Sellers often arrive with a firm view on auctions, for or against. Our advice is to decide based on the property and the buyers, not a preference. Here's how the two compare.
Private treaty
The home is listed with a price guide and buyers make offers, which we negotiate until you accept one. Contracts are exchanged and, on a private sale in NSW, the buyer has a five business day cooling-off period unless they waive it.
It suits most homes in our area, particularly where buyers need finance approval or a building report before committing, and where the right buyer may take a few weeks to appear.
Auction
The campaign runs to a set date, buyers bid in public, and if bidding passes your reserve, the highest bidder buys the home on the day, unconditionally and with no cooling-off.
It suits homes with broad appeal and several likely buyers, and unusual homes that are hard to price, where a deadline brings everyone to the table at once. It costs more, because you pay the auctioneer, and the campaign has to be strong enough to produce more than one bidder.
Expressions of interest
A middle path: buyers submit their best offer by a set date, in writing. It creates a deadline without the public bidding, and can work well for prestige or one-off homes.
How we decide
We look at the number of buyers we expect, how finance-ready they are, how easy the home is to price, and what has worked for similar homes recently. Then we recommend one method and explain why. Whichever you choose, the preparation and the follow-up matter more than the method.
