Real estate photoshopped listings: What agencies are allowed to do after Aussie home editing fail exposed
Greener grass, bluer skies, less mould on the roof — an Aussie home listing’s photoshop fail has revealed the tricks used to entice people to buy.
A real estate company has been caught uploading the unedited version of a photo advertising a Queensland home, prompting questions about where the line is drawn for false advertising in the housing market.
Home listings have been found to have their undesirable features cropped, blurred and airbrushed out, but without the original copies, it can be difficult to tell exactly how much artificial sprucing a property has had.
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While there is no suggestion of illegal behaviour, LJ Hooker Southport this week pulled back the curtain on one common change when it accidentally uploaded both the edited and unedited images of a back garden, according to news.com.au.
The pictures of the three-bed, two-bath Kumbari Ave home, which sold for $808,000 in December, showed two near-identical images of its sprawling garden with “room for a pool”.
In one, the lawn was displayed in all its natural glory, with the yellow grass typical of any Aussie back yard in summer.
In the second, the grass had been digitally altered to a bright, lush green, subtly concealing some of its drier dirt patches.
Many social media users who noticed the photoshop fail remarked that it was “one of the better ones” — citing more extreme examples like a fresh tin roof, new landscaping or entirely different floor coverings.
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An LJ Hooker spokesman told news.com.au that their edit fell within the legal guidelines, saying: “LJ Hooker follows all legislative requirements when representing listings to ensure accurate representation of key features.”
The unedited picture was taken down shortly after the inquiry.
Still, the mishap prompted many to ask, where is the housing market’s boundary between false advertising and fair play?
What are real estate agents allowed and not allowed to do to listing photos?
Retouching manager at real estate marketer Campaigntrack Paul Gal explained to agents in an REB industry memo: “We are allowed to make a home look as good as it would look on its best day.
“So, if the lawn is in a bad way now but a month ago it was green we can touch it up, but if it’s a dirt patch we won’t, unless it’s going to be returfed.”
“The black and yellow safety coverings on powerlines similarly could be edited out, but the powerlines themselves must stay.
“When it comes to the facade of the house, landscaping can be neatened and weeds, cars, bins or boats removed.
But Mr Gal stressed that “Retouching requests in relation to fixing fencing, changing wall colours, removing graffiti, adding plants or taking out antennas can only be undertaken if written consent is given by the real estate agent to these actions being taken.”
According to Real Estate Institute of Queensland CEO Antonia Mercorella, the industry rule of thumb is that, if something isn’t permanent, it can be photoshopped out.
“We often ask, if you were to purchase that house, would it be possible to have that undesirable attribute removed, and how much would it cost,” Ms Mercorella told news.com.au.
“We all understand that, in advertising, if we make a representation that isn’t accurate then that is potentially a breach of law. We can make that misrepresentation through photographs, and the same consumer laws apply.
“It’s not just undesirable characteristics. It could also be things that you’re adding to images that aren’t an accurate representation.”
Similarly, a historic home in Launceston, Tasmania asking ‘around $4m’ featured an entirely new “digitally enhanced” garden and exterior.
Its landscaping had been entirely redone, its rusty roof covered up, cracks repaired and, bizarrely, even the lines of the brick facade smoothed out.
Smaller digital alterations, Ms Mercorella said, present a legal grey area.
“Adding grass where there isn’t any, I think, is problematic,” she said.
“If you were to add a bit of green and make the property look slightly brighter, that’s usually passable.”
Crucially, though, she added: “Even if a consumer visits the property and finds it’s been misrepresented, and they decide not to buy or rent as a result, it doesn’t matter. That misleading conduct is still a breach of law.”
To read the full story, visit news.com.au.
Have a similar story? Get in touch — chloe.whelan@news.com.au
Originally published as Real estate photoshopped listings: What agencies are allowed to do after Aussie home editing fail exposed
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