficult to understand the conflicting rules across the country.

“The path to a fairer and more transparent real estate market is simple,” he wrote.

“All we need is for sellers to be able to charge the price they want and for buyers to make sure that price is right for them.”