Tweet of the day: REIV's anti-Liberal campaign "reckless"
Not all Victorian real estate agents support the Real Estate Institute of Victoria's (REIV) anti-Liberal push ahead of the Victorian election.
The REIV started taking shots at the government after the Liberal party proposed changes to commercial real estate licensing requirements.
REIV president Enzo Raimondo told Property Observer the changes would "open the industry up to unqualified and inexperienced operators - and potentially criminals - because there will be no probity checks, and the operators will not be required to maintain an audited trust account or comply with the requirements of the estate agents act".
Since then, the Victorian Coalition has announced it will step up laws against underquoting, a practice where agents deliberately misrepresent the price of a property before an auction to bait buyers. Raimondo labelled the proposal an "election stunt".
The REIV's anti-Napthine campaign, which includes print and radio advertisements, has resulted in a dispute with the Council of Small Business Australia, who claim the use of their logo on the REIV's advertisements is unauthorised.
Jellis Craig director Iain Carmichael is among those critical of the REIV's election lobbying tactics.
