Selling a house in Victoria: a week-by-week checklist

The checklist, week by week

Print this table or send it to everyone involved. Timings are a typical plan for a four-week campaign, so stretch or squeeze them to suit your agent's advice.

This is general information about Victorian rules as of October 2026, not legal advice. Your conveyancer and agent will confirm what applies to your sale.

Choosing an agent and signing the sales authority

Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) suggests getting at least two agents to appraise your home and justify their price with comparable sales. Don't pick the agent with the highest estimate. It has to be reasonable, and it isn't a valuation.

• The estimated selling price goes in the sales authority as one figure or a range of up to 10%, based on the three most comparable sales.
• Commission is negotiable. If it's a percentage, the authority must also show it in dollars.
• Marketing costs are payable even if the home doesn't sell, unless you negotiate a 'no sale, no fee' deal. Agents must pass on any advertising rebates to you.
• Exclusive or general. Most sellers sign an exclusive authority with one agency. Never sign two exclusive authorities, or you may owe two commissions.
• The authority period. If none is written in, it defaults to 30 days after the auction, or 60 days after signing for a private sale.
• No cooling-off. Once you sign, you can't cancel during the authority period unless the agent agrees.

Ask for the marketing plan in writing, with each cost listed: portal listings, photos, video, signboard, styling and print. Our guide to property marketing costs in Victoria shows what each line usually covers.

Section 32, the Property Price Statement and price rules

Section 32 vendor statement

The Section 32 statement sets out the title details buyers need: mortgages, covenants, easements, zoning, rates and a bushfire-prone area declaration. Under the Sale of Land Act 1962 you must give it to a buyer before they sign the contract. Homes in an owners corporation must also attach an owners corporation certificate. It must be accurate and complete, or a buyer may be able to withdraw or take legal action.

From 1 June 2027 it has to be ready sooner: within 14 days of advertising for a private sale, and at least 14 days before an auction or fixed-date sale. Ask your conveyancer to start it the week you sign with an agent.

Property Price Statement (new from 1 October 2026)

The Property Price Statement has replaced the Statement of Information. Your agent must show it next to the advertised price online, at every open home, and by QR code or link on signboards and print. It includes:

• an indicative selling price, as one figure or a range of up to 10%
• key features of your home: building type, bedrooms, bathrooms, car spaces, floor area and land size
• up to three comparable sales with their key features (in Melbourne, sold within 2 km in the last 6 months)
• the suburb median price for that type of property
• your reserve price, once it's set for an auction or fixed-date sale
• the final sale price, added within 7 days of the sale going unconditional and kept online for at least 18 months

The advertised price

It's illegal for an agent to advertise below your asking or reserve price, their estimated selling price, or a written offer you've rejected as too low. Prices can't carry words or symbols like 'offers above', 'from' or '+'. If you reject a higher written offer, online ads must be updated within one business day.

Two more duties: a due diligence checklist must be available at every open home, and knowingly hiding a material fact from a buyer has been illegal since 1 March 2020.

Repairs, styling, photos and video

Buyers see the listing photos long before they see the house, so schedule everything else to finish before the shoot. A common order:

1. Repairs first: dripping taps, cracked tiles, sticking doors, blown globes and scuffed paint.
2. Styling second: hire furniture for an empty home, or tidy and edit your own. Our guide to home staging vs virtual staging costs in Melbourne compares the options.
3. Clean and declutter in the last few days before the shoot. Our room-by-room prep checklist covers it.
4. Photos, video and twilight about a week before launch, so the agent has time to approve the photos and write the copy.

On realestate.com.au an agent listing can carry up to 35 photos. REA asks for no text overlays, contact details or collages, and no people or pets unless they can't be avoided. Listing videos can be up to 1 GB, 16:9 is recommended, and they can't carry agent branding. A walkthrough video and vertical reels filmed on the same visit cover the portals and social media.

Keep the edits honest. CAV says agents shouldn't use photos enhanced to hide undesirable features, and we label every virtually staged photo. Our guide to photo editing and staging rules in Victoria has the detail.

We shoot listing photos, video, reels and twilight for agents and private sellers across Greater Melbourne, with photos the next business day. See real estate photography or get a quote.

If the home is tenanted

You can sell with renters in place, but Victorian rental law sets the pace.

• Give a written notice of intention to sell at least 14 days before the first inspection with buyers.
• Give 48 hours' notice for each showing. Inspections are limited to twice a week, for up to an hour each, unless the renter agrees to more.
• Pay the renter for each sales inspection: half a day's rent or $30, whichever is more.
• Give 7 days' notice to enter for photos or video. The renter can object in writing to photos of belongings that identify them, are valuable, or are unreasonable to move.

Auction or private sale

Auction rules are strict. The rules must be on display for at least 30 minutes before bidding, only the auctioneer can make a vendor bid and must announce it, and dummy bids are illegal. Public auctions are banned before 1 pm on Anzac Day.

Your reserve must be published as a single dollar figure at least 7 days before the auction, or the auction can't go ahead. If the home is passed in, the highest bidder gets the first chance to negotiate. Selling privately without an agent? Read selling privately in Victoria.

Contract, cooling-off and settlement

• Sold means both you and the buyer have signed the contract of sale. List the inclusions, such as a dishwasher or curtains, so there's no argument at settlement.
• Deposit: no law sets the amount, but it's usually 10% of the price. The agent holds it.
• Cooling-off: on a private sale of a home, the buyer has 3 clear business days from when they sign. If they pull out, you keep $100 or 0.2% of the price, whichever is more. There's no cooling-off at auction, or within 3 clear business days before or after one.
• Settlement: usually 30, 60 or 90 days, though you can agree on another date. The agent takes commission from the deposit and pays you the balance.
• After settlement: the agent must publish the sale price within 7 days of the sale going unconditional.

If you think the commission is too high, you can complain to CAV within 28 days of receiving the agent's account.