by Neil Jenman
Reading time: 10 mins
Real estate agents are the least trusted profession in Australia.
Says who?
Says the trusted research group Roy Morgan.
93% of Australians consider agents untrustworthy.
Wherever you go in Australia, most people have something negative to say about real estate agents.
But not if you go to a website called Rate My Agent.
On that website almost miraculously, it seems that 99 per cent of real estate agents are loved and adored.
Rate My Agent is a website that describes itself as a “consumer advice centre”. Which is a bit like One Nation describing itself as a migrant advice centre.
It claims to be a site where real estate consumers can write reviews about agents. Yes, but as you’ll see, under strict conditions.
Rate My Agent also claims to be honest and trustworthy. It boldly states that it has “no fake reviews”. And it seriously does seem to expect the public to believe that, despite respected research that shows that 93% of us do not trust agents, the agents involved with Rate My Agent have a trust rating of 99 per cent. Often more.
If you do not dig into the truth (do your research) about Rate My Agent, you will not discover important truths until it is too late.
You will then have discovered (or worse, experienced) another truth – real estate’s biggest crooks – those who are despised by financially wounded and emotionally devastated ex-clients – often have the most wonderful reviews on Rate My Agent.
Yes, hated agents are loved at Rate My Agent.
Let’s ask one of the most important questions that can ever be asked in the business world – where does Rate My Agent get its funding?
Well, you probably guessed it. Rate My Agent is funded by real estate agents. Thousands of whom pay hundreds of dollars a month to Rate My Agent.
And here is an interesting review statistic: When Rate My Agent itself is reviewed by other review sites such as Google or Trustpilot or Product Review, it receives glowing and positive reviews from one group of people. Yes, from real estate agents.
But then come the hundreds of negative reviews from consumers. Many of whom have tried to leave a negative review about an agent on Rate My Agent and found they do not qualify to leave a review.
In short, it works like this: Unless you are happy with your real estate agent you basically can’t leave a review on Rate My Agent.
They will deny this point. They will say that they only accept reviews from people who have bought and sold property.
Think about that statement.
Most people who are upset with real estate agents are those who’ve had a terrible experience with an agent.
They are home sellers who were over quoted a likely selling price and who were then stung for tens of thousands of dollars on wasted advertising costs. And when incompetent agents fail to sell their homes, they find themselves trapped with these incompetent and unethical agents.
But, because their homes have not sold these people are technically – according to Rate My Agent – not really sellers.
Do you get it?
So, when Rate My Agent claims they don’t have fake reviews, they should also be saying they don’t have any negative reviews unless you have succeeded at selling or buying a home. Which basically means unless you’re happy.
Get it?
In ethics, this slippery style of sophistry is known as “lying by omission”. They are omitting to tell you (or make clear) what I have just told you.
If you are a wanna-be home seller or buyer and, like thousands of such people, you have a dreadful experience with an agent, you are not allowed to say anything bad about that agent on Rate My Agent.
As the real estate market gets tougher, it’s more important than ever that homeowners who are considering selling can become aware of the worst agents, those who need to be avoided.
And yet, as with so much in the real estate world, the real estate industry goes to enormous lengths to mislead consumers. Like making it impossible for most unhappy consumers to leave negative reviews for agents.
Unless, of course, you find a review platform not funded by real estate agents.
But be careful. Even Google Reviews – which have usually been more beneficial to consumers than sites with vested commercial interests – are now being compromised. Thousands of five-star reviews on Rate My Agent are now duplicated on to the Google pages of agents which means, of course, that any negative (one-star) reviews are being smothered.
The world of real estate reviews has descended into a farcical situation. Even the most naïve home sellers are now smelling a rat. How, they are asking, can the least trusted businesspeople in our society suddenly appear as totally trustworthy?
Rate My Agent is now saturated with agents who have hundreds of five-star reviews and zero (or literally just one or two one-star) reviews.
For example, take just five random offices from the McGrath group (Northwest, Strathfield, Parramatta, Buderim, and Ballarat).
