House ads get price, age wrong

By ANNE GIBSON property editor

Advertising a house for a third of the price expected and saying another house was less than half its actual age has landed two real estate firms in hot water with the Commerce Commission.

Ray White Real Estate at Browns Bay advertised a house for $99,000 to $135,000 when the correct price was $310,000 to $349,000, the Commerce Commission said.

Harcourts Taupo said a house was four years old when it was 11 years old.

But the heads of both real estate firms say the mistakes were simply errors and there was no intention to cause harm.

The commission has rapped Ray White over the knuckles for its website advertising, but agreed not to take the matter any further.

PJ Realty Milford - trading as Ray White Real Estate - advertised the Browns Bay house on the website last year.

But Jenny Banks, the principal officer for Ray White Real Estate at both Browns Bay and Milford offices, said the firm had simply slipped up

"We made an error, it was just a mistake," she said yesterday, taking issue with the commission's assertion that the firm made a false claim.

The commission said it had ended the investigation into the matter "with a settlement" in which Ray White Real Estate gave signed undertakings including:

* An admission that its internet site falsely stated the price of the property

* That it will ensure its site correctly states the features of all properties listed on it

* That it will ensure compliance with the Fair Trading Act

* That it acknowledges that the commission can take further action if the settlement is not honoured.

Ray White has written to the commission asking for a retraction of some statements about the case.

"They have stated the property was falsely advertised, but it was an error by the administrator, inputting the information for the website," said Jenny Banks.

Meanwhile, the commission said another real estate firm admitted it had breached the Fair Trading Act in a claim it made about the age of a house.

"Wakelin Real Estate Ltd - trading as Harcourts Taupo - admitted it breached the act by describing an 11-year-old house as '4 years apx'," the commission said.

"The owners of the house had told an agent working for Harcourts Taupo that they had lived in the house for 2 1/2 to three years. The agent then wrote on the listing authority that the house was four years old.

"The company later became aware of the true age of the house and prepared fliers, including the true age, for distribution at subsequent open homes."

The commission said the firm admitted it had breached the act and agreed the commission could act if the settlement was not honoured.

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Commerce Commission

Ray White

Harcourts