Ben Williams, founder of Unreserved Ben WilliamsCEO & Co-Founder

ABOUT BEN

Helping Australians sell smarter, and keep the commission.

Ben is the founder of Unreserved and a licensed property specialist with more than 15 years in Australian real estate. He built Unreserved on a simple belief: homeowners shouldn’t hand over tens of thousands in commission to sell their own home.

He started on the tools as a licensed agent and auctioneer, calling live auctions and running end-to-end campaigns from inner-city apartments to regional lifestyle homes. That front-row seat showed him exactly where the traditional agency model wastes sellers’ money, and where technology could do the job better and cheaper.

Before founding Unreserved, Ben was Head of Investment at Homely, one of Australia’s largest property portals. He now pairs deep hands-on selling experience with a property-technology background, and specialises in private sales: helping owners run their own campaign, negotiate directly, and settle without a commission bill.

Licensed agent & auctioneer Former Head of Investment, Homely 2,000+ auctions called B.App.Sci (Property), RMIT

Licences: VIC 079257L (Licensed Estate Agent), QLD 4939168 (Real Estate Agent), WA RA86686 (Real Estate & Business Agent). New South Wales and South Australia under mutual recognition. Each licence can be checked on the relevant state register.

THE TRACK RECORD

Every campaign, published with the numbers. No commission, ever.

15 years across Australia’s most competitive markets. Licensed under the Estate Agents Act. Writing for the sellers the industry forgot.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

What Ben works on every day.

01

Private sales

Running an owner-led campaign from listing to settlement, without an agent.

02

Auctions & negotiation

Licensed auctioneer experience and direct buyer-negotiation strategy.

03

Pricing strategy

Setting the right number using comparable sales and live buyer demand.

04

Property technology

AI valuation, buyer matching, and automating the sale end to end.

ARTICLES BY BEN

Latest writing.

Every article and guide Ben publishes, in one place.

How to Sell Your House Privately in the Northern Territory (NT & Darwin): 2026 Guide

How to sell a house privately in the Northern Territory: pricing, the approved contract, cooling-off, pool paperwork, advertising, offers, settlement and costs, for Darwin, Palmerston, Alice Springs and regional NT.

7 Nov 2026Read more →

Overpriced in a falling market? A buyer’s advocate explains why she calls on day one

Advertised prices on Unreserved fell 5% on average within four weeks of launch. PIPA Chair Cate Bakos on how buyers test your price in week one and what makes them pay more.

5 Nov 2026Read more →

Ask a buyer’s advocate: what private sellers get wrong, from the other side of the table

Phone photos, hard-to-book inspections and who does the negotiating. PIPA Chair Cate Bakos on what private sellers get wrong, seen from the buyer's side.

5 Nov 2026Read more →

Selling Your First Home Early: What Happens If You Sell Within 1–5 Years?

Can you sell your first home after six months or a year? What happens to your First Home Owner Grant, stamp duty concession, 5% Deposit Scheme or Help to Buy share, your mortgage and CGT, and what you'd have left.

5 Nov 2026Read more →

Capital Gains Tax When Selling an Investment Property in Australia

How capital gains tax works when you sell an investment property in Australia: the calculation, the cost base, the 50% discount, the six-year rule, and the new indexation and 30% minimum tax rules from 1 July 2027.

3 Nov 2026Read more →

Free guide: what it really costs to sell your home

Unreserved. 1300 285 391 Free guide · 2026 What does it really cost to sell your home? The free 12-page guide to every cost…

2 Nov 2026Read more →

Free guide: sell your home without an agent

Unreserved. 1300 285 391 Free guide · 2026 Sell your home without an agent. The free 13-page guide for every Australian state. Paperwork, price,…

2 Nov 2026Read more →

Selling a Property With Tenants: A Complete Australian Guide

You can sell a rental with the tenant still living there. What happens to the lease, whether to sell tenanted or vacant, tenant rights in each state, and how to handle notices, inspections, rent and bond.

29 Oct 2026Read more →

What documents do you need to sell your house privately?

