Melbourne’s spring market and the new auction rules

News Corp’s spring guide found Melbourne values back at 2021 levels and new auction rules about to take effect, and PIPA Chair Cate Bakos said some segments are already drawing multiple offers within days.

The market going into spring

Nathan Mawby’s guide for the Sunday Herald Sun and news.com.au was published on the 6th of September 2026. It reported a four week average clearance rate of 53.2 per cent in August, a median of 30 days on market and median vendor discounts of about 4 per cent. REA Group counted 95 Melbourne suburbs with rising medians over the three months to the 10th of August, and 152 with falling ones. Listings were well below recent springs, with no September Saturday expected to exceed 1,000 auctions.

Loan Market data showed investor pre-approvals down 54.5 per cent on a year earlier, against falls of 8.7 per cent for owner-occupiers and 5.7 per cent for first home buyers.

Reserve price disclosure from the 1st of October

From the 1st of October 2026, a Victorian seller planning an auction, or any other fixed date sale, will need to disclose the reserve price seven days beforehand. A transition period applies to properties already marketed in September. Jellis Craig chief executive Andrew McCann expects fewer auctions for a period as a result, and more private sales.

For buyers, a disclosed reserve is a fixed reference point that did not previously exist. The reserve is set by the seller and is not a valuation. A buyer’s limit should still be based on comparable sales. Where more properties move to private sale, the buyer’s position also changes, as PIPA set out in a cooling market, read state by state.

The reserve rules do not introduce bidder registration. PIPA Chair Cate Bakos set out the case for it in bidder registration and Victoria’s new auction rules.

Cate Bakos on spring conditions

Cate Bakos, Chair of PIPA, told the Herald Sun she was seeing signs that some markets had reached their low point, particularly for apartments in boutique complexes and villa units. Some had received three offers within two days of listing. She described competition for quality homes as likely to produce a reasonable price rather than the premium paid in a stronger market. More affordable areas had held up better, although she said suburbs such as Lalor, Thomastown and St Albans had also fallen.

The quarterly price falls that preceded the spring season are covered in price falls after the budget, and the comparison with the pandemic.

She advised buyers looking for a lower price to consider a property that needs work but is liveable as it stands, and to avoid anything requiring much more than $100,000 of work.

If you are buying a renovator, be prepared to make it work now, as is. Get something that is tacky, but liveable. If it’s just needing a bathroom update, that’s OK.

Cate Bakos, Chair of PIPA, quoted in the Sunday Herald Sun, the 6th of September 2026

Costs that sit outside the listing

Ms Bakos cautioned investors to check their figures, particularly owners corporation costs that may appear only in the minutes of a building’s last meeting. The minutes and the owners corporation certificate record matters that a listing will not: special levies that have been proposed or approved, defects under investigation, disputes, insurance claims and the balance of the maintenance fund. Who pays a levy approved before settlement depends on the contract and the relevant legislation, which the conveyancer should confirm.

The same diligence applies to a renovator. Building and repair costs have risen, and a property that looks like a bathroom update can prove to need structural work. A building inspection before purchase, with the scope of works priced, is how the $100,000 limit Ms Bakos described is kept.

Records to obtain before buying

For an apartment or villa unit, the owners corporation certificate and recent minutes should be obtained before an offer. For a renovator, a building inspection with the scope of works priced is the check on Ms Bakos’s $100,000 limit. Buyers who want that work done for them can search for a Qualified Property Investment Adviser, and the preparation needed before an auction is set out in buying at auction without competition.