Australian home buyers continue to be approaching the property market blind, with Compare the Market research finding almost two-thirds of house listings did not indicate any price.
In the second iteration of Compare the Market’s “Great Australian Scam” analysis, an alarming 63% of the 400 sampled three- and four-bedroom property listings in Brisbane and Sydney did not provide a price indication for prospective buyers.
Instead, generic terms were used such as “contact agent”, “for sale”, and “submit offers” with some not even including a headline at all.
Of the 37% of listings that did indicate a price tag, it varied from providing an indicative price, a price range, or asked for offers above or under a certain figure.
Brisbane & Sydney property classifieds’ headline analysis
| Three-bedroom house listings (Realestate.com.au) | Four-bedroom house listings (Domain) | Totals | % of Listings | |
| Price, starting, maximum or range figure given | 130 | 163 | 293 | 37% |
| “Contact agent” or similar | 14 | 87 | 101 | 13% |
| “For Sale” / “For sale by negotiation” or similar | 69 | 48 | 117 | 15% |
| “Submit offers” / “Open to offers” / “Best offers” or similar | 15 | 8 | 23 | 3% |
| “Expressions of interest” or similar | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1% |
| “Price guide available on request” / “Awaiting price guide” or similar | 2 | 6 | 8 | 1% |
| “Auction” | 52 | 36 | 88 | 11% |
| Other / no headline | 116 | 48 | 164 | 21% |
| Total | 400 | 400 | 800 |
Source: Compare the Market
Compare the Market’s property expert Andrew Winter has again called for greater price transparency amid expanded first-home buyer incentives.
“Many Australians trying to take advantage of new first-home buyer incentives are being left in the dark wondering: ‘Is this actually eligible and under the price threshold?’,” Mr Winter said.
“Enough is enough. The lack of pricing transparency continues to be what’s wrong with Australia’s modern-day real estate market, prohibiting consumers from easily shopping around for properties and buying blind.
“Australians have no way to tell upfront whether they can afford to purchase a home when almost two-thirds of the sampled listings analysed by Compare the Market don’t indicate any price guide at all – unless they enquire directly.”
With Compare the Market’s 2025 Household Budget Barometer report revealing that the average salary-earning single is priced out of 99% of locations in Australian capital cities as of September 2025, Winter said price transparency is imperative to set realistic expectations.
“Home buyers lose confidence in the property market, while it’s a disservice for sellers who may miss out on otherwise great offers,” Mr Winter said.
“It’s like trying to purchase a new or used car blind when the price tag is blank until you walk in the showroom and ask the salesperson directly. At that point, there’s added pressure to buy when it may end up being entirely unaffordable, wasting effort and time for both sides.
“If you were buying anything else – a TV, a desk or a beer at the pub – you’d be appalled if a price wasn’t quoted. It’s time to stop playing pricing games and give us back a free market.
“Policymakers need to be asking: ‘What will ensure a fairer and more transparent property market for both house hunters and property owners?’
“We are again calling for agents to clearly and transparently price properties all across Australia and to remove any legislation that could prohibit this.”
When referencing this research, please attribute: https://www.comparethemarket.com.au/home-loans/
Disclaimers
Compare the Market reviewed a sample of 400 advertised property listings in Brisbane and Sydney in November 2025.
The headline was classified and counted for 100 three-bedroom houses on Realestate.com.au and 100 four-bedroom houses on Domain in both capital cities to ensure the listings were unique with no overlap.
Brisbane property classifieds’ headline analysis
| Three-bedroom house listings (Realestate.com.au) | Four-bedroom house listings (Domain) | Totals | % of Listings | % difference vs 2024 | |
| Price, starting, maximum or range figure given | 49 | 99 | 148 | 37% | +14% |
| “Contact agent” or similar | 14 | 16 | 30 | 8% | +4% |
| “For Sale” / “For sale by negotiation” or similar | 69 | 43 | 112 | 28% | -6% |
| “Submit offers” / “Open to offers” / “Best offers” or similar | 15 | 8 | 23 | 6% | -2% |
| “Expressions of interest” or similar | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1% | -1% |
| “Price guide available on request” / “Awaiting price guide” or similar | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1% | 0% |
| “Auction” | 43 | 18 | 61 | 15% | -13% |
| Other / no headline | 6 | 12 | 18 | 5% | +5% |
| Total | 200 | 200 | 400 |
Source: Compare the Market
Sydney property classifieds’ headline analysis
| Three-bedroom house listings (Realestate.com.au) | Four-bedroom house listings (Domain) | Totals | % of Listings | % difference vs 2024 | |
| Price, starting, maximum or range figure given | 81 | 64 | 145 | 36% | +2% |
| “Contact agent” or similar | 0 | 71 | 71 | 18% | +3% |
| “For Sale” / “For sale by negotiation” or similar | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1% | -18% |
| “Submit offers” / “Open to offers” / “Best offers” or similar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | -1% |
| “Expressions of interest” or similar | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0% | -2% |
| “Price guide available on request” / “Awaiting price guide” or similar | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1% | 0% |
| “Auction” | 9 | 18 | 27 | 7% | -22% |
| Other / no headline | 110 | 36 | 146 | 37% | +37% |
| Total | 200 | 200 | 400 |
Source: Compare the Market
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For more information, please contact:
Henry Man | [email protected] | +61 474 368 908
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