47ASeller must be given estimated selling price

47A Seller must be given estimated selling price S. 47A(1) amended by No. 6/2025 s. 75. (1) Before obtaining a person's signature to an engagement or appointment to sell residential property on behalf of the person, an estate agent or an agent's representative employed by the agent must ensure that the engagement or appointment contains an estimate of the selling price of the residential property that— (a) is expressed as— (i) a single amount; or (ii) a price range where the difference between the upper and lower limits of the range does not exceed 10 per cent of the amount of the lower limit of the range; and (b) is set out in a form approved by the Director. (2) Nothing in this section requires the estimate of a selling price and the seller's reserve price to be the same amount. S. 47AB inserted by No. 58/2016 s. 5, amended by No. 6/2025 s. 76. 47AB Estimated selling price must be reasonable An estate agent or agent's representative employed by the agent must ensure that the estimate of the selling price contained in an engagement or appointment to sell residential property is— (a) reasonable; and (b) determined in accordance with section 47AC. S. 47AC inserted by No. 58/2016 s. 5. 47AC Determination of estimated selling price (1) In determining the estimate of the selling price contained in an engagement or appointment to sell residential property, the agent or agent's representative must take into account the sale prices of the 3 comparable properties that the agent or representative reasonably considers to be most comparable to the residential property that have been— (a) sold within the preceding 6 months, if the residential property is located within the Melbourne metropolitan area; or (b) sold within the preceding 18 months, if the residential property is not located within the Melbourne metropolitan area. (2) In determining which comparable properties are the 3 most comparable properties for the purposes of subsection (1), the estate agent or agent's representative must have regard to— (a) the standard and condition of the properties; and (b) the location of the properties; and (c) the dates on which the properties were sold; and (d) any guidelines issued by the Director under section 47AD. (3) Subsection (1) does not apply if the agent or representative reasonably believes that fewer than 3 comparable properties were sold— (a) within the preceding 6 months, if the residential property is located within the Melbourne metropolitan area; or (b) within the preceding 18 months, if the residential property is not located within the Melbourne metropolitan area. (4) For the purposes of this section, a residential property is a comparable property if— (a) it is of a similar standard or condition to the residential property for which an estimate of the selling price is being determined (the ***first property***); and (b) it is located— (i) within a 2 kilometre radius of the first property, if the first property is located within the Melbourne metropolitan area; or (ii) within a 5 kilometre radius of the first property, if the first property is not located within the Melbourne metropolitan area. ***Melbourne metropolitan area*** means the area determined by the Director for the purposes of this section. S. 47AD inserted by No. 58/2016 s. 5. 47AD Director may issue guidelines (1) The Director may issue guidelines relating to matters to which estate agents and agents' representatives must have regard in determining which residential properties are most comparable to residential property being sold. (2) The Director may, by notice published on the Internet site of Consumer Affairs Victoria, determine the Melbourne metropolitan area for the purposes of section 47AC. (3) The Director must ensure that any guidelines issued under subsection (1) are published on the Internet site of Consumer Affairs Victoria. S. 47AE inserted by No. 58/2016 s. 5. 47AE Revision of estimated selling price S. 47AE(1) amended by No. 6/2025 s. 77. (1) If an estate agent or agent's representative knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that an estimate contained in an engagement or appointment to sell residential property has ceased to be a reasonable estimate of the selling price of the residential property, the agent or representative must notify the seller in writing, stating— (a) that the estimate contained in the engagement or appointment has ceased to be reasonable; and (b) why the agent or representative believes that estimate has ceased to be reasonable; and (c) that the agent or representative proposes to revise the estimate contained in the engagement or appointment; and (d) the amount of that revised estimate. S. 47AE(2) amended by No. 6/2025 s. 77. (2) As soon as practicable after the agent or representative notifies the seller of residential property under subsection (1), the agent or representative must revise the engagement or appointment to sell the residential property so that the estimate of the selling price complies with sections 47AB and 47AC. S. 47AF inserted by No. 58/2016 s. 5. 47AF Statements of information (1) If an estate agent is engaged or appointed to sell any residential property, the agent or an agent's representative employed by the agent must prepare a statement of information for the residential property. (2) A statement of information must— (a) include an indicative selling price for the residential property that is expressed as— (i) a single amount; or (ii) a price range where the difference between the upper and lower limits of the range does not exceed 10 per cent of the amount of the lower limit of the range; and (b) include the median selling price for residential property— (i) sold in the same suburb in which the residential property is located; and (ii) sold during a period of not less than 3 consecutive months and not more than 12 consecutive months ending not more than 6 months before the information statement is prepared; and (c) specify the type of residential property to which the median selling price included in the statement relates; and **Example** A statement of information may specify that the median selling price included in the statement relates to houses or units. (d) include the period described in paragraph (b)(ii) used to determine the median selling price included in the statement; and (e) if the agent or representative took the sale price of 3 comparable properties into account in accordance with section 47AC in determining the estimate of the selling price—include the address, sale price and date of sale of those properties; and (f) if the agent or representative did not take the sale price of 3 comparable properties into account in accordance with section 47AC—state that the agent or representative believes that fewer than 3 comparable properties were sold within the relevant period; and (g) be in a form approved by the Director. (3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), an indicative selling price or, if the indicative selling price is expressed as a range, the lower limit of that range must not be less than any of the following— (a) if the estimate of the selling price contained in the engagement or appointment to sell the residential property is expressed as a single amount—that amount; (b) if the estimate of the selling price contained in the engagement or appointment to sell the residential property is expressed as a price range—the lower limit of that range; (c) the price proposed in any written offer to purchase the residential property that the agent or representative knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that the seller has rejected unless the offer was rejected for a reason other than because the price proposed in the offer was too low; (d) any amount that the seller has advised (whether orally or in writing) the agent or representative is the amount that the seller will accept as the selling price for the residential property or, if the seller subsequently revises the amount, the revised amount. S. 47AF(4) amended by No. 6/2025 s. 78. (4) The agent or representative must ensure that a statement of information that complies with subsection (2) is displayed at any inspection of the residential property by members of the public. S. 47AF(5) amended by No. 6/2025 s. 78. (5) The agent or representative must ensure that a statement of information that complies with subsection (2) is included with any advertisement for the sale of the residential property published by or on behalf of the agent or representative on any Internet site during the period that the residential property is offered for sale. S. 47AF(6) amended by No. 6/2025 s. 78. (6) The agent or representative must ensure that, on the request of a prospective purchaser of the residential property, a statement of information that complies with subsection (2) is provided to the prospective purchaser within 2 business days. (7) The agent or representative must keep a copy of a statement of information prepared for the purposes of this section and any revised version of the statement. S. 47B inserted by No. 41/2003 s. 6, amended by Nos 58/2016 s. 6, 6/2025 s. 79.