Auction Transparency Laws Proposed

The Victorian Government has announced plans to require the final sale price of residential properties to be publicly disclosed as part of proposed reforms aimed at increasing transparency in the housing market.

Currently, there is no legal requirement for the final sale price of a property to be published immediately after it is sold. In many cases, the price only becomes publicly available months later when data is released through the Valuer-General of Victoria.

The Allan Government says the lack of timely information can make it difficult for buyers and agents to accurately track property values in a particular area.

Under the proposal, real estate agents would be required to publish the final sale price after a property is sold. The government says the change would allow buyers and sellers to compare a property’s advertised price estimate, its reserve price, and the final sale result.

The proposal follows a separate reform announced earlier that would require reserve prices to be published at least seven days before an auction or fixed-date sale.

Both measures are expected to be introduced to the Victorian Parliament later this year and would need to pass before becoming law.

If approved, the reforms would change how property sales data is disclosed across Victoria.

For buyers, the changes would mean quicker access to verified sale prices in their area, potentially making it easier to understand market values and avoid attending auctions where the reserve price is significantly higher than the advertised range.

For sellers and real estate agents, the reform would require greater transparency around the price a property ultimately sells for and could provide clearer comparable sales data when pricing future listings.

The government says the measures are also intended to make it easier to identify potential underquoting, which is already illegal in Victoria.