LEGAL · CHECKLIST · 10 MIN READ What documents do you need to sell your house? The full paperwork list for a private sale…

28 Oct 2026Read more →

Selling an Investment Property in Australia: Tax, Tenants, Costs & Timing

The sale price isn't your profit. How to work out what you'd walk away with, handle the tenancy, understand capital gains tax before and after 1 July 2027, and keep selling costs down.

27 Oct 2026Read more →

Portals know what buyers click. Nobody knows why they walk away.

REA is already inside ChatGPT. But the information that decides your sale price, why buyers offer or walk away, has never sat with the portals.

20 Oct 2026Read more →

Selling Land in Australia: How to Sell Your Land and Get the Best Price

How to sell land in Australia: what sets its value, how zoning, overlays and services change the price, who buys land, how to advertise it, and the CGT, GST and legal points to check first.

20 Oct 2026Read more →

Selling a House Privately in Victoria (VIC & Melbourne): Complete Guide for 2026

How to sell a house privately in Victoria: the Section 32, the due diligence checklist, pricing, marketing, cooling-off, settlement and costs, including the 2026 and 2027 rule changes.

17 Oct 2026Read more →

Selling a Townhouse: A Complete Guide for Australian Homeowners

How to sell a townhouse in Australia: confirm what you legally own, price it against the right comparables, target the right buyer, get your state's documents right and keep more of the sale price.

16 Oct 2026Read more →

How to Sell an Apartment in Australia: A Complete Guide

Selling an apartment means selling the building too. How to price a unit, prepare your strata or body corporate documents, reach the right buyers and keep selling costs down.

16 Oct 2026Read more →

Ask a settlement agent: how selling in WA really works

No cooling-off, disclosure after the contract, and a finance clause that stays on foot. Nine questions to a Perth settlement agent on how WA sales work.

14 Oct 2026Read more →

Purplebricks Australia: What Happened, Why It Failed & What It Changed

Purplebricks launched in Australia in 2016 with a fixed fee and left in 2019. We mapped 5,610 of its Australian listings to see where it worked and why the business didn't last.

7 Oct 2026Read more →

Ask the head of mortgage broking: what home owners should know before they buy, sell or refinance

Thirteen questions to the MFAA's CEO on why brokers now write 81.6% of Australian home loans, whether you pay for one, and when to get finance ready in a sale.

7 Oct 2026Read more →

A caveat landed 13 minutes before settlement. The money had already moved.

A caveat lodged 13 minutes before a $945,000 settlement froze the title after funds had moved. A South Australian conveyancer explains what a caveat does and what a prepared seller checks.

5 Oct 2026Read more →

Do private sellers sell for less? What our valuation and sales data shows

70% of owners expect more than the AI estimate. We tracked 46 private sale campaigns to see what that costs: the ones that launched at the estimate sold, and most that launched above it cut their price.

2 Oct 2026Read more →

Selling an investment property in Australia: the tenant, the tax and the fee

INVESTORS · 11 MIN READ Selling an investment property: the tenant, the tax and the fee. Tenant notice rules in VIC, NSW and QLD,…

1 Oct 2026Read more →

The cheapest way to sell a house in Australia

COSTS & FEES · 9 MIN READ The cheapest way to sell a house in Australia. Every realistic option, ranked by what it costs…

1 Oct 2026Read more →

Who prepares the contract when you sell your Queensland home yourself?

A solicitor prepares the contract, not the agent, whether you sell privately or through an agency. A Queensland property lawyer on what really differs.

30 Sep 2026Read more →

The Queensland compliance items that are not on your disclosure statement

Smoke alarms, pool safety certificates and body corporate warranties all sit outside the Form 2. Each one lands on the seller at settlement if it's found late.

30 Sep 2026Read more →

Ask a property lawyer: the Queensland disclosure mistakes that hand a buyer the exit

Fifteen questions to a Queensland property lawyer on the Form 2 disclosure statement, what happens when it's wrong, and the gaps that surprise sellers.

30 Sep 2026Read more →

RBA lifts the cash rate to 4.60 per cent, a 15-year high

MARKET UPDATE · 4 MIN READ RBA lifts the cash rate to 4.60 per cent, a 15-year high After two meetings on hold, the…

29 Sep 2026Read more →

We price homes with AI. Here is the moment we tell you to go and pay a human.

