Tom Panos Sydney auction: ‘Chinese buyers’ receive racist comments

Brazen racists have plagued a viral Sydney auction, attacking ‘Chinese’ buyers in a video now seen by two million viewers.

It was the auction that potentially broke records, but scores of brazen racists have overshadowed an otherwise historic moment for a Sydney auctioneer.

Tom Panos’ energetic display at a Belfield auction this month saw a whopping two million people tune in for the drama in what is believed to be the most viewed auction in history.

The result has seen Mr Panos receive a verified blue tick on social media and a phone which has been ringing non-stop this week.

But dozens of users who flocked to his live stream last week have been caught out openly abusing “Chinese buyers” who actually ended up being Aussies.

Tom Panos’ 35-year career in real estate took a strange turn at the weekend. Picture: John Appleyard

Some, while still hiding behind a keyboard, were happy to launch their vile slurs in a public forum where their name, their home town and even their employer were openly visible.

“I was really shocked to see that firstly people held views that were racially prejudice,” Mr Panos said.

“But what shocked me more was that they were not worried about being anonymous, it was very clear what their names were as they were stating their views.

“Some of the comments were saying the reason why people can’t buy real estate is because people of Asian descent have driven the prices up.

“Here’s the irony, while visually that person might appear to be Chinese when actually they are Australian and speak fluent English.”

Mr Panos hit back at the racists in a video on Facebook.

Mr Panos called out the racists online for their “appalling and disgraceful” comments after they tried to turn his auction into a bigotry-fuelled debate over the weekend.

With 35 years of experience in the industry he said of the dozen or so homes he auctions every weekend, very few end up in the hands of foreign buyers.

“I understand the market is booming and people can get frustrated because they miss out,” Mr Panos said.

“I understand that, but you don’t go off and blame a culture or a nationality over your inability to buy real estate.”

The video to date has more than two million views and in total “reached” about 3.4 million people on Facebook.

Mr Panos said he was shocked at the attraction given all he did was ask a stranger to hold up his phone and point it at him during the auction.

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