For a Sydney owner preparing to sell, an agent’s price estimate should soon be easier to test. From 17 November 2026, the first tranche of NSW underquoting reforms introduces more specific requirements for comparable sales, seller notices, advertising and campaign records.
Which campaigns are affected?
The new estimated-selling-price requirements apply to residential sales agency agreements entered into on or after 17 November. They also apply to an earlier agreement if its estimated selling price is revised on or after that date.
Separately, the new price-advertising requirements apply to new advertisements published from 17 November. Agency agreements entered into or amended from that date must also be kept electronically for the duration of the agreement and for three years after it ends.
The estimate needs a documented comparable-sales process
For a metropolitan NSW property, the agent must first identify sales within 2 kilometres during the previous six months. From that pool, the agent considers prescribed factors including location, property type, condition, layout, floor area, bedrooms, bathrooms, parking, special features, land size and zoning.
Where more than three suitable properties exist, the agent must identify the three most comparable. If fewer than three are found for a metropolitan property, the agent must extend the search to 12 months within the same 2-kilometre radius and record why fewer comparables were available.
Before entering the agency agreement, the seller must receive written notice of the estimated selling price or range and evidence supporting its reasonableness. If the estimate later becomes unreasonable, the agent must revise it, notify the seller in writing with new evidence and amend the agreement.
Advertising and market feedback must stay aligned
New residential sale advertisements generally need a price or price range. A for-sale sign on or adjacent to the property need not show a price, but if it does, the price must comply. Agents must take reasonable steps within one business day to update or remove online advertisements whose displayed price no longer complies. See NSW Fair Trading’s guidance for details.
An agent must not advertise below the current estimated selling price, the highest bid from a registered bidder at a passed-in auction, if the agent knows or ought reasonably to know that bid, or a written offer rejected solely because the amount was too low. Records also need to capture key details of written offers and, where buyer feedback leads to a revised estimate, how that feedback was used.
The transition period is not a delayed start date
NSW Fair Trading has announced an educative compliance approach for certain new record-keeping and advertising-update requirements between 17 November 2026 and 7 February 2027. The laws still commence on 17 November, and the regulator’s usual approach continues for other obligations. The separate Statement of Information requirement starts on 8 February 2027.
A seller’s pre-campaign checklist
Before signing an agency agreement, ask:
- What is the written estimated selling price or range?
- Which sales are most comparable, and why?
- What material differences were allowed for?
- What price or range will appear in advertising?
- Who reviews buyer feedback and written offers, and how quickly will advertising be updated?
- How will revisions and supporting evidence be provided to you?
Owner Takeaway
From 17 November, a strong sales proposal should show more than a headline estimate. It should connect the written price, the three most comparable sales where available, the advertising strategy and a documented review process. Ask for that chain of evidence before the campaign begins; it gives the seller a clearer basis for choosing an agent and responding when the market disagrees with the initial estimate.
