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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Sarah Martin

‘The bear at the door’: estate agents say they fear speaking out about realestate.com.au ‘price gouging’

Illustration of monopoly houses falling into a white smartphone
Complaints have been raised about high fees due to the market dominance of the majority-owned News Corp property portal realestate.com.au. Illustration: Victoria Hart/Guardian Design

Real estate agents have hit out at the market dominance of realestate.com.au, which is majority owned by the News Corp-controlled REA Group, saying the portal is “price gouging” as a result of its effective monopoly.

Multiple agency directors, many of whom fear commercial retribution if they publicly criticise the $27bn behemoth, say the company’s tactics and pricing structures have become more aggressive in recent years because of its dominance in the Australian property market.

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