Auctioneers are welcoming changes in the wake of South Australia’s Real Estate Industry Reform. The proposal given by the Real Estate Working Party has been implemented. Hereafter only one vendor bid will be allowed at auctions instead of a number of vendor bids.

The Real estate law amendment was passed in 2007 but it was still felt that some changes were necessary to allow consumers a fair go when buying at auctions. The changes will act as a guide while buying and selling property ultimately making the whole process simpler and fairer for both parties. The draft was open to the public to comment on before the Statutes Amendment (Real Estate Industry Reform) Act 2007 comes into operation on 28 July 2008.

The Real Estate Institute of South Australia (REISA) has planned the pre-auction registration system, where a registration card should be produced by the bidder. This could be the end of the old style auction system says the REISA. They feel that vendor bids should be released to the public and are against the idea of single vendor bids.

President, Robin Turner says the system should be beneficial to both vendors and purchasers. REISA considers the registration card system to be unwanted in the early stages of bidding. The registration is basically to prevent dubious bidding. This legislation would stop dishonest practices and will provide peace of mind for South Australian purchasers and sellers.

So, how does one punish those prosecuted of breaking these new laws? Penalties of twenty thousand dollars for real estate agents and ten thousand dollars or one year imprisonment for agents representatives will hopefully deter those who wish to flaunt these new laws.

Auctioneer welcomes real estate reforms as they are highly helpful as people get more belief in the system of real estate and they could be rest assured that they cannot be duped. As no legislation is perfect, certain change would take place as the law is put in practice says Ms. Jennifer Rankine, Minister for Consumer Affairs. Hopefully people will be more confident when selling or buying property in the future with these new law changes.