Benn Dorrington, Industry Editor and Analyst
First published 29 Oct 2026, 10:51am
Industry experts are divided about new laws making home sellers in NSW display an asking price or price guide that could start within weeks.
The NSW state government passed the selling price law and other underquoting changes earlier this year, forcing vendors and real estate agents to disclose a selling price or price range when advertising a home for sale in a bid to tackle underquoting.
It is understood the new price disclosure rules could take effect from as early as mid-November, however a NSW Fair Trading spokesperson said the changes were expected to start later in 2026.
Read this explainer on the new NSW home price law changes .
The state’s peak real estate body, the Real Estate Institute of NSW (REINSW), says the new laws will deliver little benefit, however buyers’ advocates have welcomed the change.
“Let’s be clear: these changes are about politics, not policy,” REINSW general manager Aaron Barber said.
“Sellers and buyers will experience little, if any, impact. Agents already use comparable sales to estimate an approximate sale price for a property but it is an inexact science, because a purchaser is free to make their best offer for any property they’re interested in.
“The new laws simply add another layer of administration to the process.”
Lack of pricing persists as the top pain point for buyers, with seven in 10 home seekers in Australia frustrated by a lack of pricing on property listings, according to a 2026 survey in realestate.com.au's latest Property Seeker report.
Vendors and agents will need to share a price or price guide on property listings when the new rules take effect. Picture: Getty
As a result, four in five respondents were more likely to skip over properties without a price.
Rich Harvey, buyer’s agent and chief executive of propertybuyer.com.au, said the new laws were a positive change for buyers and the real estate industry.
“I think it's going to bring greater transparency, and greater transparency around pricing is a good thing,” Mr Harvey said.
“A lot of buyers, particularly in NSW, get upset around underquoting.
The new rules will impact sellers and agents in Sydney and throughout the rest of the state. Picture: Getty
“There are strict laws against underquoting, where bait pricing has been used to lure buyers in at the thought of getting it at a cheaper price and then seeing it go higher.
“I think it'll help to bring a bit more clarity and rule out a lot of time wasting on properties that are unaffordable for buyers.”
NSW joins Victoria on selling price transparency, meaning more than half of Australia’s population will need to share a selling price or price guide when advertising a property for sale.
But the changes come as home sellers and real estate agents face a softening property market in Sydney, where the capital city’s median home price has fallen 5% compared to a year ago, according to the latest realestate.com.au Home Price Index .
Buyer's advocate Rich Harvey says the new selling price laws are a positive change for buyers. Picture: Supplied
Property market conditions have been softening nationally since the Reserve Bank started increasing interest rates , and the federal government overhauled negative gearing and capital gains tax rules for property investors.
Mr Barber said practitioners in no other industry were expected to absorb the huge number of reforms that real estate agents have been expected to absorb, implement, as well as educate consumers to ensure compliance.
“There have been over 500 legislative changes to real estate practice in the last 18 months alone,” Mr Barber said.
“Instead of working collaboratively with industry to systematically implement effective change across those 500 legislative changes, the NSW government’s consistent response has been to disparage agents in the media and threaten heavy fines for non-compliance.
“Agents are working overtime to comply with the raft of changes, while at the same time educate consumers on their obligations, as they grapple to understand further new reforms including price disclosure requirements, anti-money laundering obligations, residential tenancy reforms, domestic violence reforms, strata reforms and more.”
The REINSW has called for more consumer education around real estate pricing, as well as better education standards for aspiring real estate agents.
In addition to the selling price changes, real estate agents will have to prepare a statement of information (SOI) on properties they are selling on behalf of their vendors, which is set to start from early 2027.
The SOI will be a standardised NSW government form filled out by agents with important information about the property and comparable sales.
Mr Harvey said it was important to look for comparable sales that were both recent and relevant.
“If you go to an open house, you might see a list of what they call recent sales on a desk or a kitchen table,” he said.
“However, they may not be relevant sales, and that’s a key distinction. You’ve got to make sure you’re comparing like with like.
“It’s got to be recent, but it also has to be relevant, in terms of the number of bedrooms, construction type and a whole range of other parameters.”
Real estate agents who break the new underquoting rules may face court-imposed penalties of up to $110,000, or three times the agent's commission, whichever is higher.
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