PHOTO: Real Estate.com.au Grip Challenged
Australia’s biggest property listing platform is being forced to loosen the grip it has had over real estate agencies after Australia’s competition watchdog raised concerns about the way its contracts operated.
REA Group, owner of realestate.com.au, has entered into a court-enforceable undertaking with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) following an investigation into restrictions contained in its contracts with real estate agencies.
And the changes could give Australian agents significantly more flexibility over where and how they advertise their properties.
The ACCC’s concern
The ACCC said it was concerned that REA’s contracts with agencies contained provisions that effectively required agencies to list all or most of their properties on realestate.com.au.
The regulator was also concerned about arrangements that required or encouraged agencies to commit properties to higher-fee listing options.
According to the ACCC, these arrangements could limit the ability of competing property portals to win individual listings and reduce the choices available to agents, vendors and landlords.
The ACCC said it had heard from many real estate agents who were concerned about REA’s contract requirements.
So what’s changing?
Under the new undertaking, REA will no longer be able to require or incentivise agencies to list all or most of their properties on realestate.com.au.
That means agencies will have greater flexibility when deciding where individual properties are advertised.
The changes also address listing tiers, including higher-priced advertising options.
From 1 January 2027, the undertaking requires relevant listing contracts to provide agencies with an option to downgrade at least 25% of eligible sale and rental listings to a lower listing tier.
The undertaking runs for three years.
Why does this matter to Australian agents?
For years, realestate.com.au has been the dominant online property portal in Australia.
The ACCC describes it as Australia’s largest online residential real estate listing portal.
For an agent, the issue isn’t simply which website gets the listing.
It’s also about the cost of advertising, the level of exposure a vendor receives and how much flexibility an agency has when deciding which properties receive premium advertising.
The ACCC believes the previous contractual arrangements could make it harder for rival portals to compete for individual listings.
What could it mean for vendors and landlords?
The ACCC says the changes should give agents greater flexibility when discussing advertising options with their clients.
The regulator is encouraging vendors and landlords to discuss the available listing options and fees across different portals with their agents.
That could potentially make the conversation around property advertising very different.
Instead of simply asking:
“How much does it cost to advertise on realestate.com.au?”
vendors may increasingly be asking:
“Where is my property being advertised — and why?”
REA responds
REA Group has acknowledged the ACCC’s concerns and committed to making changes under the court-enforceable undertaking.
However, REA has also made it clear that the ACCC did not commence legal proceedings against the company and there has been no finding of legal wrongdoing.
The company said it had engaged constructively with the ACCC and remained focused on providing choice, value and flexibility to its customers.
So this isn’t a case of a court finding that REA broke competition law.
Instead, the ACCC investigation has resulted in a legally enforceable commitment from REA to change aspects of its contracts and business practices.
A big change for Australia’s property advertising market?
The real question now is what happens when agents have more freedom to decide where individual properties are advertised.
Could competing property portals finally get a bigger slice of the Australian listings market?
Could agencies negotiate different advertising strategies for different properties?
And could vendors ultimately have more choice — and potentially different advertising costs?
The ACCC clearly believes greater flexibility could benefit agents and their clients.
REA, meanwhile, says it is focused on providing choice and value.
What happens next could have a significant impact on the way Australian property is marketed online.
One thing is certain: the rules around Australia’s biggest property portal have changed.
And from 1 January 2027, agents will have additional flexibility around downgrading eligible listings.
📰 PROPERTY NOISE TAKE
For Australian real estate agents, this could be one of the more significant changes to the property advertising landscape in years.
REA’s dominance of the Australian online property market is enormous.
Now the ACCC has stepped in and secured a court-enforceable undertaking that removes some of the contractual restrictions it was concerned about.
Will this genuinely give agents more choice — or will realestate.com.au remain just as dominant?
That’s the interesting part.
What do Australian agents think?
Source: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), 14 September 2026.
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