Selling your own home in Victoria.

At 2.1% commission, a $973,000 Melbourne house costs $20,433 to sell before GST and marketing. Selling it yourself is legal in Victoria, and the rules are written down. The one that matters most comes first: no buyer can sign your contract until they have your Section 32 vendor statement in hand.

01 · Is it legal?

Can you sell your own house in Victoria?

Yes. Consumer Affairs Victoria says plainly that you can sell your property without an agent. The Estate Agents Act regulates people who sell property for someone else. An owner selling their own home does not need a licence.

Selling privately means you take on the jobs an agent would do. Consumer Affairs Victoria lists them: set the price or price range, advertise, negotiate, take the deposit, provide the contract with the Section 32 attached and get it signed, then handle settlement. For the legal documents you need a licensed conveyancer or a lawyer. Everything else is yours.

One more rule applies to every seller. You must make the Consumer Affairs Victoria due diligence checklist available to buyers at your open for inspections. Print a few copies and leave them by the door.

02 · The Section 32

What is a Section 32, and who prepares it?

The Section 32 is the vendor statement required by section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962. You must give it to the buyer, signed by you, before the buyer signs the contract. It applies to every sale of land in Victoria, whoever is selling. If it is missing, incomplete or wrong, the buyer may be able to end the contract.

What goes in it

• Title details, including any mortgages, covenants and easements
• Zoning and planning information
• Outgoings, such as council rates
• Whether the land is in a bushfire-prone area
• For apartments and units: the owners corporation certificate and documents

Consumer Affairs Victoria says you need a licensed conveyancer or a lawyer with a current practising certificate to prepare it. They order the title and certificate searches, draft the statement and attach the documents. Book them first. Your listing should not go live until the Section 32 is ready.

What it costs

Fees vary between firms. As a guide, Victorian conveyancers commonly quote around $900 to $1,800 for a seller, covering the Section 32, the contract and settlement, with search and certificate costs on top. Get written quotes from two or three firms and ask which disbursements are extra.

A change on the way

Victoria has passed reforms that will require sellers to make the Section 32 available to buyers on request at least 14 days before an auction, fixed-date sale or contract. They start on a date to be proclaimed, and no later than 1 June 2027. Ask your conveyancer which rules apply on your sale date.

03 · The contract

What goes in the contract of sale?

Your conveyancer drafts it. It sets out the property, the names of the buyer and seller, each side’s legal representative, the price, the deposit, the balance owing, the settlement date and any special conditions, such as a finance clause. The Section 32 is attached. Agree the settlement date and any conditions with the buyer before anyone signs, and let your conveyancer write them in. For more detail, read our guide to contracts of sale and vendor statements.

04 · Cooling-off and deposits

How does the cooling-off period work in Victoria?

On a private sale of a home, or rural land under 20 hectares, the buyer gets three clear business days to change their mind. The clock starts when the buyer signs, not when you sign. You, the seller, get no cooling-off. Once you sign, you are bound.

A buyer who ends the contract during cooling-off gets back everything they paid, less $100 or 0.2% of the price, whichever is greater. That amount goes to you.

When there is no cooling-off

• The home was bought at a public auction, or within three clear business days before or after one
• The property is used mainly for industrial or commercial purposes
• The land is over 20 hectares and used mainly for farming
• The buyer previously signed a contract for the same property on substantially the same terms
• The buyer is an estate agent or a corporate body

Who holds the deposit

Not you. Under section 24 of the Sale of Land Act, a deposit paid to a lawyer, conveyancer or estate agent is held as stakeholder until the buyer is entitled to the transfer, which in practice means settlement. In a private sale that is usually your conveyancer’s trust account. There is no legal amount, but Consumer Affairs Victoria says it is usually 10% of the price.

Need the deposit early, for example to pay a deposit on your next home? Today the law allows early release in some cases, and the 2026 reforms will change how that works. Talk to your conveyancer before you promise anything to a vendor on your purchase.

