Can I sell my house without a real estate agent in Victoria?

Yes. Victoria doesn't require an agent. You'll still need a conveyancer or lawyer for the contract and Section 32, and you handle the price, marketing, opens and negotiation yourself.

Can I list my house on realestate.com.au without an agent?

Not directly. Private sellers list through flat-fee services that subscribe to the portals, such as buymyplace, For Sale By Owner, PropertyNow and No Agent Property. Published packages run from $785 to $1,995 as of October 2026, and upgrades are priced by suburb.

Do I need a Section 32 to sell privately?

Yes. The vendor statement must be accurate and complete and given to the buyer before they sign the contract. A conveyancer or lawyer usually prepares it.

Is there a cooling-off period on a private sale in Victoria?

Yes, for the buyer: three clear business days after signing. A buyer who pulls out forfeits $100 or 0.2% of the price, whichever is greater. There's none at auction or within three clear business days of a public auction, and none for the seller.

Who holds the deposit when I sell privately?

Your conveyancer or lawyer, or a special purpose account with a bank or other authorised deposit-taker in Victoria, in both your and the buyer's names. The deposit is usually 10% of the price, though no law sets the amount.

How to sell your house privately in Victoria

Q: Can I auction my own house in Victoria?

Yes, an owner can auction their own property. Only an estate agent, an agent's representative or an accredited auctioneer can run an auction for a fee, and the auction rules must be displayed for 30 minutes beforehand.

Victoria doesn't require you to use an agent to sell a home. You take on the price, the marketing, the opens and the negotiation, and a conveyancer or lawyer handles the paperwork. This guide covers what the law asks of a private seller as of October 2026, how private listings reach realestate.com.au and Domain, and what it all costs.

Updated 29 October 2026 · 6 min read

Key takeaways

You need a Section 32 vendor statement and a contract of sale, both usually prepared by a conveyancer or lawyer, before a buyer signs.
Every seller must have CAV's due diligence checklist at open inspections. The new reserve-price rules are written for agents and don't cover sales the owner runs directly.
Private sellers reach realestate.com.au and Domain through flat-fee services. Published packages run from $785 to $1,995 until sold; portal upgrades cost extra.
On a $900,000 Melbourne house, commission at 1.6% to 2.5% is $14,400 to $22,500. That's the saving, and the work you take on in return.

What selling privately involves

Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) lists what a private seller does: set the price or price range, advertise, negotiate with buyers, take the deposit, give the buyer the contract with the Section 32 statement attached for signing, and manage settlement. CAV suggests considering a qualified valuer when you set the price.

You will also need to engage a conveyancer or lawyer. CAV says you can do your own conveyancing, but you then have no professional indemnity insurance if something goes wrong. REA's February 2026 guide puts conveyancing at $800 to $2,200 in Victoria.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your conveyancer or lawyer can confirm what applies to your sale.

What the law requires of a private seller

Checked against CAV's pages in October 2026:

Requirement	Applies to private sellers?	What it means
Section 32 vendor statement	Yes	Covers title, mortgages, covenants, easements, zoning, rates and bushfire-prone status, plus an owners corporation certificate if there is one. It must be accurate and complete and given before the buyer signs. If it's wrong or incomplete, the buyer may be able to withdraw or take legal action
Contract of sale	Yes	Prepared or reviewed by a conveyancer or lawyer. The property is sold when both parties sign, and everyone who signs gets a copy
Due diligence checklist	Yes	Copies at every open inspection, and a link to it (consumer.vic.gov.au/duediligencechecklist) on any website you run for the sale
Buyer's cooling-off period	Yes	Three clear business days for private sales of homes. A buyer who pulls out forfeits $100 or 0.2% of the price, whichever is greater. The seller gets no cooling-off
Deposit handling	Yes	Give the deposit to your conveyancer or lawyer, or bank it in a special purpose account in both your and the buyer's names
Property Price Statement and reserve disclosure	Written for agents	CAV's Q&A says the reserve rules don't cover sales managed directly by the owner without an estate agent
Underquoting	Written for agents	It's illegal for an agent to advertise below the seller's asking price, the agent's estimate or a rejected written offer

One change is coming. CAV says that from 1 June 2027, for private sales, the Section 32 statement must be available within 14 days of the property being advertised. If you list after that date, have it ready before your first open.

Can you auction your own home?

Yes. CAV says an owner or part-owner can auction their own property, but only an estate agent, an agent's representative or an accredited auctioneer can run an auction for a fee. The auction rules and an information sheet must be on display for at least 30 minutes before bidding starts. Only the auctioneer can make a vendor bid, and it must be announced. A buyer at auction gets no cooling-off period, and neither does a buyer who signs within three clear business days before or after a public auction.

If you pay an agent to run any part of your sale, such as calling the auction, ask them which of the agent rules they'll apply. From 16 October 2026, agents must publish the reserve at least 7 days before an auction or fixed-date sale.

