The context-specific scenarios used in the study
| Scenario | Content | Full wording of the context-specific scenarios (all borderline to what is considered by regulators as good estate agent practice) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The middleman real estate agent exaggerates potential price to get the seller to sign a sales contract | A colleague of yours is very happy and tells that he/she has been on an intake and received the assignment to sell a property. The colleague had prepared carefully and had plenty of statistics and had also discussed housing prices in the specific area with colleagues in advance of the meeting. The seller’s focus was to find an enthusiastic real estate agent who really believed in the home and could get a high price. The colleague tells that he/she valued the home to SEK 6.5 million (app. USD 650,000), but the seller had told the colleague not to sell for less than SEK 7.5 million (app. USD 750,000) and the colleague had then tried to meet the seller’s wishes by adjusting the valuation to SEK 7.0 million (app. USD 700,000) in order to receive the assignment to sell the property |
| 2 | The middleman real estate agent misleads seller to get repeated sales | Your colleague has just – before the advertised viewing – conveyed a flat in his favorite property to a buyer who wants to buy, renovate and then sell the home for speculative purposes. The condominium had a clear need for renovation, but was located in the property’s best location with a view of the sea. The colleague tells us that the buyer did not want to bid the price the seller wanted, but that the colleague managed to talk the seller down to an acceptable level. The colleague will then be able to sell this condominium a second time within a six months period |
| 3 | The middleman real estate agent is hiding information from the buyer | Your colleague has just signed a clear contract between the seller and the buyer of a home in one of Stockholm’s more attractive suburbs. The seller made a pre-inspection, which means that an inspector examined the villa before sale. The bathroom was newly renovated by an established and large professional company. However, the careful inspector pointed out one construction error in the bathroom and remarked on this in an attached inspection report which was sent out both to real estate agent and to the seller. The seller refused to allow the surveyor’s inspection report to influence the sales process and pointed out that the purchasers, in fact, have a far-reaching investigation duty in Sweden and can now make their own inspection. The colleague thought it was a good proposal and all parties were now satisfied and happy at the contract writing (the buyers not aware of the inspection) |
| 4 | The middleman real estate agent suggests to the seller a starting price level for advertising the property much below expected market value | The colleague comes to the office and rejoices after having received an assignment in competition with five other real estate agents. The colleague, who is a really driven and enthusiastic real estate agent, wants to build a larger customer base, like many real estate agents. During the internship period, they have noticed that it is easier to build a customer base with many potential buyers on the display, since they are also prospective future sellers. The colleague’s market valuation of the home ended up at SEK 3 million (app. USD 300,000) and the starting price is set at SEK 2.7 million (app. USD 270,000) to get a good impression on the display |
| 5 This question was excluded from the analysis due to a typo in the questionnaire | The middleman real estate agent misleads the seller in recommending a bank with unfavorable terms, so that the real estate agent, gets a personal kick-back | Your colleague conveys a home and succeeds in getting the buyer to choose the bank you cooperate with. According to a central agreement, the real estate agent at the agency firm receives a compensation from the bank that is percentage related to the size of the mediated mortgage loan. The amount that the colleague gets is 0.0005 of the purchase price (0.05%), which does not usually give any astronomical amounts but in this case it became good dividend. The current buyer borrowed SEK 6 million (app. USD 600,000), and this gives SEK 3000 (app. USD 300) in side income that the real estate agent, receives in his bank account |
| 6 | The middleman real estate agent misleads the seller in recommending a bank with unfavorable terms, so that the real estate agent firm gets a kick-back | The customer who is ignorant of bank loans now wants quick help in finding a lender. The customer does not receive any unique benefits through your bank cooperation. The colleague is curious about the list rates, looking at various banks' websites and noting that the list interest of your co-operative bank is just in the middle of the bank interest rates. For the colleague, it is obvious to always recommend your cooperation bank and follow the central agreement that exists between the real estate agency firm and the bank |
| 7 | The middleman real estate agent is recommending a specific property inspector to a client | You have had a long-term and well-functioning collaboration with an inspection company that also carries out your pre-inspections on properties in cases where this may be relevant. This inspection company also gives you a compensation for each individual mediated inspection of SEK 500 (app. USD 50). For your colleague, it is obvious to always recommend this property inspector |
| 8 | The middleman real estate agent uses a disclaimer clause as a standard in all contracts | Your colleague is an older and experienced real estate agent. He/she prefers to generally work with disclaimer clauses where the seller declines all responsibility for hidden defects in the property. He/she thinks that this facilitates the process and that it is nice to avoid future discussions. The sellers are part of this deal after the colleague has told them which terrible disputes can come in the future |
