The “+” watch

In Chapter 10 of my Victorian book (which is essentially reproduced as “Victorian auction legal issues” in the General Info section of this website), I noted an instance where a property was advertised in Domain, the real estate magazine supplement to The Saturday Age, with a price estimate of “480,000+”.

I also noted that this was an illegal price estimate, but that similar illegal price estimates were widely tolerated before 2016. The law was revamped in 2016, and I was concerned that if similar price estimates were tolerated under the new law, the new law would prove to be as ineffective as the old law.

It is also worth mentioning that very arguably, Domain, by publishing an illegal estimate, was an accessory to the offence the agent committed in causing the estimate to be published.

In any event, clearly it is of great interest to know whether the publication of the illegal estimate was an aberration, or whether it is the forerunner of estimates that will put the operation of the law on a slippery slope.

To that end I now keenly read real estate advertising and reporting.

I am pleased to report that I have not seen any further instances of this behaviour.

I welcome assistance in this regard, so please keep your eyes open as well, and please let me know if you discover any more of these illegal estimates.