A real estate agency has come under fire after an image used to advertise a home for sale was missing one very important detail.

A photo depicting the facade of a brick home in Sydney’s south-west appears to have been digitally altered – and we aren’t just talking about a change in saturation to evoke that perfect summer’s day.

The front of the neat three-bedroom house in Penshurst features in an image with a well-manicured lawn and vast blue skies behind.

But when house hunters arrived at 31A Penshurst Avenue to inspect the property, they were shocked to discover a huge grey water tower overshadowing the house.

Molly Smith, who attended the open-home inspection with her husband, told the Australian Women’s Weekly she felt “swindled”.

Smith says she has encountered a variety of tactics by real estate agents and auctioneers to “manipulate people into spending exorbitant amounts of money on properties”.

“Everyone does something, but usually it’s tidying up the place or hiring stunt furniture or getting it landscaped at the last minute. I feel like this is really underhanded deceptive behaviour and I don’t think it reflects well on the business.”

Real estate legislation prohibits real estate agents from using misleading or deceptive pictures.

“Agents must ensure that any claims made about any property or land characteristics in any photographic representations and advertising are accurate and could not give prospective buyers the wrong impression,” Fair Trading NSW says.







While adjusting the lighting “slightly” is acceptable, real estate agents must not “change the appearance of a property by digitally removing or adding features”.

Ray White however disputed the photo was digitally altered.

Ray White spokesperson Lisa Pennell said that while the photo in question was supplied to the owner by a previous real estate agent, they believed it was possible for a photo to be taken from the front of the house without the water tower in sight.

Ray White provided a picture of the original ad from Elders.

“It would appear from our own investigations that the photos have not been photoshopped and are instead taken from an angle from which the house obscures the water tank completely,” Pennell said.

Photos taken by Ray White using a GoPro camera close to the front of the house and low to the ground show the tower hidden from view, except for a small section peeping through the pergola to the right of the house.

Ray White provided Domain with photos they took of the property using a GoPro.

Ray White real estate agent Jackie Li told the Australian Women’s Weekly he did not believe the photo in question was misleading.

Other images in the listing show glimpses of the water tower from the backyard, and Li says he tells interested buyers about it “straight away”.

The picture in question has since been removed from the listing.