English language property auctions required in NSW

English language property auctions required in NSW
Jonathan ChancellorNovember 27, 2014

NSW Fair Trading says property auctions should be conducted in English, but current laws do not prevent an auction being translated into a different language. 

The issued flared after a recent A Current Affair report on Melbourne auctions.

Auctioneer Robert Ding at Marshall White Boroondara was profiled on a report entitled 'Chinese buyers taking over the housing market', which focused on his dual-language talents during a house auction.

Ding thought the report was one sided.

“The auction footage had me talking in Mandarin but I was also translating it to English and vice-versa,” he told Real Estate Business.

David Scholes, founder and principal of auctionWORKS, does not have a problem with dual language auctioneers conducting auctions in another language in areas where offshore buyers predominate.

“As long as the auction is conducted primarily in English, and when I say primarily I mean completely in English with parts such as prices and relevant topics regarding terms and conditions being translated into other languages, then I don’t see why anyone would have a problem with it,” Scholes said.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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