How private sellers get onto realestate.com.au and Domain

Private sellers reach the big portals through services that subscribe to them. No Agent Property puts it simply: private sellers can list there but "need to be using a company like No Agent Property who are official subscribers". These services load your listing; you still run the sale.

Published residential sale packages, checked October 2026. Prices don't state whether GST is included.
Service	Package price	Notes
buymyplace	$785, $995 or $1,995, until sold	Essentials is a standard listing with your own photos. Enhanced adds a sign and letterbox cards. Ultimate adds photography, a photo board and brochures
For Sale By Owner	$799 for 6 months, or $899 until sold	Includes a For Sale board. Photography ($330 for 18 photos) and a photo board ($360) are add-ons
PropertyNow	$999 until sold	Photography $370 for up to 12 images, sign $80, photo signs $249 to $299
No Agent Property	Price on request	Lists on realestate.com.au and Domain until sold

Those prices buy a standard listing. Upgrades that rank higher in search are extra and priced by suburb. PropertyNow says a realestate.com.au Premiere upgrade "can cost several thousand dollars" in a competitive suburb, sold in 30-day blocks, and suggests trying the cheaper Highlight or Feature tiers first. Domain prices its Platinum, Gold and Silver upgrades by suburb and demand; Platinum runs 90 days, Gold and Silver 30 or 90.

The photos and media a private listing needs

A private listing competes in the same search results as agents' listings, so it needs the same media. Through these services you can upload up to 35 photos, 2 floor plans and a video.

Photos of every room, the facade and the garden. The first photo does most of the work in search results. Shoot on a bright day with every light on, and get the home ready first with our photo prep checklist.
A twilight or day-to-dusk hero shot if the home has good lighting, a pool or lots of glass.
A floor plan. Plans are common on listings, and both services above let you add two. Drafting firms and the private-sale services sell them: PropertyNow lists a 2D colour plan at $132. We don't draw floor plans.
A walkthrough video or reel if you'll share the listing on social media. See real estate video and reels.
Honest edits. Removing bins and cars is fine; hiding permanent features isn't. Virtual staging must be labelled. Our photo editing rules guide covers it.

Photography sold as a package add-on runs $299 to $370 for 12 to 18 photos. Melbourne studios publish prices from $200 for 20 photos up to $420 + GST for a large home, so compare the number of edited photos, not just the price.

Running your own open inspections

Print copies of CAV's due diligence checklist and put them by the door. It's a requirement for every seller.
Keep the Section 32 and contract on hand for buyers who ask. A buyer must have the vendor statement before signing.
Take a name and phone number from everyone who comes through.
Lock away keys, documents, medicines and valuables.
Have a second person there, so one of you can watch the house while the other answers questions.
Ask for offers in writing. A buyer can withdraw an offer until you accept it, and nothing is binding until you both sign the contract.

Set fixed open times, such as 30 minutes on Saturday and one weekday evening, so buyers can plan and you aren't showing the house all week.

What it costs compared with using an agent

Victorian ranges as of October 2026. Agent figures from realestate.com.au's February 2026 guide; private figures from the services above.
Cost	With an agent	Selling privately
Commission	1.6% to 2.5% in Melbourne: $14,400 to $22,500 on a $900,000 sale	None
Marketing and portal listing	Average Melbourne campaign $6,500 to $8,000	$785 to $1,995 package, plus any upgrade
Photos	Usually inside the marketing budget	$299 to $370 as an add-on, or book a studio
Conveyancing	$800 to $2,200	$800 to $2,200
Auctioneer	$400 to $1,000 if charged separately	$400 to $1,000 if you hire one
Your time	The agent runs opens and negotiation	You take enquiries, run opens and negotiate

For a typical Melbourne house, the saving is mostly the commission. Whether it's worth it depends on how confident you are pricing the home and negotiating with buyers. Our property marketing costs guide breaks down what an agent's campaign includes.

The risks, and how to manage them

Pricing. There's no agent's estimate to lean on. Check recent sales nearby and consider a qualified valuer, as CAV suggests.
Paperwork. A wrong or incomplete Section 32 can let the buyer walk away or sue. Pay a conveyancer or lawyer to prepare it.
The deposit. Never keep it in your own account. Pass it to your conveyancer or lawyer, or a special purpose account in both names.
Exposure. Upgraded listings rank above standard ones on both portals. Budget for an upgrade if your suburb is busy.
Negotiation. You deal with buyers, and sometimes their buyer's agents, yourself. Decide your lowest price before the first open and get every offer in writing.
Safety. Strangers walk through your home. Work in pairs and keep a visitor list.

Photos for private sellers

We shoot for private sellers the same way we shoot for agents: every room, the facade and the garden, with straight verticals and true colour, sized for realestate.com.au and Domain. You get a fixed quote within 24 hours and photos the next business day. Add a walkthrough video or reel on the same visit.

Get a quote or see what's included in real estate photography.

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