Victoria’s New Auction Rules: Could They Actually Make Things Worse for Buyers?

Short answer: probably not worse, but not the transparency win many buyers are expecting either.

For Victorian auctions and fixed-date sales held on or after 16 October 2026, agents must publish the seller’s reserve price at least seven days beforehand.

On paper, that’s a big step towards stamping out underquoting. In practice, the new rules come with some loopholes and unintended consequences that every buyer needs to understand.

In our special breaking news episode, Ben Kingsley unpacks the changes with Couch Crew regular Ben Thompson. Ben is a qualified property investment adviser and client manager at Empower Wealth, and on weekends he’s a licensed auctioneer, so he’s seeing these rules play out from both sides of the auction.

Even if you’re not buying in Victoria, stick with us. Rules like these could spread to other states, and the lessons on price discovery apply wherever you buy.

What Are Victoria’s New Auction Rules?

Victoria’s new rules do three main things: agents must publish the seller’s reserve price before an auction, a new Property Price Statement replaces the Statement of Information, and sold prices become public. Consumer Affairs Victoria has a summary of all the changes and when they start, but here’s what matters most for buyers.

Changes to Victoria’s Reserve Price Rules

Under the new rules, agents must:

• Ask the seller in writing for their reserve price, along with the agent’s recommended reserve and the reasons for it
• Publish the reserve at least 7 days before the auction or fixed-date sale
• Show it as a single dollar figure, with no “from”, “over”, “+” or “starting at”
• Update all advertising to show the reserve, with online listings updated within 1 business day of receiving it

If the reserve hasn’t been published in time, the auction or fixed-date sale can’t go ahead. And if the seller changes the published reserve, up or down, the 7-day clock starts again.

The rules apply to residential auctions and fixed-date sales run by an estate agent. They don’t apply to commercial property, private sales without a fixed date, or owners selling without an agent. Consumer Affairs Victoria’s industry Q&As go through the finer detail.

Property Price Statement vs Statement of Information

The Property Price Statement (PPS) is essentially an upgraded Statement of Information (SOI). Here’s how they compare:

Comparable sales still need to be from the last 6 months within 2km for Melbourne metro properties, or the last 18 months within 5km for regional properties.

One thing to watch: the PPS is a live document that gets updated through the campaign. If you’re tracking a property closely, save a copy each time it changes so you can see how the price has moved.

When Do Victoria’s New Auction Rules Start?

Most of the legislative changes commenced on 1 October 2026.

The new requirements around reserve-price disclosure and Property Price Statements apply to residential auctions and fixed-date sales held on or after 16 October 2026.

For example, if an auction is being held on 16 October, its reserve needs to have been disclosed by 9 October.

So while the legislation has technically commenced, buyers will increasingly start seeing the practical impact of these changes as more auction campaigns move through the new system.

Why the Reserve Price Isn’t Necessarily the Property’s Value

The reserve is the seller’s number, not the market’s. As Ben Thompson puts it, the vendor’s price shouldn’t dictate what you’re prepared to pay.

He saw this first-hand recently. A friend went to an auction where the reserve was published a week out at $880,000, and the property sold for just over $1 million. A published reserve tells you where the seller’s expectations sit. It doesn’t tell you where buyers will see value on the day.

That matters because residential property doesn’t price like shares.

Every property is unique, sales are relatively infrequent, and the median figures you see in the media are usually rolling 3- or 12-month numbers that lag the market. As Ben Kingsley explains, all it takes is two motivated buyers competing for one home to push the price well above its fundamental value.

Can a Property Sell Below the Reserve Price?

Yes. A property can ultimately sell below its published reserve.

If auction day arrives and buyer interest doesn’t support the reserve, the auctioneer can seek instructions from the vendor, who may decide they’re willing to sell at a lower price.

Ben Thompson sees this regularly as an auctioneer. Very few of the reserves he’s initially given line up with where buyers end up, and once bidding starts, vendors adjust their expectations to what the market is telling them.

What a seller can’t do before the auction is simply change the published reserve without consequence. If the published reserve is changed — up or down — the seven-day disclosure period starts again.

What Is a “Defensive Reserve”?

“Defensive reserve” isn’t a legal term in the legislation.

It’s a potential behavioural response to the new rules.

A defensive reserve is one set deliberately high so the seller doesn’t give away what they’d really accept. Ben Thompson expects we’ll see more of them, because human behaviour says vendors will want to protect themselves.

Here’s how it could play out. An agent calls interested buyers and explains that the vendors have set a defensive reserve that’s higher than expected, but suggests they still come along on the day because the vendors may be flexible.

