First homebuyer fury: ‘Where have all the price guides gone?’

News Corp Australia Network

As if trying to get a foot in the market isn’t hard enough, first homebuyers Linda and Jeremy Beauchamp say properties advertised without price guide is making their search almost impossible.

“None have price guides,” Mrs Beauchamp said. “You kind of feel like you’re second rate when you have to ask for the price guide.”

Jeremy and Linda Beauchamp with kids Leonard, 7, and Marcus, 3, are looking to buy their first home in Ipswich. Photo: Steve Pohlner.

---

Mrs Beauchamp has lived in Camira, in the Ipswich region, all her life, and never dreamed she would struggle to afford her own house one day.

“We’re encountering lots of crowds, places that were once affordable and of a lower socio-economic standing are no longer affordable, and then there’s all the investors,” she said.

This four-bedroom house at 47 McGrath Court, Moggill, is on the market without a price guide.

---

“Every time you put an offer in … other offers come in and it keeps raising the price.”

The Beauchamps are looking for a home for their young family, but the search is fast moving from a house to a unit or townhouse.

This four-bedroom house at 11 Mcmullan Close, Gumdale, is on the market without a price guide.

---

“We’re a family of four so we kind of want a little bit of room, but apartments and townhouses is where we have to look now,” Mrs Beauchamp said.

“This is a first for us. We should have bought pre-pandemic. It’s just the worse time to buy.

“To get in, it feels like you need to have already invested or have a really great double income. We’re double income and that’s not enough.”

This four-bedroom house at 2 Donatello St, Fig Tree Pocket, is on the market without a price guide.

---

She said it would help if more properties were advertised with a price guide, and believes it should be compulsory for all homes to have a price or price guide.

“You’d cut out a lot of competitors and save time,” she said. “It’s just so frustrating.”

RELATED:

Real estate guru John McGrath calls for price guides at Qld auctions

It comes as veteran agent John McGrath calls for Queensland’s law against putting price guides on homes going to auction to be repealed.

John McGrath, founder of McGrath Estate Agents.

---

“If buyers don’t know a property is within their budget, they won’t turn up to bid,” Mr McGrath said. “When selling the family home, the difference could be life-changing.

“Why on earth can’t agents have an open and transparent conversation with a buyer about what they think the home may fetch at auction and, indeed, the seller’s expectations?”

Mr McGrath also believes the practice of not putting a price guide on properties not going to auction is “even more absurd”.

This four-bedroom house at 17 Churchill St, Banyo, is on the market without a price guide.

---

“The most common reason agents don’t put a price (on an advertised property) is they think the price is too high,” he said.

“I just think the best agents are, generally speaking, using price guides or prices to let the customer know what they have to pay. The one thing a buyer can’t compromise on is their price limit.”