Benn Dorrington, Industry Editor and Analyst
First published 29 Sep 2026, 4:26pm
Industry experts are warning new auction reserve price laws starting in Victoria this week are coming at the worst time for home sellers, while sold price reforms are being widely welcomed.
The Victorian government is rolling out four new property price rules from October 1, including the controversial move to make vendors publish a reserve price at least seven days before their auction day or fixed-date sale.
It’s an Australian-first move aimed at stamping out underquoting, but real estate agents and buyers’ advocates oppose the new rule.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) chief executive Toby Balazs said the industry supported greater transparency in residential property sales.
“Our position has been that transparency needs to be underpinned by rules that are practical, workable and deliver better outcomes for consumers,” Mr Balazs said.
“We strongly advocated against the mandatory publication of auction reserves seven days in advance, but the government has decided to proceed with its approach.
"The property market is already navigating a challenging period, so getting implementation right is particularly important.
REIV chief executive Toby Balazs says the priority is to ensure the sector is well prepared and that consumers understand what the changes mean. Picture: Supplied
"Our focus is on making the transition as clear, practical and effective as possible for the professionals applying these rules and the consumers they serve.”
The rule changes come amid softer market conditions in Melbourne, with home prices down 4.3% in the capital city compared to a year ago, according to the latest realestate.com.au Home Price Index .
Under the new rule, auctions or fixed-date sales cannot go ahead if the reserve price hasn’t been published seven days before, with significant penalties for real estate agents who break the rules.
Real estate agents will have to update all advertising and marketing materials, including the new property price statement, to reflect the reserve price.
Vendors will have to share a reserve price publicly a week out from auction day after October 1. Picture: Getty
Sellers and real estate agents often learn important information about serious buyers and price expectations during the final week of a sale campaign, and there are concerns that vendors will have to set reserve prices with less information under the new rule.
Cate Bakos, Melbourne-based buyer’s agent and chair of Property Investment Professionals of Australia, said the reserve price change wasn’t a positive step.
She said the new reserve price law may drive more vendors to sell their homes through private sales rather than auctions, which would hurt efforts to improve price transparency.
“My biggest concern is that an auction can be an opportunity for buyers to have full transparency,” Ms Bakos said.
Buyer's agent Cate Bakos says the reserve price change may drive more vendors to opt for private sales over auctions. Picture: Supplied
“You can see who you're bidding against and you can see how much the last person has bid, while a private sale is a very different beast altogether.
“The risk of less transparency is very real, and I don't know that that will bode better for buyers.”
Ms Bakos said the reserve price rule was taking effect at an already tough time for sellers due to softer market conditions.
Auction clearance rates have been lower in Melbourne since interest rates started rising earlier this year, recording a preliminary clearance rate of 50.3% last week, according to realestate.com.au.
Property price rules are changing in Melbourne and throughout Victoria from October 1. Picture: Getty
“I think it will be really challenging and difficult for the first few months, and it probably couldn't be coming at a worse time,” Ms Bakos said.
“If we were in a vibrant market where it was a seller's market and prices were soaring and auction clearance rates were high, I think we could anticipate that this regime would have a better chance at sticking because a vendor could set a reserve knowing that they could bank on multiple bidders.
“But I just think that the timing and the way that they're going about it is terrible.”
Ms Bakos said she believed real estate agents and sellers would eventually get used to the new auction reserve rule.
Home sellers will need to publish sold prices seven days after the unconditional sale of a property from next month. Picture: Getty
The Victorian government is also making vendors disclose their sale price a week after the unconditional sale of their property from October 1, which has been welcomed by the REIV and Ms Bakos.
“I think the sold price change is a positive step and it should have been the first thing that they did,” Ms Bakos said.
“Buyers are better equipped to conduct their own due diligence when sales results aren't withheld.”
Sold price exemptions may be granted for circumstances related to personal or family violence involving the seller or purchaser and must be approved by application to the director of Consumer Affairs Victoria.
The new rules will apply to sales that become unconditional on or after October 1, even if the contract was signed before then.
The state government is also replacing the current Statement of Information with a new Property Price Statement (PPS), which will include key features of the property and more.
Real estate agents will have to include key features of the property being sold and key features of each comparable property in the new PPS.
The final rule change starting on October 1 will force real estate agents to share at least one or two comparable properties if three cannot be found.
The Victorian government has rolled out numerous changes to take action on underquoting - when a property is deliberately advertised at a much lower price than its expected sale price or the owner’s asking price to generate competition.
Underquoting is already illegal in Victoria, and real estate agents face fines of more than $40,000 or potential loss of sale commissions if they don’t comply with the rules.
The state government plans to introduce further changes next year, including making Section 32 statements available earlier and changes to early releases of deposits.
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