From 4,777 reviews on Rate My Agent, there are 4,774 positive five-star reviews and just three negative one-star reviews.
That’s a positive review rating of 99.999 per cent.
In an industry where 93 per cent of consumers consider agents to untrustworthy, these five offices appear to be trusted by 99.999 per cent of their clients.
Of course, these numbers would be similarly reflected across all the McGrath offices.
As would be the case with all real estate groups.
Or take the Ray White real estate office in Rockhampton. They have 950 positive five-star reviews on Rate My Agent.
And how many negative one-star reviews?
None.
That’s 100 per cent happy.
In fairness, however, I should disclose that Ray White Rockhampton – as many agents have done (and still do) – were offering incentives to consumers in return for positive reviews. These entrepreneurial lads from Ray White Rocky emailed their tenants offering three prizes of a week’s free rent in return for a five-star review. Way to go, boys.
Here’s another challenge for consumers. Examine any real estate agency and try and find a negative review on Rate My Agent about that real estate agent.
There are an estimated 110,000 real estate agents in Australia.
If you, the reader of this article, can find more than three negative reviews on Rate My Agent for any agent, I will give you – and your family and friends – a dozen copies of my new book: Questions Every Seller Must Ask.
So, here’s a question that all homeowners need to ask BEFORE they choose an agent (that’s if they decide to use an agent):
How can I find genuine reviews (positive and negative) about real estate agents?
It’s a familiar phrase – and it seems to pop up on your screen when you’re thinking of hiring an agent: “Check out my reviews on Rate My Agent.”
Why?
By now, you know what Rate My Agent is going to say about every agent – at least in almost 100 per cent of cases. “This agent is wonderful.” “This agent is honest”. “This agent will get you the best price.” And wait for it, another common tag worn by hundreds of agents – “Agent of the Year”.
Right.
No, wrong.
Okay, I am not saying not to look at an agent’s reviews on Rate My Agent.
But I am saying two things:
First, you are seeing carefully crafted reviews to make you think this agent is from real estate heaven.
Second, you must realise that there is plenty you are not seeing.
You are not seeing all those homeowners who hired this “award winning agent” and who lost thousands of dollars in wasted advertising costs.
You are not seeing homeowners who were told that they’d get, say, $2 million if they went to auction but then the highest bid was $1.5 million.
You are not seeing how badly a home’s value was damaged by excessive marketing coupled with the incompetence of the agent.
You are not seeing threatening letters sent to homeowners who stood up to the agents.
And you are not seeing or hearing about those homeowners who had caveats placed on their homes when they stood up to an agent.
Nor are you hearing about agents who caused sellers to pay double commission.
And many more disasters that befall thousands of homeowners every week.
Yes, that’s right, every week.
Each week around 15,000 homes are placed on the market. In the current conditions in many areas more than half those homes fail to sell with the first agent.
And the embattled home sellers?
Well, because websites like Rate My Agent and realestate.com do not consider these people to be real sellers, you won’t see their review on websites that are financially in bed with agents.
No, to see legitimate independent reviews from thousands of unhappy home sellers – and to learn which agents have the highest NEGATIVE rated reviews (instead of selectively sanitised positive reviews) you’ll need to search consumer review websites that are not financially linked to the real estate industry.
Sites like ‘Product Review’.
As I was writing this article, a message popped up on my screen.
Another agent asking me to check him out on Rate My Agent.
No thanks.
Instead, I went to Product Review and checked out the percentage of negative or positive reviews for this agent’s network – Belle Property.
I quickly saw that Belle Property has a rating of 1.5 out of a maximum score of 5.
Only 14 per cent of their reviews are positive and a mammoth 86 per cent are listed as negative. A vast difference to Rate My Agent where, like most agents, Belle Property consistently rates 5.0 out of a maximum score of 5.0 meaning 100 per cent positive reviews and zero per cent negative reviews.
I then started reading specific reviews on Product Review from consumers who’d dealt with Belle Property.