AI valuations handle the common case well and the unusual one badly. Why the confidence rating matters more than the number, and when a registered valuer is worth it.

24 Sep 2026Read more →

Ask a valuer: is a pre-sale valuation actually worth it?

Fourteen questions to a registered valuer on what a pre-sale valuation costs, what it protects you from when the bank valuation lands, and when to skip it.

24 Sep 2026Read more →

Flat fee real estate agents in Australia: what they cost

COSTS & FEES · 10 MIN READ Flat fee real estate agents in Australia: what they cost. What flat-fee agents and platforms charge, what…

22 Sep 2026Read more →

Ask a conveyancer: what South Australians get wrong when they sell privately

GST, deposits, Form 1 timing, contract turnaround and unapproved decks. A South Australian licensed conveyancer answers the questions private sellers ask most.

20 Sep 2026Read more →

How Different Home Renovations Can Affect Your Property Value

HOME VALUE · 12 MIN READ How home renovations affect your property value What buyers, agents and valuers actually reward with a higher price,…

20 Sep 2026Read more →

How to Price Your Property: A Guide to Setting the Right Asking Price

Pricing is a strategy, not just a valuation. How comparable sales, buyer demand and the right asking price create competition and a stronger final result.

10 Sep 2026Read more →

Is it hard to sell your own house?

SELLING PRIVATELY · 7 MIN READ Is it hard to sell your own house? Four parts are genuinely hard. Most of the rest is…

8 Sep 2026Read more →

Should You Buy or Sell a House First?

Selling first fixes your budget. Buying first buys you time. Which one you can afford comes down to three numbers, and most homeowners have not worked out any of them before they start looking.

26 Aug 2026Read more →

Selling in 2026? Expect to prove who you are. Possibly three times.

New anti-money-laundering rules mean sellers now get identity checked by their conveyancer, their bank and their agent. A licensed conveyancer explains what you will be asked for and when.

25 Aug 2026Read more →

Home Selling Negotiation Strategies: How Sellers Can Negotiate a Better Property Sale

Negotiation does not start when an offer arrives. It starts with your asking price, your listing and the first question a buyer asks. A stage-by-stage framework, with the exact words to use at each point.

22 Aug 2026Read more →

The Complete Process of Selling a House in Australia: Step-by-Step Guide

Selling a house is not one decision, it is fourteen, spread across three phases. What happens at each stage, who gets involved, how long it takes, and the mistakes that cost sellers the most.

21 Aug 2026Read more →

Three homes, three states, no commission

Three campaigns across three states, with the AI valuation, the enquiry counts, the calls answered and the fee attached to each one.

18 Aug 2026Read more →

RBA holds at 4.35 per cent, but keeps the door open

MARKET UPDATE · 4 MIN READ RBA holds at 4.35 per cent, but keeps the door open The board voted nine to nil to…

11 Aug 2026Read more →

Selling at Auction in Australia: A Vendor’s Guide

Most auction content is written for buyers. This is written for the person standing at the back of their own living room, watching a stranger sell their house.

7 Aug 2026Read more →

How to Report a Real Estate Agent in Australia

Not every bad experience with an agent is a breach of the law. Here is how to tell poor service from unethical conduct from an offence, what evidence decides a complaint, and which regulator handles it in your state.

5 Aug 2026Read more →

How Much Equity Do I Have in My Home?

Equity is the difference between what your home is worth today and what you still owe on it. How to calculate it with worked examples, how much of it you can actually use, and the costs that quietly reduce it when you sell.

5 Aug 2026Read more →

Settlement Day Explained: A Seller’s Guide to What Happens on Settlement Day

Settlement is the moment ownership legally changes hands. What happens in the weeks before it, what you are responsible for as the seller, what actually occurs on the day, and what to do when something goes wrong.

5 Aug 2026Read more →

How to Sell Your House Fast: 12 Proven Strategies to Speed Up Your Sale

Selling fast and selling cheap are not the same thing. The homes that sell quickly are priced accurately, presented properly and put in front of the right buyers in the first fortnight. Twelve strategies that shorten time on market without discounting the asking price.

