1 in 4 Australians have been burned by a real estate agent. A new Gold Coast agency says it knows why.
Overquoting, hidden fees and silence after the contract is signed. A look at the tactics costing Australian home sellers, and what Gold Coast homeowners can do about it.
More than a quarter of Australians say they have personally dealt with a dodgy real estate agent tactic, according to a national survey of over 1,000 people by comparison site Finder. Not heard about one. Dealt with one.
The list reads like a playbook. Inflated appraisals designed to win the listing. Price guides bearing no relationship to the price. Phantom buyers, phantom offers, and marketing invoices that appear after the agreement is signed. For the profession that handles the largest transaction of most people's lives, the numbers behind public trust are remarkable.
The three tactics sellers keep reporting
Consumer regulators, industry surveys and seller forums circle the same three behaviours again and again. If you have sold a home in the last decade, at least one of these will feel familiar.
An agent quotes you a number designed to win your listing, not to sell your home. Once the agreement is signed, the "conditioning" begins: a drip feed of bad news engineered to talk you down to the price they always expected. Inflated appraisals to win the listing are one of the tactics sellers report most often.
Widely reported by sellersThe energy before you sign is extraordinary. Then the sign goes up and the phone goes quiet. Poor communication is the number one complaint made against agents nationally, and sellers describe the same pattern: no updates, no feedback from inspections, and no idea what is actually happening with their biggest asset.
The #1 complaint nationallyCommission quoted on a handshake. Marketing costs that surface later. "Admin" line items nobody explained. Many sellers say they never saw their full selling cost on one page before signing, and by the time the invoices arrive, it is too late to negotiate any of it.
Costs revealed after signing"They quoted me a price to win the listing. Then they spent three months talking me down from it."
A common seller experience, as described in complaints to Australian consumer regulators†The new Gold Coast agency betting that honesty is the growth strategy
Most agencies respond to the industry's trust problem with a slogan. One new Gold Coast agency has responded with a document.
Peter Cusack Real Estate, launching now on the Gold Coast, was built around a simple observation: every complaint above is a choice, not an accident.
An agent chooses to inflate an appraisal. An agent chooses not to return calls. An agent chooses to leave fees vague. Which means one man, with his own name over the door and no head office to answer to, can choose in writing to do the opposite of all three.
Cusack, the founder, who personally handles every property himself, puts his position bluntly.
"Sellers have been trained to expect games. So I put the opposite in writing. Your appraisal comes with the comparable sales it is based on. You hear from me every week, guaranteed. And every dollar of fees is on one page before you sign anything."
Peter Cusack, Founder, Peter Cusack Real EstateAn appraisal you can check beats an appraisal you want to hear
A written appraisal tied to real comparable sales removes the room for the Price Trap entirely. If the evidence is on the table on day one, there is nothing to condition you down from later. It is the difference between a number designed to flatter you and a number designed to survive the market.
Get the number your home is actually worth, in writing, with the evidence attached
No lock-in agreement. No obligation to list. A written price range with the comparable sales behind it, prepared and delivered by Peter himself. Never a junior, never a call centre.
Peter will call you personally within one business hour to arrange your free written appraisal at a time that suits you. You will be speaking with Peter himself, so keep an eye out for a Gold Coast number.
The promise is the product
A brand new agency cannot point to twenty years of reviews. Cusack argues that is precisely the point: what it can offer instead is a written commitment with consequences, made before a single listing, with no head office sales targets to serve and no franchise fees loaded onto your commission.
Four commitments. In writing. From Peter, to every client.
The document Peter puts in front of every client, personally, before any agreement is signed.
Five questions to ask any agent before you sign
Whether you speak to Cusack or anyone else, consumer advocates suggest putting these five questions to every agent who walks through your door. The answers tell you more than any brochure.
A verbal number costs nothing to inflate. A written range tied to real sales is a number the agent has to stand behind.
Commission, marketing, photography, admin. If an agent cannot show you one page with every dollar on it, the missing dollars usually find you later.
Everyone promises communication. Ask whether the promise survives being written down.
Long exclusive agreements protect agents from the consequences of poor service. Ask what happens if you are unhappy in week three.
The impressive agent at the appraisal is sometimes not the person who answers the phone afterwards. Ask who runs your inspections, your negotiations and your updates.
Any agent worth your listing will welcome all five questions. The ones who bristle have answered them already. For the record, the Cusack Commitment answers all five in writing before you are asked to sign a thing. And question five is the easy one: you meet Peter himself at the appraisal, he runs your inspections, he makes the weekly call and he negotiates your sale. Never a junior, never a call centre, and no head office behind him.
Find out what your home is actually worth. In writing, from Peter himself.
Peter personally handles every appraisal, which is exactly why booking spots each week are limited. No lock-in agreement, no obligation, and the evidence stays with you either way.
Peter will call you personally within one business hour to arrange your free written appraisal at a time that suits you. You will be speaking with Peter himself, so keep an eye out for a Gold Coast number.
About this feature. This is a sponsored advertisement and editorial feature for Peter Cusack Real Estate, not independent news reporting. Real Estate News Australia is a publication format; this page may result in compensation when readers request an appraisal through the forms on this page.
*Statistics referenced: Finder Consumer Sentiment Tracker, November 2025, survey of 1,010 Australians, in which 27% reported experiencing questionable real estate agent tactics. Roy Morgan Image of Professions research consistently ranks real estate agents third lowest for ethics and honesty. Poor communication is the most consistently reported complaint theme across Australian state consumer regulators. Figures are provided for general context.
†Quote is illustrative of complaint themes reported to Australian consumer regulators and does not depict a specific individual. The free market appraisal is an estimate of likely selling range and is not a sworn valuation. All services subject to availability across the Gold Coast service area.