Chris wrote: “Unprincipled, unprofessional, immoral and unethical”. He then added, “BP [Belle] is arguably a disgrace to the entire real estate industry.” He was reviewing Belle Property Central Coast/Point Clare.
Herbert Rodriguez wrote: “Today is one of the happiest moments of my life – the day I finally finished ties with Belle Property South Melbourne.”
AB wrote: “We had an absolute shocking experience with Belle Property Palm Beach. The agent was lazy and did not deliver what was promised. Cost us a fortune and no result.”
But let’s be clear. Such negative reviews are not limited to Belle Property. All the major real estate groups have scathing reviews.
It’s amazing what consumers reveal when they can write without onerous restrictions.
Such frank and open consumer reviews are vitally important – for two reasons.
First, they allow all consumers who are considering dealing with an agent – either as sellers or buyers – to see the good and the bad (instead of just the sanitised good) in all agents and real estate networks.
And second, when agents are not allowed to hide the negative views of their unhappy customers and when their past conduct is accessible to all future sellers and buyers who take the time to dig (research) into the true corporate character, the agents will be forced to clean up their acts.
Okay, it’s quite likely (indeed, almost certain) that some agents will resort to doing something common to bullies. They will threaten their critics. And yes, that includes this writer. But hey, I would welcome a challenge from any major real estate network about their behaviour and how they conceal negative reviews.
I am fed up with counselling traumatised homeowners who’ve dealt with agents who, thanks to financially biased websites like Rate My Agent and realestate.com, have managed to conceal their crooked characters.
And when a real estate network claims to have two million potential buyers on their data base and lures prospective sellers with the promise of “access” to those buyers and still charges sellers thousands of dollars in needless advertising expenses, it’s time to say, “Enough!”
That network is the Melbourne based group, Jellis Craig.
Like all agents, Jellis Craig score a near perfect review rating of 100 per cent positive on Rate My Agent. A sample of four of their offices (Kensington, Monash, Moonee Valley and Fitzroy) on Rate My Agent showed them with 1,213 reviews at 5-stars.
And how many one-star reviews among those same four offices?
None.
And yet Rate My Agent boast that they have “no fake reviews”.
But here’s a more accurate claim: Rate My Agent has almost no negative reviews because it makes it too hard for upset sellers and buyers to leave negative reviews on their website.
Thankfully, many real estate consumers are now waking up to the reality of Rate My Agent.
Here’s a short sample of how thousands of disgruntled consumers are feeling.
CJ McKay writes: “Literally nothing more than a promotional tool for the real estate agency industry. Not a legitimate rating website like it pretends to be.”
Sukhy Sekhon writes: “You’re an agent glorification portal … critical are reviews not posted. No one trusts your website.”
Akshay Sud writes: “It only lets you rate an agent when the sale is successful. If the agent fails to sell the house – or is simply terrible – you can’t leave a rating. That means the site is full of false positives.”
And Rose Marinelli writes: “I am extremely disappointed with Rate My Agent. After taking the time to write about a poor experience I had with a real estate agent, my review was not published. It appears that this platform heavily favours agents who pay to promote themselves. This calls into question the integrity and usefulness of the site. A review platform should serve the public by offering a balanced and transparent reflection of client experiences, not act as a marketing tool for agents who pay for positive visibility. In its current state, Rate My Agent seems more like a reputation management service than an unbiased review site. I would advise others to be cautious when using this platform to assess real estate professionals.”
You are darned right, Ms Marinelli.
What other portal can sanitise negativity to such an extent that it turns into almost total positivity?
I believe Rate My Agent should be more aptly called Fake My Agent.
Why?
Because as happens with all the real estate networks, when you study the Jellis Craig reviews on Product Review you’ll see that their positive review rating drops from the near 100 per cent on Rate My Agent to a mere 15 per cent.
That’s right, on Product Review, Jellis Craig has 85 per cent negative one-star reviews.
And the comments? Oh dear. There is only one word to describe most of them – shameful.
