A realtor has been suspended after making an “arrogant” comment about tenants in a social media post.
Abhnit Kumar, 23, real estate agent for Ray White, had been celebrating after closing a sale of a house in Ambervale, Sydney’s southwest, on April 28.
He had sold the four-bedroom property for $958,000 and boasted about his sale on Facebook, with the post quickly outraging.
“The market doesn’t determine the price of your house, the broker does,” Kumar wrote.
Social media users were angered by his choice of words and wondered if real estate agents were deliberately inflating house prices and taking advantage of residents unable to buy a home due to skyrocketing prices.
Mr Kumar defended the post before a war of words erupted with the comments taking a bizarre turn after the broker called one of his critics a ‘tenant’ and refused to ‘associate with people like you’.
The online debate sparked an internal investigation at Ray White and Mr Kumar was temporarily suspended while the brokerage firm ran it.
Real estate broker for Ray White’s Macarthur Group, Abhnit Kumar (pictured), 23, has been suspended after making an ‘arrogant remark’ about tenants online
A social media user had accused Mr Kumar of artificially inflating house prices after his first post on Facebook.
“So if the market doesn’t set the price, why artificially inflate house prices during a period of high inflation,” they wrote.
Mr. Kumar replied, ‘Wouldn’t you like to maximize the profit you can make when selling your greatest asset?
“Unless you don’t feel free to contact me, because I have a buyer for your house.”
His response prompted the social media user to then hit back.
“That’s not what your post said,” they wrote.
“You said that you drive up prices so that the market becomes too expensive. Your words, not mine.
“I know when I’m in the market for a house I’ll stay well away from your desk. It’s no wonder real estate agents are one of the least trusted professions.
“But you do friend!”
Mr Kumar then took the conversation in an unexpected turn.
“Hey buddy, you must be a tenant obviously,” he said.
“Please stay away from me, we don’t want to associate with people like you.”
The comment quickly sparked outrage and the social media user caught fire.
‘How did you come to that conclusion? And interesting that you don’t want tenants coming to your desk, great business sense,” they wrote.
Another social media user wondered if Mr Kumar had just described tenants as ‘other people’.
“People like you” do you mean tenants? added another.
The post has since been deleted and Mr Kumar has been forced to post another to address the outrage.
“Just to clarify, I didn’t mean renters,” he wrote, adding a crying smiley emoji.
‘I meant people who see no value in getting the best price for their (sic) asset. You clearly misunderstood.’
Mr Kumar celebrated the closing of a home in Ambervale (pictured), south-west Sydney, before saying the estate agent dictates property prices, not the market
After one user wrote that he was “artificially inflating house prices during a period of high inflation,” Mr. Kumar (above) furious with tenants to the point that he is now suspended
One commenter wrote that she prefers real estate agents who don’t discriminate against “poor renters” and “wealthy homeowners.”
“I don’t want an agent to be held accountable for his mistakes and blame it on others for ‘mistaking it,'” she wrote. “Be better, do better.”
Mr Kumar responded by saying she was ‘100 per cent right’.
It’s my fault and that’s why I deleted the post. I’m wrong, I should have handled the situation better,” he wrote.
Mr. Kumar told news.com.au the comment was inappropriate.
“(I’m) deeply sorry for the insult 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 sorry for my comments.
“I am 23 years old and I know I 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 all of our tenants,” the post read.
‘Abhnit Kumar’s views do not match our group’s values.
“As a result, we have made the business decision to immediately suspend his employment while we conduct an internal investigation.
“We apologize to our current employees and all members of our community if these views are offensive.
“If you are still concerned, we recommend that you speak to our head office.”
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Ray White for comment.
