Real estate agents in Victoria will be legally required to reveal a property’s reserve price a week before auction, under nation-first laws to crack down on underquoting.

The Allan government on Thursday announced the major reform that would be introduced to parliament next year.

Under the changes, agents must publish the owner’s reserve price at least seven days before auction day or a fixed-date sale. Real estate agents that fail to disclose within the timeframe will be unable to proceed to auction or sale.

Illegal underquoting is an industry tactic used by some agents who advertise a property for less than the estimated selling price or the owner’s asking price. They do this to draw buyers in and drum up competition.

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