KEY POINTS:
Some of the South Auckland properties put up for sale at a mass auction in Auckland yesterday were owned by the same agent whose firm was selling them.
Don Ha of Don Ha Real Estate confirmed at the auction that he owned about 20 of the places for sale, but rival agents claimed he owned many more.
Mr Ha is one of New Zealand's wealthiest agents, with an estimated $50 million fortune. He is one of the leading salesmen for the Ray White Group, and a thoroughbred investor.
His Manukau firm manages hundreds of houses in South Auckland.
Property experts frowned on the part Mr Ha's company played in the auction, saying he had not been open about the fact that he was the vendor as well as the listing agent.
But Mr Ha said there was nothing unethical about an owner showing prospective buyers through a property.
"Well it's a free market, and it's the fairest way to buy. Some of them know and some of them don't, but it's really not important. They're buying the house, they're not buying the owner."
He said the value of a property was set by the market and agreed on by the buyers. There was no conflict in representing both parties at the same time.
Real estate rules bind agents to tell the public if they are buying a place. But the deal does not work both ways. Agents do not have to declare when they are selling their own places .
Critics complained that Mr Ha's sales pitch was misleading. "He's perfectly entitled to sell his own places," said one insider, who did not want to be named. "But it's not fair to say it's a mega-auction and make out like there's 100 vendors when there's really not."
Gordon Meyer, a former professional standards manager at the Real Estate Institute and a Disputes Tribunal referee, said it was questionable for agents to sell their own places without declaring it.
"The person dealing with the agent does so on the assumption that the agent is representing someone else. If he turns out to be representing himself, there's a conflict then he must disclose," he said.
Mr Ha said he had got less for his places than he had paid for them, and had sold them for personal reasons.
He employed agents to list the properties to keep the transactions "at arms' length".
About $30 million of property went under the hammer at yesterday's auction. Checks at the Companies Office and QV showed Mr Ha was the owner of some places being sold.
One property - 71 John Walker Drive in Manurewa - was advertised by Ray White as a "great house with big garage".
QV's certificate of title shows it is owned by 21st Century Investment Ltd. The Companies Office records this company's shares are owned by Duong Hai Ha and Don Ha Trustee Company.