5 Aug 2026Read more →

Should I Sell My Home? A Practical Guide for Australian Homeowners

THE DECISION · 11 MIN READ Should I sell my home? This is rarely a question about the property market. It is a question…

4 Aug 2026Read more →

Is Now a Good Time to Sell a House in Australia?

MARKET TIMING · 11 MIN READ Is now a good time to sell a house? There is rarely a perfect market. There is almost…

4 Aug 2026Read more →

How much is my house worth?

Free appraisals, online calculators, AVMs and formal valuations produce four different numbers. What each one is for, what it is actually worth, and how to work out your own price band from comparable sales.

3 Aug 2026Read more →

Your bank repriced for this market. Your agent didn’t.

RATES & MARKET DATA · JULY 2026 Your bank repriced for this market. Your agent didn't. Twenty-one lenders cut fixed rates in eight weeks.…

31 Jul 2026Read more →

How to Sell Your Home Without Losing Thousands

Selling your house in Australia? Know the real costs, timing, legal steps, and how to keep the tens of thousands most sellers lose to commission.

27 Jul 2026Read more →

What Real Estate Agents Don’t Want You To Know About Private Sales

SELLING PRIVATELY · 8 MIN READ What agents don't tell you about private sales. The things that make a home sell for a premium…

23 Jul 2026Read more →

Selling a House Privately in Canberra (ACT): Complete Guide for 2026

CANBERRA · ACT · 18 MIN READ Selling a house privately in Canberra. A complete 2026 guide for Canberra and ACT homeowners. The contract…

14 Jul 2026Read more →

Selling a House Privately in Tasmania (TAS & Hobart): Complete Guide for 2026

TASMANIA · 18 MIN READ Selling a house privately in Tasmania. A complete 2026 guide for Tasmanian and Hobart homeowners. Valuation, the Contract for…

12 Jul 2026Read more →

Selling a House Privately in South Australia (SA & Adelaide): Complete Guide for 2026

SOUTH AUSTRALIA · 18 MIN READ Selling a house privately in SA. A complete 2026 guide for South Australian and Adelaide homeowners. Valuation, the…

10 Jul 2026Read more →

Selling a House Privately in Western Australia (WA & Perth): Complete Guide for 2026

WESTERN AUSTRALIA · 18 MIN READ Selling a house privately in WA. A complete 2026 guide for Western Australian and Perth homeowners. Valuation, the…

3 Jul 2026Read more →

Best and final offers: how they work when you’re selling

NEGOTIATION · 6 MIN READ Best and final offers: how they work when you sell. When several buyers want your home, a best and…

2 Jul 2026Read more →

Should you accept the first offer on your home?

NEGOTIATION · 6 MIN READ Should you accept the first offer on your home? “Never accept the first offer” is one of the oldest…

2 Jul 2026Read more →

How to respond to a low offer on your house

NEGOTIATION · 6 MIN READ How to respond to a low offer on your house. A low offer feels like an insult. It is…

2 Jul 2026Read more →

How to negotiate as a For Sale By Owner seller

NEGOTIATION · 11 MIN READ How to negotiate as a For Sale By Owner seller. Negotiation isn't a fight. It's a structured process for…

2 Jul 2026Read more →

State of the Australian Property Market: What the Latest Data Means for Sellers

MARKET DATA · 9 MIN READ State of the Property Market: What the Latest Data Means for Sellers Auction clearance rates have slipped to…

1 Jul 2026Read more →

The Most Common Legal Mistakes Home Sellers Make in Australia

LEGAL & CONVEYANCING · 16 MIN READ The Most Common Legal Mistakes Home Sellers Make Most legal trouble in a property sale is preventable.…

25 Jun 2026Read more →

Instant house valuation: how online estimates work

SELLING TIPS · 8 MIN READ Instant house valuation: how online estimates actually work. What an instant house valuation can and can't tell you,…

22 Jun 2026Read more →

Selling House Signs: Do They Still Work and What Goes On One?

