Hamilton real estate 'cartel' cops $4m in penalties

Hamilton real estate 'cartel' cops $4m in penalties
Brent Melville
The Auckland High Court has levied price fixing penalties totalling $4 million against two Hamilton-based real estate firms, Lodge Real Estate and Harcourt’s agency Monarch, for engaging in cartel style price-fixing in breach of the Commerce Act. The judgment caps off an action against 13 national and regional real estate agencies, on the hook for combined penalties amounting to almost $23 million for colluding to pass on the costs of online auction platform Trade Me’s pricing changes — from subscription based pricing to per-listing fees — f...

More Property

Analysts eye upside in property sector as values stabilise
Property

Analysts eye upside in property sector as values stabilise

On average, listed property companies are trading at a 22% discount to NTA.

Gregor Thompson 04 Jun 2025
Private building consent body offers competition
Property

Private building consent body offers competition

The country's first independent consenting authority is targeting group builders.

Maria Slade 04 Jun 2025
Stuff/TradeMe go head to head with NZME
Property

Stuff/TradeMe go head to head with NZME

The marriage of online advertising portals with news producers continues.

Pattrick Smellie 03 Jun 2025
Argosy signals succession plan
Property

Argosy signals succession plan

Argosy Property has signalled its management and governance succession plan.The listed property company told the market on Tuesday that directors Chris Gudgeon and Mike Pohio will not stand for re-election at the coming annual general meeting (AGM) in July. The firm also said tha...

Gregor Thompson 03 Jun 2025