Queensland Rent Crisis: Realtor Cashes In After High Demand For Home Viewing

A real estate agent has been blasted for increasing the asking price of a rental property based solely on the number of people who signed up for an inspection – saying it “indicates we may have mispriced the property” .

In a post on Reddit, a user named “Glittergiraffe” shared an email from the real estate agent informing them that the open house was canceled and the price increased.

The Queensland property was originally listed at $470 a week but has since been raised to $495 – an additional $100 a month – after more than a hundred people signed up to take part in the inspection.

The email read: “We have encountered overwhelming demand for this property and have booked 100 groups for the inspection tomorrow at 12pm with many more asking to attend”.

A real estate agent used a sneaky tactic to raise the rent of a property awaiting inspection when more than a hundred potential tenants expressed interest and emailed those scheduled for the home inspection (pictured).

The Queensland property was originally listed at $470 a week but has since been raised to $495 after more than a hundred people expressed interest in attending an open house

“The volume of interest suggests we may have mispriced the property.

“That’s why we have to cancel tomorrow’s inspection.

“The new weekly rent is said to be $495 per week. This will be reflected in the marketing of the property.’

Reddit users called the move “disgusting” and said that’s why the rent crisis is at such a tipping point.

“Wrong price.. “We almost accidentally gave someone a fair price, then realized we could beat someone out instead. Soz for the mistake,” one person commented.

“There should be some kind of law against this kind of price gouging. I’m a landlord and when I was listing my property I kept getting asked why it’s so cheap when rentals are supported,” wrote another.

‘Outrageous! Pure scumbags I can’t believe they’re allowed to do this,” said a third.

New data from realestate.com showed that Brisbane rents have increased by more than 10 percent over the last 12 months for both houses and units

New data from realestate.com shows that Brisbane rents have increased by more than 10 per cent over the last 12 months for both houses and units.

The increase in calendar year 2022 was the largest recorded increase in the city’s history.

By comparison, Sydney and Melbourne only posted single-digit gains despite their own severe rental housing shortages.

Home rents in Brisbane rose 11.6 per cent with an average rent of $530 per week while unit prices rose 10 per cent with an average rent of $440 per week.