Central Coast Residents Speak Out as Duplicate Property Images Distort the Housing Market

Property seekers on the Central Coast are raising alarm about a practice they say has become routine on major real estate platforms: the recycling of duplicate or outdated listing images that bear little resemblance to a property's actual condition. Community members describe turning up to inspections on Mann Street in Gosford and along Wyong Road in Kanwal to find homes that look nothing like their online photographs — a problem they say wastes time, erodes trust, and, in some cases, leads to costly mistakes.

The issue is drawing sharper attention right now because the Central Coast housing market is under particular stress. Sydney commuters priced out of the inner suburbs have been pushing northward along the M1 corridor for the past two years, lifting median asking rents and compressing vacancy rates. The region's Council only emerged from state-appointed administration in 2022 after a prolonged financial crisis, and local planners are still working through a backlog of rezoning and development decisions tied to the Gosford CBD renewal precinct. With supply tight and demand high, any friction in the search process hits harder.

What Locals Are Experiencing

Community members who spoke to The Daily Central Coast described a consistent pattern. A buyer looking at a terrace near Henry Parry Drive in East Gosford said the listing photos showed a renovated kitchen that had since been replaced with a far more basic fitout — a detail only visible at the in-person inspection. A renter searching near Long Jetty on the southern end of Tuggerah Lake said she booked three inspections based on photos she later realised had been reused from a 2021 listing of the same property, when it was under different management and had been recently repainted.

The Central Coast Tenants' Advice and Advocacy Service, which operates out of Gosford and covers the local government area, has noted a general rise in inquiries related to misleading property advertising, according to publicly available information on the service's website. Staff there direct renters toward the NSW Fair Trading complaints process when listings appear to contain false or misleading information — a jurisdiction that falls under the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002.

Real estate agents are legally required under NSW legislation to ensure advertising is not misleading. The question residents are asking is whether platform-level accountability matches the legal obligation that sits with the agent. Major platforms host tens of thousands of active listings across the state and rely heavily on agents to self-certify the accuracy of submitted materials.

What Buyers and Renters Can Do Now

NSW Fair Trading accepts complaints about misleading property advertising online and by phone. Complainants are advised to document the discrepancy — screenshotting the listing with a time stamp before an inspection, then photographing the property as found — to build a clear record. The agency's powers include issuing improvement notices and, in more serious cases, referring matters to the Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The NSW Government's Rental Taskforce, which was established in 2023 with a specific brief to investigate unfair practices in the rental market, has broader investigative powers than a standard Fair Trading complaint and accepts tip-offs about systemic or repeat behaviour by agents or property managers.

For buyers, the Real Estate Institute of NSW recommends requesting a statutory Section 32 contract and asking agents directly when photographs were taken and whether any changes have been made to the property since. On the Central Coast, where properties in suburbs like Wamberal, Terrigal and Point Frederick routinely change hands quickly due to their coastal premium, that verification step is easy to skip under time pressure — and residents say that is exactly the gap being exploited.

The Central Coast Council's planning portal now lists proposed development applications online, which means neighbours and prospective buyers can cross-reference what work has legally been done on a property before signing anything. It is an imperfect workaround. But until platforms introduce mandatory image-dating requirements — something the industry has discussed but not implemented — residents say it is the best tool they have.