05 · Auctions and price

Private sale or auction in Victoria?

Most owners who sell themselves use private sale: an asking price, offers, then a signed contract. Auctions are common in Melbourne, but the rules are strict. The Sale of Land (Public Auctions) Regulations 2014 set the auction rules, which must be displayed for at least 30 minutes before bidding starts. Dummy bids are illegal. Only the auctioneer can bid for the seller, and it is illegal for you to bid from the crowd or ask someone else to. Auctions are usually run by an agent acting as auctioneer.

The payoff is certainty. A buyer at auction gets no cooling-off. If you want that, put a licensed agent on the sale. Our Plus plan does exactly that for a flat fee.

Underquoting and the Property Price Statement

Victoria’s underquoting laws are written for agents. From 1 October 2026, agents use a new Property Price Statement in place of the old Statement of Information. For an auction or fixed-date sale, the agent must publish the seller’s reserve as a single dollar figure at least 7 days beforehand, or the sale cannot go ahead. This applies to auctions held from 16 October 2026. Once a sale goes unconditional, the agent must publish the sold price.

Unreserved is a licensed agency, so these rules apply to every Unreserved listing in Victoria, Lite and Plus. Your listing carries a Property Price Statement, and if you sell by auction or fixed-date sale, your reserve is published at least 7 days beforehand. If you sell entirely by yourself with no agency involved, Consumer Affairs Victoria frames these as agent duties, but the principle still applies. A price below what you will accept wastes buyers’ money on inspections and your weekends on tyre-kickers. Advertise the price you would sign at, backed by recent sales. Our free AI valuation reads recent comparable sales near you.

06 · Settlement

How long does settlement take in Victoria?

As long as the contract says. Thirty, 60 or 90 days are common, and you can agree something else with the buyer. Settlement is the moment the checks are done, the title and transfer are exchanged and the balance of the price is paid. Your conveyancer runs it. You receive the sale money, including the deposit, on that day.

Tax: two things to check early

• ATO clearance certificate. Australian residents selling property need one so the buyer does not withhold part of the price for the tax office. Apply online as soon as you decide to sell.
• Land tax and windfall gains tax. Consumer Affairs Victoria says you cannot pass windfall gains tax on in the contract if it was assessed before signing, or pass on land tax where the price is below the threshold. Your conveyancer handles the adjustments.

This is general information, not tax advice. If the property is an investment, has been rented, or you have moved out, talk to your accountant before you list.

07 · Step by step

How to sell your house privately in Victoria.

Eight steps, in order. Most private sales run four to eight weeks from listing to signed contract, then settle on the agreed date.

08 · Where we fit

What Unreserved does for Victorian sellers.

Unreserved is a licensed real estate agency, and our founder holds a Victorian licence (079257L). Our Melbourne office is in Toorak. We do not replace your conveyancer. Your conveyancer prepares the Section 32 and contract and runs the settlement. We do the part an agent charges commission for: the listing, the buyers and the price.

Every paid plan includes the AI Inspection Agent, a unified buyer inbox, contract and settlement support and a standard For Sale signboard. None charges commission and none has a lock-in contract.

09 · The cost

How much does it cost to sell a house in Victoria?

Agent commission in Australia runs from about 1.8 to 3.5% of the sale price. The table below works at 2.1% commission, before GST and before any marketing package. Your conveyancer is a cost under every option, agent or not, so it is left out.

10 · The honest part

When an agent is the better call in Victoria.

Selling privately saves the most when the home is the kind buyers already search for and you can be there for inspections. Think twice if you cannot be reachable for a four to six week campaign, if the owners disagree about selling, or if you want an auction. Victorian auctions now carry reserve publication rules and strict bidding rules, and they work best with a licensed agent on the rostrum. Plus puts one on your sale for a flat fee. Or pay commission. That is a legitimate choice too.

Want to see how other owners present their homes? See live private listings.