Realestate.com.au has a virtual monopoly on listing homes for sale or rent.
If you are a vendor looking to sell your home, you have little choice but to list it on Realestate.com.au to ensure buyers can find it.
Realestate.com.au often charges high, price-discriminatory fees based on a suburb’s value and popularity.
However, Realestate.com.au does not charge vendors directly; rather,
- Agents have commercial agreements with REA
- Agents pass through the cost to vendors in the marketing schedule
- Some agencies mark up or discount the REA fee
- Some bundle REA products into fixed marketing packages
This means two vendors in the same suburb may pay different amounts depending on the agency.
Realestate.com.au is far more popular than its main rival, Domain, because it built a network‑effect monopoly early, delivers much higher buyer traffic, and offers superior search, mobile, and agent tools.
Realestate.com.au has 2–3 times the buyer traffic of Domain in most suburbs and, as a result, charges significantly higher prices for listings
ACCC wants to break Realestate.com.au’s grip on agents:
The ACCC has forced REA Group (Realestate.com.au) to remove contract clauses that restricted agents from using other listing platforms, giving vendors and landlords more choice and improving competition in Australia’s real‑estate advertising market.
REA’s contracts with agencies included anti‑competitive restrictions, such as:
- requirements to list all properties on realestate.com.au;
- incentives that pushed agencies to use higher‑fee REA products; and
- clauses that made it difficult for agents to list on Domain or other portals.
The ACCC concluded that REA’s contract terms:
- limited customer choice;
- hindered rivals like Domain, Homely, and realestateview;
- reduced competitive pressure on REA’s pricing;
- potentially breached competition law; and
- Agents had complained to the ACCC that REA’s requirements were too restrictive.
The ACCC said these provisions limited competition and reduced choice for vendors and landlords.
Under a court‑enforceable undertaking, REA must:
- remove restrictive clauses from its agency contracts;
- stop requiring agencies to list all or most properties on REA;
- stop incentivising agencies to use only REA’s premium products; and
- maintain these changes for three years.
These changes will give agencies freedom to choose listing platforms and product tiers.
As a result, REA can no longer force or pressure agencies to list all properties on realestate.com.au or use its premium products.
The ACCC’s intervention effectively opens the market, giving vendors and landlords greater choice, more competitive pricing, and more flexible advertising strategies.
While the changes are unlikely to dislodge Realestate.com.au from its market-leading position, they should at least help to level the playing field.