| Scenario | Content | Full wording of the context-specific scenarios (all borderline to what is considered by regulators |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The middleman real estate agent exaggerates potential price to get the seller to sign a sales contract | A colleague of yours is very happy and tells that he/she has been on an intake and received the assignment to sell a property. The colleague had prepared carefully and had plenty of statistics and had also discussed housing prices in the specific area with colleagues in advance of the meeting. The seller’s focus was to find an enthusiastic real estate agent who really believed in the home and could get a high price. The colleague tells that he/she valued the home to SEK 6.5 million (app. USD 650,000), but the seller had told the colleague not to sell for less than SEK 7.5 million (app. USD 750,000) and the colleague had then tried to meet the seller’s wishes by adjusting the valuation to SEK 7.0 million (app. USD 700,000) in order to receive the assignment to sell the property |
| 2 | The middleman real estate agent misleads seller to get repeated sales | Your colleague has just – before the advertised viewing – conveyed a flat in his favorite property to a buyer who wants to buy, renovate and then sell the home for speculative purposes. The condominium had a clear need for renovation, but was located in the property’s best location with a view of the sea. The colleague tells us that the buyer did not want to bid the price the seller wanted, but that the colleague managed to talk the seller down to an acceptable level. The colleague will then be able to sell this condominium a second time within a six months period |
| 3 | The middleman real estate agent is hiding information from the buyer | Your colleague has just signed a clear contract between the seller and the buyer of a home in one of Stockholm’s more attractive suburbs. The seller made a pre-inspection, which means that an inspector examined the villa before sale. The bathroom was newly renovated by an established and large professional company. However, the careful inspector pointed out one construction error in the bathroom and remarked on this in an attached inspection report which was sent out both to real estate agent and to the seller. The seller refused to allow the surveyor’s inspection report to influence the sales process and pointed out that the purchasers, in fact, have a far-reaching investigation duty in Sweden and can now make their own inspection. The colleague thought it was a good proposal and all parties were now satisfied and happy at the contract writing (the buyers not aware of the inspection) |
| 4 | The middleman real estate agent suggests to the seller a starting price level for advertising the property much below expected market value | The colleague comes to the office and rejoices after having received an assignment in competition with five other real estate agents. The colleague, who is a really driven and enthusiastic real estate agent, wants to build a larger customer base, like many real estate agents. During the internship period, they have noticed that it is easier to build a customer base with many potential buyers on the display, since they are also prospective future sellers. The colleague’s market valuation of the home ended up at SEK 3 million (app. USD 300,000) and the starting price is set at SEK 2.7 million (app. USD 270,000) to get a good impression on the display |
| The middleman real estate agent misleads the seller in recommending a bank with unfavorable terms, so that the real estate agent, gets a personal kick-back | Your colleague conveys a home and succeeds in getting the buyer to choose the bank you cooperate with. According to a central agreement, the real estate agent at the agency firm receives a compensation from the bank that is percentage related to the size of the mediated mortgage loan. The amount that the colleague gets is 0.0005 of the purchase price (0.05%), which does not usually give any astronomical amounts but in this case it became good dividend. The current buyer borrowed SEK 6 million (app. USD 600,000), and this gives SEK 3000 (app. USD 300) in side income that the real estate agent, receives in his bank account | |
| 6 | The middleman real estate agent misleads the seller in recommending a bank with unfavorable terms, so that the real estate agent firm gets a kick-back | The customer who is ignorant of bank loans now wants quick help in finding a lender. The customer does not receive any unique benefits through your bank cooperation. The colleague is curious about the list rates, looking at various banks' websites and noting that the list interest of your co-operative bank is just in the middle of the bank interest rates. For the colleague, it is obvious to always recommend your cooperation bank and follow the central agreement that exists between the real estate agency firm and the bank |
| 7 | The middleman real estate agent is recommending a specific property inspector to a client | You have had a long-term and well-functioning collaboration with an inspection company that also carries out your pre-inspections on properties in cases where this may be relevant. This inspection company also gives you a compensation for each individual mediated inspection of SEK 500 (app. USD 50). For your colleague, it is obvious to always recommend this property inspector |
| 8 | The middleman real estate agent uses a disclaimer clause as a standard in all contracts | Your colleague is an older and experienced real estate agent. He/she prefers to generally work with disclaimer clauses where the seller declines all responsibility for hidden defects in the property. He/she thinks that this facilitates the process and that it is nice to avoid future discussions. The sellers are part of this deal after the colleague has told them which terrible disputes can come in the future |
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