Realestate.com.au will no longer be able to effectively force agents to list properties exclusively on the site after an intervention from the consumer watchdog requiring the platform’s owner to remove restrictive provisions from its contracts.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Monday announced it had accepted an enforceable undertaking from REA Group, the News Corp-controlled real estate listings behemoth that runs realestate.com.au. An enforceable undertaking is a formal, written commitment between a business and the ACCC which can be enforced by a court.
Investigation and concerns
In the REA Group’s case, it was finalised more than a year after the regulator announced in May 2025 that it was looking into the ASX-listed company. The regulator had been concerned that REA’s contracts with real estate agencies contained anti-competitive restrictions, including clauses that required all properties to be listed on its site, and that this limited the ability of its rivals to compete.
In 2024, as part of a separate investigation into the real estate sector, Guardian Australia revealed that real estate agents believed REA Group was using its effective monopoly on the market to price gouge and this was driving up house prices.
Market dominance and pricing
REA Group is the biggest real estate listings company in the country and its ubiquitous realestate.com.au site is the main portal for buying, selling and renting property in Australia. The cost of listing properties on the REA Group’s portal and on Domain increased by about 30% in the three years prior to the Guardian’s investigation, leaving a top-tiered listing in inner-city Sydney or Melbourne costing up to $4,000 on each platform.
Guardian Australia also revealed REA Group’s conduct had been the subject of multiple complaints to the ACCC.
ACCC action and commitments
The ACCC on Monday said it considered that the provisions in REA’s contracts had the effect of limiting its customers’ choices and hindering other listing services from effectively competing. The watchdog said it was concerned that REA’s contracts with real estate agencies contained anti-competitive restrictions, including clauses that required all properties to be listed on realestate.com.au.
The ACCC said the company had “acknowledged” its concerns that its conduct may have been in breach of competition law, and has committed to make changes to its operations for three years. Previously, under most of the REA Group’s contracts, real estate agencies were locked into listing all their properties for sale or lease on realestate.com.au. Additionally, the contracts required or incentivised real estate agencies to list all or a portion of their properties with features that attracted higher fees.
Reactions and next steps
The ACCC chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said the changes would provide “greater flexibility” to agents in how their vendor and landlord clients list their properties for sale and rent. “This is a win for competition in the real estate listing market and is expected to enable real estate agents to offer their vendor or landlord clients the listing service that best meets their property advertising needs,” Cass-Gottlieb said.
REA Group said in a statement that it had engaged constructively with the ACCC. “REA’s strategic direction remains to provide choice, value and flexibility to its customers and consumers, and its business continues to be deeply focused on delivering products and services that improve the property experience of buyers, sellers and renters.”
