Luxury real estate agent Nicolette Van Wijngaarden alone accounted for more than half of the $6 million-worth of trust account and rental bond fraud NSW authorities have prosecuted in the past 14 months. The state’s Minister for Better Regulation, Kevin Anderson, said the tally showed agents in a fast-moving market they should not be tempted to illegally pocket money.

As CoreLogic figures on Monday revealed Sydney home values rose 0.4 per cent in January while those in regional NSW surged 1.6 per cent, Mr Anderson warned “rogue” players in the real estate industry that they should not treat money held in trust for clients as their personal expense accounts.