Ways to sell your house

This is still one of the most common ways to sell a house. It’s advertised at a set asking price or a specified range (e.g. it may be advertised as ‘Buyer Enquiry Over’ (BEO) a certain price).  Interested buyers can make an offer on a Sale and Purchase Agreement form, which the agent will then present to you.

You can accept the offer, reject it, or put in a counter-offer.  Your counter-offer may include changes to the price or the conditions, or both.  To make a counter-offer, you simply amend the Sale and Purchase Agreement accordingly and sign it. 

Most buyers will put in an initial offer below your asking price (and often below what they are prepared to pay), so don’t be disappointed - negotiation is usually expected.  If you don’t want to accept the offer you can put in a counter-offer by simply amending and signing the Sale and Purchase agreement. The agent will act as the go-between and present it back to the buyer.

Auctions can be a good way to sell a property in a buoyant market, or where a house has some unique aspect that makes it hard to set a price.  Interested buyers simply turn up to the auction and place their bids. You set a minimum (reserve) price before the auction – this is the lowest price you will sell the house for. Once the bidding reaches this reserve price the property is ‘on the market’, which means you must sell your house to the highest bidder.

If the bidding does not reach the reserve price, your home is ‘passed in’.  If that happens, the highest bidder is given the first chance to negotiate with you, so you may sell your house anyway.

Auctions work best when motivated buyers bid against one other, driving up the price. The skill and expertise of the auctioneer is important in making this happen – so choose your auctioneer wisely if you choose to sell a house by this method.

In a tender, no price is set. Interested buyers are asked to submit written offers for your home. All offers must be submitted by a set date and time (offers may include conditions). Bidders do not get to see what the other offers are. When all the offers are in, you open them and then decide which offer, if any, you want to accept.

Tenders can be an effective way to sell a house when there are a variety of potential buyers. They encourage buyers to offer their very best price, since they don’t know what the other tender prices are.