New Aussie App Asks Users to 'Snitch' on Missing Property Prices

A new app is aiming to create price transparency in the Australian residential market. Founded by two Sydney-based entrepreneurs, Tamsin Lapointe and real estate agent Tori Huxtable, Auction Snitch encourages its users 'snitch' on property listing price information.

The app is addressing an issue affecting many consumers in the Australian market. According to a recent REA Group survey of 6,000 portal users, listings without a price are the biggest frustration for Aussie home hunters.

Unlike in the UK, where the government has intervened to make pricing information mandatory for all portal listings, prices are not required on property listings on the major Australian real estate portals. The sale price of properties sold via auction is often not revealed publicly with agents using the tactic to have interested parties contact them and become potential buyer leads.

Those who wish to know what a home sold for at auction including other local vendors and agents, are often left frustrated.

The Auction Snitch app allows its users to post 'snitch' information on property price guides, sale prices and auction results to create greater transparency in the market. The app benefits from a listings partnership with the number two Australian portal Domain.

The founders point out that Auction Snitch lets users upvote or downvote individual snitches to increase reliability in much the same way that Quora or Reddit does. All users can post snitches but the app monetises by charging a subscription for users to see and vote on price snitches.