A real estate agent has been suspended after making an ‘arrogant’ comment about renters in a social media post.
Abhnit Kumar, 23, who is a real estate agent for Ray White, had been celebrating after closing a sale on a house in Ambervale, in Sydney‘s south-west, on April 28.
He had sold the four-bedroom property for $958,000 and boasted about his sale on Facebook, writing: ‘The market doesn’t dictate your home’s price, the agent does’.
Social media users were angered by his choice of words, suggesting real estate agents were deliberately inflating house prices which has resulted in many more people being unable to afford their own homes.
Mr Kumar defended the post before a war of words erupted with the comments taking a bizarre turn after the real estate agent called one of his critics a ‘renter’ and that he refused to ‘deal with people like you’.
The online debate prompted an internal investigation at Ray White and Mr Kumar was temporarily suspended while the real estate agency conducted it.
Real estate agent for Ray White’s Macarthur Group, Abhnit Kumar (pictured), 23, has been suspended after making an ‘arrogant comment’ about renters online
One social media user had accused Mr Kumar of artificially inflating house prices following his initial post on Facebook.
‘So if the market doesn’t set the price, why are you artificially inflating house prices during a period of high inflation,’ they wrote.
Mr Kumar responded: ‘When selling your biggest asset wouldn’t you like to maximise on the profits you can make?
‘Unless you wouldn’t then feel free to contact me as I have a buyer for your place.’
His response prompted the social media user to then hit back.
‘That’s not what your post said,’ they wrote.
‘You said you inflate prices, so that the market is overpriced. Your words, not mine.
‘I know when I’m in the market for a house I will be staying well away from your agency. It’s no wonder real estate agents are one of the least trusted professions.
‘But you do you pal!’
Mr Kumar then took the conversation in an unexpected direction.
‘Hey buddy you clearly must be a renter,’ he said.
‘Please stay away from my we would not like to deal with people like you.’
The comment quickly sparked outrage with the social media user taking fire.
‘How did you come to that conclusion? And interesting that you don’t want renters coming to your agency, great business acumen,’ they wrote.
Another social media user jumped in to question if Mr Kumar had just described renters as ‘other people’.
‘”People like you” meaning renters?’ another added.
The post has since been deleted with Mr Kumar forced to make another one to address the outrage.
‘To clarify I didn’t mean renters,’ he wrote, adding a crying-laughing emoji.
‘I meant people who don’t see value in getting the best price for there (sic) asset. Clearly you guys took it the wrong way.’
Mr Kumar was celebrating the closure of an Ambervale house (pictured), in Sydney’s southwest, before saying agent’s dictate the price of property’s and not the market
After a user wrote that he was ‘artificially inflating house prices during a period of high inflation’, Mr Kumar response (above) angered tenants to the point he is now suspended
One commenter wrote she would prefer real estate agents who don’t discriminate against ‘poor renters’ and ‘wealthy homeowners’.
‘I don’t want an agent that gets called out on their mistakes and turns it onto others for “taking it the wrong way”,’ she wrote. ‘Be better, do better.’
Mr Kumar responded by saying she was ‘100 per cent right’.
‘It is my mistake and that is why I deleted the post. I am in the wrong, I should have handled the situation better,’ he wrote.
Mr Kumar told news.com.au the comment was uncalled for.
‘(I am) deeply sorry for the offence and upset caused,’ he said.
‘It was a total error of judgment on my part and I promise it will never happen again. I am very remorseful for my comments.
‘I am 23 year old, and I know I have made a serious mistake.’
The Ray White Macarthur group released a statement on Facebook addressing the online argument.
‘We pride ourselves on customer service. We respect and value each and every one of our tenants,’ the post read.
‘The views of Abhnit Kumar do not align with the values of our group.
‘As a result, we’ve made the business decision to suspend his employment immediately while we conduct an internal investigation.
‘We apologise to our current employees as well as any members within our community if these views have offended.
‘Should you have any further concerns, we encourage you to speak with our corporate office.’
Daily Mail Australia have approached Ray White for comment.
