By Ashley Nickel For Daily Mail Australia
05:00 23 Jan 2024, updated 06:04 23 Jan 2024
A real estate agent has sparked outrage after informing a would-be renter via text they were suddenly increasing the advertised price because of high demand.
The renter had been preparing to inspect the property in Melbourne when they received the text from the agency.
They said the property had been advertised at $600 a week but was bumped up to $650 a week due to high demand.
‘Due to the overwhelming response on this property, we have had to change the weekly rental amount to $650,’ the text read.
‘The open tonight will still go ahead at 5pm. Kind regards, Nelson Alexander.’
Nelson Alexander specialises in north Melbourne properties and was founded in 1971.
‘Nelson Alexander is unlike many real estate businesses in Australia and this gives us our competitive edge and ensures we can continue to deliver exceptional levels of service and results to our clients,’ its website states.
Nelson Alexander confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that the original listing was an error.
The company says it has put in processes and training to make sure such a mistake does not occur again.
‘For clarity, we do not solicit or encourage any form of rental bidding and we have taken the property offline and are currently reviewing our processes to ensure this doesn’t ever happen again,’ Nelson Alexander said.
‘We are deeply aware of the moral and social responsibility we have to the community during these challenging times and will continue to hold ourselves accountable.
‘We appreciate your patience and understanding as work though this.’
A shortage of housing in popular Melbourne suburbs has led to a drastic rise in rental prices with more people competing for limited accommodation.
A screenshot of the text was shared online where social media users said they were horrified of the real estate agency’s decision to increase the advertised price.
‘It’s hard enough for renters out there without this happening,’ one said.
‘What an absolute disgrace,’ another wrote.
Several others compared the price change to ‘rental bidding’ and called it ‘illegal’.
However, not everyone was offended by the realtor’s choice with one commenter writing: ‘Hotels increase their prices when there is high demand.’
Nelson Alexander also commented under the post and thanked Ms Felgate ‘for bringing this to our attention’.
‘We have immediately pulled the property to understand what has happened,’ it said.
‘Nelson Alexander takes great pride in the responsibility of managing as many properties as we do and this is not in line with our values.
‘We will be reviewing what additional training is required (on top of our current legislation training) to ensure this never happens again.’
The real estate agency followed the comment up with a longer statement on Friday.
‘We want to acknowledge and address the concerns raised about an advertised rental property under our management,’ it said.
‘This did not follow the standards we hold ourselves to and sincerely apologise for any frustration this may have caused.
‘We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through this.’
