The new guidelines aim to ensure agents use the most appropriate comparable local properties when estimating a home’s selling price before auction, increasing transparency and providing better protection for homebuyers in Victoria’s competitive property market.
Under Victoria’s existing underquoting laws, estate agents must provide sellers with a reasonable estimate of their home’s selling price and cannot advertise the property below this estimate.
The estimate must consider the sale prices of three comparable properties listed on the Statement of Information for prospective purchasers.
Consumer Affairs Victoria has identified cases where agents have selected properties that significantly differ in age, size, location, build type, renovation status or school zone, despite more suitable comparisons being available in the local market.
The strengthened guidelines now require agents to be more diligent when selecting the three most comparable properties.
Consumer Affairs Victoria can request evidence from agents showing how they chose these comparable properties, with penalties applying for failure to provide these records.
Minister for Consumer Affairs Nick Staikos emphasised the importance of these changes for Victorian homebuyers.
“Buying a home is one of the biggest decisions many Victorians will make – and it’s already a stressful enough process without misleading and dishonest price estimates,” Mr Staikos said.
The government’s dedicated underquoting taskforce has been actively monitoring compliance across the state.
Last weekend alone, taskforce officers attended 41 auctions across Victoria, targeting compliance in several hot spots identified by officers, including the City of Whitehorse and surrounding areas.
Since its establishment in September 2022, the taskforce has received more than 5,000 complaints and monitored over 2,800 sales campaigns.
Their efforts have resulted in 203 fines totalling over $2.3 million and 292 official warnings to agents caught breaching their obligations.
The taskforce employs various methods to monitor the market, including tracking sales campaigns, inspecting agencies, and attending auctions to ensure compliance with underquoting laws.
Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria Nicole Rich said the guidelines would help ensure real estate agents fulfil their obligations while protecting consumers.
“These guidelines will help real estate agents do the right thing when it comes to setting a property’s selling price, while protecting Victorians from being misled when preparing to buy a home,” Ms Rich said.
She added that the taskforce would continue its vigilant approach to enforcement.
“Our dedicated underquoting taskforce monitors sales campaigns from start to end to ensure that real estate agents are complying with the laws. We will not hesitate to take further action where we find wrongdoing.”
