Gold Coast real estate: LJ Hooker called out for editing lawn at Southport home to make it greener

A real estate agency is in trouble after one of their real estate agents accidentally uploads nearly identical photos of a property – with one glaring difference between the two.

LJ Hooker Southport was caught this week advertising a Gold Coast property with a heavily photoshopped image of a clear blue sky, perfectly manicured lawn and gleaming white house.

In the original photo, the grass in the backyard was patchy and the house looked faded.

Despite the photoshop job, it seemed to have little impact on the buyer, who spent $808.00 on the three-bedroom, two-bathroom Kumbari Avenue home in December.

While the practice isn’t illegal, it’s the latest in a long line of cops updating unflattering property photos.

AFTER: The edited photo (pictured) shows a perfect lawn, with lighting generally raised to show a bluer sky and a whiter house

Typically, the rules of the trade are that while editors cannot remove permanent structures from homes, anything else is fair game.

‘Adding grass where there is none, I think, is problematic’, Antonia Mercorella, CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland told news.com.au when approached about the accidental upload.

“If you were to add a little greenery and make the property look a little lighter, that’s usually reasonable.”

A spokeswoman for LJ Hooker said their lawn photoshop was within necessary guidelines.

“LJ Hooker follows all legal requirements when displaying listings to ensure an accurate representation of key features,” she said.

While it’s fine to adjust pre-existing features of a property prior to listing, gray areas still exist.

“The reality is that consumers should expect virtually all photos to be digitally modified to some degree,” said Ms Mercorella.

In general, photo editors try to improve a home’s upkeep when it’s substandard, by clearing out trash or brightening gloomy skies, but touch-ups that affect the home’s existing structure should be accompanied by an artist’s impression. ‘ disclaimer.

A home in Launceston, Tasmania, which sold for more than $4 million earlier this year, showed a more brutal edit when advertised online, but was listed alongside a current photo of the property as it appeared at the time.

BEFORE: In Launceston, Tasmania, a dilapidated home sold for more than $4 million earlier this year

AFTER: An ‘artist’s view’ of what the multi-million dollar property had to offer, in addition to the home’s current state

The practice of updating property photos first came to light when editors hired by estate agents were found in the Philippines, Sri Lanka and India.

They were hired to clean up and brighten up, dusting off real estate images, Yahoo 7 reported at the time.

Another property in 2016 was more ethically questionable when real estate agent Ray White was called out for a specifically framed photo that completely cut out the giant water tank towering behind the Sydney property.

The officer said they simply took the photos from a more flattering angle when questioned at the time, denying any use of photoshop in the process.

BEFORE: A listed building in 2016 surprised inspectors who did not expect to see a giant water tower hovering over the property

AFTER: Real estate agent Ray White was sued for deceptively removing a giant water tank towering behind a property in Sydney, but they said they simply changed the angle of the photo