Victorian auction reforms: Why reserve bid may not secure home

Victoria’s proposed auction reforms would require sellers to publish a reserve seven days out, but the REIV warns hitting that figure would not guarantee the highest bidder the home. Victoria’s peak real estate body wants proposed auction reserve reforms delayed, warning even the highest bidder could meet the published reserve and still miss out. The Real Estate Institute of Victoria called on the government to delay the October 1 start to the new auction rules, after debate in the state Legislative Council on Friday raised fresh questions about the reserve disclosure rule and what happens if sellers change their mind. Under a suite of changes, a vendor must disclose a reserve price seven days prior to an auction to be able to sell a property via that method. RELATED: ‘Already eaten’: Parents’ brutal cost-of-living lie‘We quit’: Block stars storm off, go into hiding Nadia Bartel’s cult fashion brand to open new store REIV chief executive Toby Balazs said the published figure would show where a seller stood before an auction rather than create a binding price at which they must sell. He said answers from the minister in Friday’s parliamentary debate appeared to indicate a seller cou...