Key takeaways
For auctions and fixed-date sales held from 16 October 2026, agents must publish the seller’s reserve at least seven days beforehand.
A published reserve tells you the seller’s nominated price. It does not tell you what the property is worth or what competing buyers will pay.
Do your valuation and set your maximum bid before the reserve is released.
Check the new Property Price Statement and its comparable sales, then make your own adjustments for the property’s condition, location and investment potential.
If you’ve ever spent weeks inspecting a Melbourne property, paid for building and legal checks, and turned up to auction only to discover the seller wanted far more than the advertised price, you’ll understand why Victoria’s new rules have attracted attention.
From October, buyers at all Victorian auctions will know the seller’s reserve price at least seven days before bidding begins.
That should save some buyers from pursuing properties they could never afford, but it also creates a new number that could influence what they are willing to pay.
For property investors, the useful question is how to use that information without letting it make the decision for you.
What is changing?
The reserve disclosure requirement applies to auctions and fixed-date sales held on or after 16 October, including properties already advertised before October.
Agents must publish the seller’s reserve as a single dollar amount at least seven days before the sale and update the advertising and the new Property Price Statement to reflect it. If the reserve has not been published in time, the auction or fixed-date sale cannot proceed.
The rule also matters beyond the familiar Saturday auction. Consumer Affairs Victoria says a boardroom auction is a fixed-date sale, and inviting offers by a specified date and time could also bring a sale within the new requirement.
If a seller changes an already published reserve, whether up or down, the revised figure must be public for another seven days before the auction or fixed-date sale can take place.
An ordinary pre-auction offer can still be made and accepted without waiting seven days.
A reserve price is useful information, but it is a poor valuation
The greatest benefit for buyers is obvious. If a property is advertised within your budget but its disclosed reserve is well beyond it, you can reconsider before investing more time and money in the campaign.
However, I would be concerned if buyers started treating the reserve as an independent assessment of market value.
The seller chooses the reserve, and Consumer Affairs Victoria confirms that the seller can initially set it above the previously advertised price range.
Obviously, the reserve can’t predict the result. Strong competition may push the sale price well above it. If interest is weak, a seller may decide to accept an offer below it.
My advice is to place a value on the property before you look at the reserve.
Examine genuinely comparable sales, the land, the building’s condition, its position within the suburb, and any costs you will incur after purchase. If you are investing, consider its long-term appeal to tenants and future owner-occupiers who will ultimately underpin its value.
Then set a maximum price based on your circumstances. A disclosed reserve should help you decide whether to participate; it should not quietly become your maximum bid.
How I would adjust an auction strategy
Start your due diligence early in the campaign. The reserve may arrive only a week before auction, leaving little time to arrange a contract review, building inspection and finance checks if you wait until then to act.
There is a judgment call here: buyers should avoid unnecessary costs for properties that are clearly out of reach, while recognising that the final week is too late to begin serious research. An early review of comparable sales and a conversation with the agent may help you decide which properties justify the expense.
Once the reserve is published, compare it with the value you have already calculated.
- Also read:How much do buyer’s agents charge in Australia
- Also read:What laws do real estate agents have to abide by?
- Also read:The offer and acceptance process when buying a property
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- Also read:What property sellers have to disclose
If it is below your assessment, you may still have a reason to stay interested, although other buyers will have seen the same figure.
If it is above your limit, still attend the auction, but.be prepared to walk away, while remembering that a pre-auction offer or a later negotiation may still be possible.
On auction day, don’t bid more simply because the auctioneer announces that the property is on the market. That announcement may remove uncertainty about whether the seller intends to sell at the current bid, but it does nothing to improve the property or your ability to pay for it.
Equally, don’t assume that a high published reserve means there is no opportunity.
A seller may have set an ambitious figure and receive little competition. Your own assessment gives you a basis for making an offer if the campaign stalls, provided the price remains within your limit.
The Property Price Statement deserves a closer look
The new Property Price Statement replaces the Statement of Information in Victoria and must be prominently displayed in online advertising.
It will include key features of the property and the comparable properties used in the pricing information, such as building type, bedrooms, bathrooms, parking, internal area and land size.
That makes the agent’s chosen comparisons easier to assess. A nearby sale may look persuasive until you notice a difference in land size, condition, layout or street position.
Investors should also watch for differences that affect rental demand and the property’s long-term scarcity.
The reforms will eventually improve the record of completed sales, too. For sales that become unconditional from 1 October, agents generally must add the sold price to the Property Price Statement within seven days and keep it publicly available for at least 18 months, subject to limited exemptions.
One timing detail is worth keeping clear: the separate requirement to make the Section 32 vendor statement available at least 14 days before an auction or fixed-date sale does not begin until 1 June 2027. Buyers this spring should still request it as early as they can.
Will this end underquoting?
I think the changes will make one particularly frustrating practice harder: attracting buyers with an advertised price that bears little resemblance to the seller’s reserve. The final week of an auction campaign should give buyers a much clearer indication of the seller’s position.
However, the reserve is disclosed only seven days before the sale, and pricing earlier in the campaign will still require scrutiny.
And of course, the new rules may also encourage some sellers to choose a different sales method if they are uncomfortable publishing a reserve.
For buyers, the best response is straightforward. Use the extra transparency to spend your time wisely, check the evidence behind the price and maintain the discipline to stop bidding when the property no longer makes sense for you.
That discipline has always mattered at auction. Victoria’s new rules should give you better information with which to exercise it.
The bottom line
Knowing the reserve price a week before auction will help you decide whether a property is worth pursuing, but it still takes careful research to judge its value and the confidence to stick to your limit when bidding begins.
If you’re buying a home or an investment property, Metropole can help you search for suitable properties, assess the sales evidence, carry out due diligence and negotiate or bid at auction on your behalf.
Our buyer’s agents work for you throughout the purchase, from the first conversation through to settlement. If you’d like to talk through your plans, you can arrange a complimentary consultation with our team. Just click here.