PROPERTY MARKETING · 11 MIN READ Selling House Signs: Still One of the Best Tools You Have In a market that lives on phones,…

22 Jun 2026Read more →

Real Estate Advertising Costs: What Sellers Pay in Australia

MARKETING COSTS · 12 MIN READ Real Estate Advertising Costs: What Sellers Actually Pay Real estate advertising costs range from under $1,000 to $20,000…

19 Jun 2026Read more →

Selling a House Privately in Sydney (NSW & Sydney): Complete Guide for 2026

Learn how to sell a house privately in NSW. Legal requirements, valuation, contracts, marketing, costs and the complete private sale process for Sydney.

19 Jun 2026Read more →

Legal Fees for Selling a House: What You’ll Pay

Legal fees for selling a house run $500 to $3,000 plus disbursements. See conveyancing costs by state, what you pay for, and how to compare quotes.

18 Jun 2026Read more →

Selling a House Privately in Queensland (QLD & Brisbane): Complete 2026 Guide

The complete 2026 guide to selling a house privately in Queensland: seller disclosure, contracts, pricing, marketing, settlement, and how to keep about $30,000 in commission.

17 Jun 2026Read more →

The real cost of preparing a home for sale (and what it returns)

What prep actually costs in Australia, which spends earn their return, and the one selling cost you can delete entirely.

16 Jun 2026Read more →

Victoria just made agents publish your reserve price. Here’s what changes.

From 1 October 2026, Victorian agents must publish your reserve price at least seven days before auction, and can't move it on the day. The Australian-first law that kills underquoting, explained by a founder who ran 2,000+ auctions.

4 Jun 2026Read more →

Every broker industry has been disrupted. Except real estate.

Stockbrokers, mortgage brokers, travel agents: every broker industry got levelled the moment technology removed the information wall. So why are Australians still handing over $20,000 to $30,000 in commission to sell a home?

4 Jun 2026Read more →

How to Sell Your Home Without Paying Outrageous Commission Fees

Before you hand a traditional agent tens of thousands in commission, here's how a flat fee plus AI valuation keeps that money where it belongs, with you.

2 Jun 2026Read more →

The job real estate agents are paid for stopped existing around 2015. The fee structure didn’t get the memo.

Every function on the traditional agent's job list has been replaced, automated, or commoditised, most of them by tools the agent is paying a subscription to use. So what, exactly, are you still paying 2% for?

28 May 2026Read more →

Understanding contracts of sale and vendor statements

LEGAL · 9 MIN READ Understanding contracts of sale and vendor statements. A plain-English breakdown of the legal documents required when selling in Australia.…

17 May 2026Read more →

Preparing your home for inspections

PRESENTATION · 7 MIN READ Preparing your home for inspections. First impressions decide your campaign. Decluttering, staging, repairs and styling: how to present your…

17 May 2026Read more →

How to price your home without an agent

SELLING TIPS · 12 MIN READ How to price your home without an agent. A practical, three-input framework for setting a defensible price, without…

17 May 2026Read more →

I listed my own home on Unreserved. Here’s what Week 1 actually looked like.

FOUNDER FIELD NOTES · 11 MIN READ I listed my own home. Here's what Week 1 actually looked like. 18,201 impressions. 458 listing views.…

17 May 2026Read more →

Preparing your home for sale: the 4-week plan that adds thousands

SELLING PRIVATELY · 10 MIN READ Preparing your home for sale: the 4-week plan that adds thousands. Most homeowners focus on pricing. The biggest…

13 May 2026Read more →

Real estate agent commission Australia

COMMISSION · 11 MIN READ Real estate agent commission in Australia: rates, fees and how to pay less. Typical commission runs about 2.2 to…

13 May 2026Read more →

The complete guide to selling your home privately

SELLER GUIDE · PDF · 24 PAGES Everything you need to sell your property without an agent. A step-by-step playbook covering preparation, legal requirements,…

13 May 2026Read more →

The best way to sell your home without an agent in Australia (2026 guide)

SELLING PRIVATELY · 10 MIN READ The best way to sell your home without an agent. Every way to sell your house without an…

12 Apr 2026Read more →

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