A boutique agency in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, Caine Real Estate, has made a bold move in an effort to combat the problem of under-quoting in the Melbourne market. Since the beginning of March they’ve been seeking sellers' consent to advertise the reserve price of properties going to auction. Under-quoting is a persistent issue in the auction-heavy Melbourne marketplace and has caused much of the buying public chronic confusion, frustration and extreme scepticism of agent’s property pricing, the firm says.

"There exists in Victoria a loose regulatory environment which, when coupled with a cumbersome process for reporting and proving agent misconduct, has resulted in negligible instances of formal complaints and penalties against agents and agencies," said Jacob Caine, CEO of Caine Real Estate. “As an industry we’ve allowed this climate of confusion to flourish. We’re in a service industry and we’re alienating a huge number of potential customers every time we advertise a price range. And to what end?

"An under-quoting strategy, in the main, disadvantages and wastes the time of buyers that aren’t actually in with a shot at making the winning bid. The bidder willing and able to spend the most cash will always win in an auction.

"It is the job of the agent to ensure that come auction day there are multiple bidders with enough money to at the very least, meet the owners reserve price. Why waste the time of those without that sum? Anyone that’s ever been to an auction knows the real fireworks start when the property is 'on the market'."

Caine believes this strategy offers a huge competitive advantage for sellers. "Using this methodology sees us focused on and dealing with only those that can afford the owner’s minimum price," he said. "From there we’re able to maximise the time and efforts spent on achieving the best possible result over that minimum. This initiative is very much about treating people with respect, about fairness, and restoring the general public’s faith in estate agents, and the industry. And the reality it comes at no cost to sellers. In fact, it gives agents a better shot at delivering amazing results to their sellers. My hope is that lots of agencies will get on board with this concept."