Research · Structural patterns
Case studies
Anonymised structural case studies from real New Zealand residential property transactions. Each case identifies a specific pattern, traces it to the underlying incentive structure, cites the applicable NZ law and PCCC Rules, and provides a response template. The goal is informed homeowners, not naming-and-shaming.
How these are structured
Every case follows the same three-part structure:
- Pattern. What happened, stripped of identifying detail. Generalised so vendors elsewhere recognise the same pattern when it happens to them.
- Legal basis. The specific NZ statute, Professional Conduct Rule, or common-law doctrine that the pattern engages.
- Response template. Concrete written response options, linked to the letter templates library.
No individuals or agencies are named in any case. Region and month may be given at coarse grain where relevant to the legal or market context.
Published cases
When the agent becomes a one-way information filter
A vendor's professional opinion gets filtered out; the buyer's concerns get amplified; the goalposts move mid-conversation. The pattern of one-sided information flow and what the vendor can do to re-establish symmetry.
Disclosure becomes amplification
An agent-drafted disclosure document re-lists items from the building report as standalone bullets, adding context-stripping language and era-generic risk statements. The sales-manager-encouraged addition that never had a building-report page number.
Selective Approval Theatre: when micro-consent masks macro-decisions
The agent seeks approval on trivial wording but acts unilaterally on a matter that generates the vendor's legal fees. When challenged, the agent points to a clause in the agency agreement. The course-of-dealing doctrine + Rule 9.1 response.
Two inspection reports on one house, and the credential gap
A vendor-commissioned pre-sale inspection report presents a more negative picture than an earlier pre-purchase report on the same property, despite no material deterioration. The role of inspector credentials (LBP, NZIBI), NZS 4306:2005 scope, and the 12 red flags in a substandard report.
Contribute a case
If you have encountered a structural pattern in a NZ property transaction that is not yet covered here — particularly one you are willing to share for anonymisation — contribution channels will open in v1.0. In the interim, the data flywheel is seeded from the strategy files in research/strategy/, informed by the patterns documented in real cases.