A crowd attends a home auction in Brisbane. Picture: Debra Bela.
Almost two thirds of Brisbane houses are hitting the market without a price guide, leaving homehunters blind when it comes to making one of the biggest decisions of their lives.
As other states introduce harsh laws to crack down on underquoting and misleading advertising, new analysis shows 63 per cent of three and four bedroom property listings in Brisbane do not provide price indications — instead using generic terms like; ‘contact agent’, ‘for sale’, and ‘submit offers’.
As prices continue to climb, even entry-level properties such as one-bedroom units are now being offered for auction, leaving first homebuyers completely in the dark as Queensland is the only state in the nation where properties are taken to auction without a price guide.
This house at 15 Gunner St, Kedron, is advertised for sale without a price or price guide.
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But the Crisafulli government has no plans to change that, and the state’s peak industry body claims the current laws prevent underquoting and protect both buyers and sellers.
The Victorian government this week announced reserve prices for residential properties will have to be published seven days prior to auction or sale by fixed date, while in NSW, the Minns government is increasing fines to up to $110,000 for agents found guilty of underquoting, and proposing to mandate a price or price guide on all advertising.
The analysis by Compare the Market found that of the 37 per cent of Brisbane listings that did indicate a price tag, it varied from providing an indicative price, a price range, or asked for ‘offers above’ or under a certain figure — which is illegal in other states.
This house at 28 Diane St, Yeronga, is advertised for sale without a price or price guide.
The expansion of the federal government’s first homebuyer scheme has also opened the door to the practice of underquoting — when an agent advertises a property at a lower price than what it is estimated to sell for in order to attract more buyers.
Open homes for properties at the lower end of the market in Brisbane are attracting hundreds of prospective buyers in some cases, with two-bedroom, one-bathroom units selling for $1m, where only two months ago, they were selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars less.
One Brisbane home hunter complained on Reddit they had been actively looking for two-bedroom apartments and townhouses and had experienced 10 failed offers, with every property selling for $50,000 to $150,000 over the price guide offered by the agent.
This house at 12 Totten Close, Eight Mile Plains, is advertised for sale without a price or price guide.
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“What gives? This is the agents’ literal job, so surely they can’t be that out of touch. Guessing they suggest a lower figure to drum up as many offers as possible and start a bidding war, but $50,000 to $150,000 under seems ridiculous?”
Compare the Market’s property expert Andrew Winter is calling for greater price transparency, particularly at a time when first-home buyer incentives have been expanded.
“Many Australians trying to take advantage of new first-home buyer incentives are being left in the dark wondering: ‘Is this actually eligible and under the price threshold?’” Mr Winter said.
Real estate guru and Compare The Market’s property expert, Andrew Winter. Image: Luke Marsden.
“Enough is enough. The lack of pricing transparency continues to be what’s wrong with our modern-day real estate market, prohibiting consumers from easily shopping around for properties and buying blind.”
Mr Winter said the lack of price transparency caused homebuyers to lose confidence and provided a disservice for sellers who “may miss out on otherwise great offers”.
“It’s like trying to purchase a new or used car blind when the price tag is blank until you walk in the showroom and ask the salesperson directly,” he said.
“At that point, there’s added pressure to buy, when it may end up being entirely unaffordable, wasting effort and time for both sides.
This house at 9 Gibraltar Court, Fitzgibbon, is advertised for sale without a price or price guide.
“If you were buying anything else — a TV, a desk or a beer at the pub — you’d be appalled if a price wasn’t quoted.”
Veteran agent and McGrath Estate Agents founder John McGrath has long been an advocate for price guides for home listings.
“Price guides answer the first question that every prospective buyer has on a property of interest to them,” Mr McGrath said.
“They also help buyers work out which homes are worth inspecting, and that’s why we see more buyers at opens when a guide is used.”
This house at 37 City View Rd, Sinnamon Park, is advertised for sale without a price or price guide.
Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) CEO Antonia Mercorella said there were no plans to seek the repeal of the current laws in Queensland relating to auctions or price guides.
“We support sellers having the choice on how they market a property in a private treaty sale, including options to go with a fixed price, price range, ‘offers over’, or without a price such as ‘expressions of interest’, ‘by negotiation’, and ‘best offers by’,” she said.
“We also support sellers’ ability to adjust marketing strategies throughout the campaign.”
Ms Mercorella said underquoting issues were more prolific in other states such as Victoria and New South Wales where price guides were provided and auctions were more prevalent.
“In other jurisdictions, where prices or price guides are commonplace, we see much higher incidences of buyer complaints and underquoting,” she said. “This tells us that mandating prices does not safeguard against underquoting or result in a guaranteed sale price outcome.”
REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella. Picture: Liam Kidston.
A spokesperson for Queensland’s Department of Justice said the Property Occupations Act 2014 and the associated Property Occupations Regulation 2014 included provisions to ensure property agents operated fairly and honestly.
Those provisions prohibited agents from making false or misleading representations, including when marketing and selling property, and imposed requirements for property agents to act in accordance with their client’s instructions.
Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading has only received one complaint for underquoting in 2025.
Homes going to auction in Queensland are not allowed to be listed with a price or price guide. Picture: Debra Bela.
But Ray White agent and principal Avi Khan said other states should adopt Queensland’s ‘no price guide’ approach — especially for homes going to auction — because it would reduce incidences of underquoting.
“Auctions should be about transparency and competition, not about agents trying to perfectly guess what the reserve or what the market sentiment will be weeks before auction day,” Mr Khan said.
“Too often in competing jurisdictions, agents have been playing God on price — that is, pretending to know where a property price sits. The only person that is correct on price is the eventual buyer.
“Queensland proves that the strongest safeguard against misinformation is not a price guide, it’s the open, public competition of an auction. The best regulatory action the other states can take is to do away with legislation that has allowed this quagmire to exacerbate.”
Avi Khan, principal of Ray White Daisy Hill – AKG. Image supplied.
Urban X CEO and former real estate agent Dan Argent said he believed the choice to list with a price or not should exist for sellers.
“For some properties it’s easy to provide a guide — especially in the suburbs where things are more similar, but sellers should also be able to choose not to,” Mr Argent said.
“I personally don’t think it should be mandated one way or another, but I do think that if a guide is provided, it should be within 10 per cent of the price and, yes, it makes sense to fine agents that abuse that.
Almost two thirds of Brisbane house listings are advertised without a price or price guide.
“The key is taking a sensible approach to the enforcement. I mean, everyone needs to understand that sometimes properties will sell for much more than everyone expects and it is the agent’s job to get the highest possible price.”
But buyer’s agent Lisa Evans from Vervé Property said Brisbane’s property market had reached a level of unpredictability that not even real estate agents felt confident setting prices.
“More homes for sale are going to auction than ever before, and it’s not because the agent necessarily wants to achieve the highest price for the owner,” Ms Evans said.
“It’s simply that they don’t dare price it because market conditions can shift from one day to the next.
“I was attending a home for sale, and the agent actually asked me what I thought would be a reasonable auction reserve. That’s how uncertain things have become.”
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