As a buyer, that leaves you with two choices:

1. Don’t believe it and stay home, in which case the property may sell below reserve to whoever did turn up.
2. Go anyway because you love the home, even though the published number is above your budget.

This is Ben’s prediction rather than something we’ve seen widely yet. Either way, don’t let the reserve alone decide whether you turn up. Let your own valuation decide.

Why Paying Below Reserve Doesn’t Automatically Mean You Got a Bargain

Buying under the reserve can feel like a win, but it isn’t necessarily one. As an example:

• The vendor publishes a reserve of $900,000
• The property is really worth around $850,000
• Only one buyer turns up, and they buy it for $880,000

That buyer may walk away thinking they got a deal for paying under the reserve. In reality, they paid $30,000 too much.

This is why your own price discovery matters more than ever. Treat the comparable sales on the PPS as a starting point rather than the full picture, and do your own research on what the property is genuinely worth. If you’re not confident comparing properties yourself, a buyer’s agent who specialises in valuation can help.

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Check out PRE-Purchase, our free 10-part video series designed to help Australians buy property with greater confidence.

From creating a property brief through to auctions, negotiations and settlement, each episode tackles a key stage of the buying journey.

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Offered Above the Reserve and Knocked Back? Here’s Why

A seller can reject an offer above their published reserve, and whether the agent has to tell the rest of the market depends on the reason given.

Say the published reserve is $1 million, and on the Tuesday before auction you offer $1.05 million. You might assume you’ve just bought a house. But the agent can come back and say, “Thanks, but we’re running to auction.”

Under Consumer Affairs Victoria’s guidance, it comes down to why the offer was rejected:

That can be frustrating, especially when you’ve offered above the number the seller published.

But it may also tell you something useful: the seller is confident enough in the auction process to turn down an offer above their published reserve. That could indicate they believe there’s further competition or upside on auction day.

If it happens to you, ask the agent whether your offer was rejected on price or on process. The answer will help you decide how hard to push on auction day.

How Victoria’s New Rules Could Change Private Sales

The new rules don’t apply to private sales without a fixed date, but they could still change how those sales are run.

That’s because, according to Consumer Affairs Victoria, an agent who invites offers by a set date and time could be running a fixed-date sale. If so, the reserve would need to be published for 7 days first. Boardroom auctions also count as fixed-date sales.

In practice, Ben Thompson expects agents to steer clear of deadlines like “best and final offers by 5pm tomorrow”. That means buyers may increasingly need to manage their own timeline.

Here’s how that could catch buyers out. The agent calls to say the vendor is ready to accept an offer, but can’t tell you when you need to get yours in. You say you’ll come back by the end of the day, and when you call at 5pm with an extra $10,000, the property has already sold.

Nobody broke the rules there. The vendor simply didn’t want to lose a buyer who was ready to sign.

Ben Kingsley’s suggestion is to take some control of the timing yourself. If the agent can’t or won’t give you a clear deadline, you could tell them exactly when you’ll come back to them — for example, “I’ll have my offer to you no later than 5pm today.”

That way, you’re not left waiting for a deadline that may never come, while still giving the agent a clear indication of when they can expect your response.

There’s also a bigger question here.

If more sellers move away from auctions and fixed-date sales to avoid publishing a reserve, buyers could end up with less transparency, not more. Private sales happen largely behind closed doors. Sold prices still have to be published after the sale, including for off-market sales, but you won’t see a reserve before you make your offer.

So, Are Buyers Better Off Under Victoria’s New Auction Rules?

In some ways, yes. But the rules won’t do your homework for you.

The intent is right. Buyers have been frustrated for years by spending money on building and pest inspections and legal checks, only to watch properties sell for hundreds of thousands more than advertised. Here’s how the trade-offs stack up:

As Ben Kingsley puts it, the key insight is that one motivated buyer competing for a unique property can push the price well above fundamental value, and no change in legislation alters that.

So whatever the reserve says, the advice is the same as it’s always been:

• Do your own research and work out your own price before auction day
• Don’t treat the reserve as a ceiling or a guarantee of value
• Take control of the timeline in private sales
• Get expert help if you’re not confident valuing property yourself

Buying a Property? Don’t Let the Reserve Set Your Price

A published reserve is only one piece of the puzzle. What matters is knowing what the property is actually worth, and what you’re prepared to pay for it.

If you’d like personalised help with your next purchase, The Property Couch co-host Ben Kingsley is also Founder and Managing Director of Empower Wealth, whose Buyers Agents can help you research the market, assess comparable sales and navigate the buying process with confidence.

👉 Book a free Buyers Agent consultation