Elizabeth Downs real estate listing flagged over poorly edited ‘Chernobyl’ lawn

A northern suburbs real estate agent wanted to spruik this $350k listing’s impressive reno. Pity it lacked a lawn … nothing technology couldn’t fix, right?

An Adelaide real estate agent has taken the old “grass is greener” saying to a new level, with some not-so subtle enhancements to the lawn on a $350,000 listing.

The Elizabeth Downs property, listed by Property Gurus SA, raised eyebrows when social media users noticed the fluorescent green grass might have been more than just good fertiliser.

Sharing the listing to Reddit, one joked that the lawn looked like a Chernobyl contaminate, while another urged the agent to step away from MS Paint.

A green swipe can be seen in the centre of one of the images shared to Property Gurus SA’s website.

A green swipe can be seen on one of the photos of the MS Paint-style touch-up. Picture: Property Gurus SA

The edited lawn was likened to a post-Chernobyl nuclear zone. Picture: Property Gurus SA

Agent Sam Swami has been contacted by The Advertiser for comment.

Real Estate Institute of South Australia chief executive Cain Cooke said the agent had been contacted and photos of the property online have since been cropped to remove the edited grass.

In South Australia, agents are prohibited from anything that would constitute “a false or misleading representation for the purpose of inducing another person to sell or purchase land or a business”.

A photo of the Elizabeth Downs property's lawn in 2009. Picture: realestate.com.au

The listing has since been edited to crop out the fluorescent lawn. Picture: realestate.com.au

Breaches of the Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act can result in a maximum $20,000 fine or one year in jail.

Mr Cooke said while the images were clearly edited, the highlighter-style enhancements would unlikely be in breach of regulations.

“The agent’s job is to present the property in its best light and there are many ways you can do that,” Mr Cooke said.

“There are a number of restrictions around what you can and can’t do, for example, you can’t remove cracks or Stobie poles with power lines – anything of significance that would misrepresent the property.

“This is not what we would endorse as being a good way to go about (selling a property) but the agent had good intentions … but maybe executed really poorly.”

The property, which is listed for $340,000 to $350,000, sold for $183,000 just a year ago.

Last month, a baffling North Adelaide home with a frosted glass toilet inside the kitchen made real estate headlines after it was listed to rent for $420 per week.