A real estate agent from Auckland's North Shore has been found guilty of unsatisfactory conduct for offering to sell a recently widowed woman's house.
It is the first ruling by the Real Estate Agents Authority, launched in 2009 after concerns about the speed and transparency of the industry's complaints process.
The widow's daughter made a complaint late last year.
The authority says Tip Spooner, an agent for Prestige Real Estate International in Milford, sent the widow a condolence card that included a business card and a house evaluation.
Ms Spooner has been censured by the authority's complaints committee. She was found to be in breach of the authority's Code of Professional Conduct and Client Care for the manner in which she approached the woman.
Authority board chair Kristy McDonald, QC, says 200 separate complaints are being processed.
Mixed industry reaction
Professionals Real Estate Group chief executive Brett Wilson says the industry has been waiting for the authority to get into action.
He says he hopes the fact it can now be seen to act, will lead to improved standards and fewer complaints.
The Real Estate Institute says property managers need to be made accountable to the authority.
President Peter McDonald says he is worried that property managers remain outside the scope of the authority.
He says the majority of the complaints received relate to property management but the authority cannot follow them up because they are exempt from the Real Estate Agents Act.