The most frustrating consumer comments, however, are coming from consumers who only checked Rate My Agent before choosing their agent. And then, once they had a horrendous – or as many say, a “nightmare experience” – they tried to leave a negative review on Rate My Agent and discovered that despite their financial loss and their emotional trauma they did not meet the site’s guidelines.
So that’s when they discovered sites that are not funded by real estate agents.
Sites like Product Review and Trust Pilot.
And that’s when they discovered the truth about what really goes on in the real estate world – most real estate consumers are hurt – financially, emotionally, or both – by most of today’s real estate agents.
Real estate consumers, do yourselves a favour. Before you contact an agent, check their reviews and their positivity ratings on legitimate and independent websites.
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FOOTNOTE: In the writing of this article, I did many hours of intensive research. I surveyed 21 well-known real estate agency groups. All had 100 per cent five-star ratings on Rate My Agent, meaning their reviews were almost 100 per cent positive.
However, when absurd restrictions were removed and I was able to research independent and non-real estate industry review sites, such as Product Review, I discovered that these 21 real estate networks had an average negativity rating of 72 per cent.
The real estate network with the lowest negativity rating scored a 3.8 out of 5 stars which worked out at 34 per cent negativity.
The real estate network with the highest negativity rating scored 1.3 out of 5 stars which worked out at 95 per cent of its reviews were negative.
Next week – on July 1, 2026 – I will release details of all these real estate agency networks and display their rank out of 5 stars and the percentage of their reviews that are negative.
Also, I was pleased to discover that some companies and people who service the real estate industry – and look after both sellers and buyers – scored high for positivity on independent review websites. I will be proud to name some of these companies too.
And no, to be unbiased I will not include ratings or reviews for Jenman Support. After all, we are not agents. We are authors and advocates. All I will say, however, is that I am proud to be trusted by all honest real estate consumers who read our books or use our support services.
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George Cassimatis says:
Agree 100%
But another misleading factor that prospective sellers rate agents on is the highest number of sales.
This is very misleading as the agents with the highest number of sales usually under-value properties to get them sold quickly and/or push vendors into action sales. Then apply high pressure at the auction to reduce thier reserve. I experienced this first hand earlier this year.
The correct way to rate agents is to identify those achieving the best prices. Not the highest number of sales. The truth is you cant focus on both.
So you have agents in 2 categaories.
Firstly, “turnover agents” who focus on getting the property sold quickly at any price. They provide minimum details on the Contract to sell and write in a low valuation figure and are quick to justify it for “marketing purposes” when questioned. They mainly use auctions with high up front advertising and staging fees to put pressure on vendors to commit to sell.
Secondly you have the agents committed to getting thier vendors the best price. They provide a fair and detailed sale contract and a fair market vaulation. These agents take thier time. They talk to buyers to assess thier needs and qualify them. They provide detailed feedback to the vendor. They gradually lift buyers price expections and eventually succeed in gettng the property sold at the best price. Usually far more than the turnover agent would get.
The funny thing is, when comes the time to sell, you feel that the agent you bought from was working for you and probably got you a great deal and hence they are the one to sell your property. But its exactly the opposite.You want the agent you felt wasnt working for you but rather being open and respectful and obviously pushing for the best price for the vendor.
Eric Levett says:
Thankyou Niel.
Again, another Honest and Informative article.
Best wishes Eric Levett
Laura says:
Thank you Neil and Alex for your tireless work and advocacy in the Real Estate industry. This is an area when many are inexperienced, naive, trusting, and are easily mislead. It is a shame that there are not stronger laws to prosecute the villains or to simply deter them from their crooked ways.
Garry Thompson says:
It’s the old adage at work Neil. ‘If something looks too good to be true, it invariably is.’
I appreciate your honest commentary on an obscenely profitable, exploitative industry that really should be exposed by ASIC, but sadly they’re making themselves irrelevant to consumers, in my opinion
Heather says:
Very Interesting, thankyou for exposing Rate my Agent for what it is.