How do I sell my property?

THE major difference between selling a home by auction and private treaty is that the home is taken to market without a declared price.

THE major difference between selling a home by auction and private treaty is that the home is taken to market without a declared price.

Peter Snow and Co licensee David Snow said for this reason, an auction was a very effective sales tool for properties that are difficult to price, because of their uniqueness.

He said a series of open houses were conducted in the lead up to the auction day and from the buyers could gauge the market's perceived value of the property.

"Feedback from open houses and potential buyers helps the seller forms an accurate opinion of the potential value," Mr Snow said.

Ray White Toowoomba Range principal Tony Franke said running a four-week auction campaign also put urgency on the sale of the property.

"The auction process makes buyers make a decision on the property in a given time," Mr Franke said.

"For the sellers they have the benefit of knowing who is coming through, (they get) price feedback and then (it) enables them to set their reserve price to where the market conditions are.

"The sellers have the ability to know if the market will pay what they want, in shorter period of time and the property doesn't go stale."

The other major difference is that if a house sells under the hammer, the contract is unconditional from the moment the hammer falls.

Harcourts Toowoomba principal Mark Abra said the auction process was a good honest way of selling.

"You get to auction day and the whole process is very transparent," Mr Abra said.

"Buyers can see there is no untoward behaviour, or underhand deals."

And it keeps the buyers honest too, because they see the other bidders as competition."

With sale by auction in Queensland, all contracts are unconditional and no cooling-off period applies.

Mr Snow said this was a major advantage to the sellers, to know that from the moment they hammer falls they have secured a sale.

"If a contract is formed under auction conditions, unless there is an extraordinary circumstance that property will go on the settle," he said.

Originally published as How do I sell my property?