Domain pulls APM market price estimate campaign

Domain, the Fairfax Media real estate website, has scrapped its recent Australian Property Monitors market price estimate offering.

The market price estimates were being published until mid-morning today on vendor-paid Domain property listings, but they were causing havoc among listing agents.

Vendors were threatening to withdraw their advertising unless price estimates were removed from the site as the APM market price estimates were often at distinct odds with the selling agency/vendor expectations.

One agent told Property Observer after it was brought to his attention that "it would not surprise me if vendors withdrew their property listing from the Domain property portal".

'It was very client unfriendly – and not helping the mum and dad vendor one bit," he said.

One agent said clients had threatened to report the agent to the office of fair trading given the advertisement included price estimates well below the vendor asking price. 

The free market price estimate offering chaos was reported by Property Observer yesterday. The Domain links now longer come with the free market price estimate, but page impressions taken by Property Observer show the campaign before being pulled by Fairfax management.

Property industry commentators have contributed to the ensuing debate about the merits and usefulness of the various data offerings.

The offering is tipped to return to the Domain website in future weeks, but in a different format.

It would be likely that free private access to the market price estimate was available without any very public damaging disclosure.