How to sell your house privately in New Zealand

Yes. A homeowner in New Zealand can sell their own property without using a real estate agent. Plenty of people do.

What you can't skip is the legal side. You still need a lawyer or conveyancer to prepare or check the Sale and Purchase Agreement, deal with the buyer's lawyer, and handle the title transfer and the money on settlement day. That's true whether you use an agent or not.

Ring your lawyer or conveyancer before you do anything else and tell them you're selling privately. Ask them to do three things: check the title for anything a buyer will ask about, complete their identity and anti-money-laundering check on you, and give you the Sale and Purchase Agreement for this sale.

Getting this done early means you're ready the moment a buyer wants to make an offer. Our guide to the Sale and Purchase Agreement explains what's in it.

Look at what similar houses near you have actually sold for, and consider paying for a registered valuation. Your council valuation is a starting point for rates, not a market price. See how to price your house for the detail.

There are four common ways to run a private sale:

• Advertised price: you name the price and buyers offer at or around it.
• Deadline sale: buyers put in their best offer by a set date.
• By negotiation: no price is advertised and buyers make offers at any time.
• Tender: buyers submit sealed written offers by a closing date.

Declutter, deep clean, fix the small things and tidy the garden. Then get good photos. Photos are the first thing every buyer sees, so a professional photographer is usually money well spent.

Most buyers search online, so list where they look. Private sellers can list on Trade Me Property and Listed.co.nz, and each charges its own listing fee. Add a For Sale sign at the gate and share the listing on your own social media. A sign still brings in neighbours and people who drive past.

Pick regular times, usually on the weekend, and host them yourself. Get every visitor's name and contact details so you can follow up. Our open home guide covers what to do before, during and after.

Offers should come in writing on the Sale and Purchase Agreement. For each one you can accept, make a counter-offer, or decline. Look at the whole offer and not just the price: the deposit, the conditions and the settlement date all matter.

Read how to negotiate offers and conditional vs unconditional offers before your first one arrives. Get your lawyer's advice before you sign anything.

Once you and the buyer have both signed, the sale is usually conditional. The buyer has a set number of working days to meet their conditions, such as finance or a building report. When they confirm the conditions are met, the sale is unconditional and both of you are committed.

On settlement day the lawyers do the rest. The buyer's lawyer pays the balance, the title transfers, and you hand over the keys.

Selling privately means you don't pay an agent's commission. You still pay your lawyer, your listing fees and anything you spend getting the house ready. See what it costs to sell a house and what agents charge.