Selling privately used to feel like a leap of faith. Today, more and more Kiwi homeowners are doing it because the tools have caught up. With the right marketing in place, you can list on the same websites buyers already use, take your own enquiries, and keep tens of thousands of dollars in your pocket at settlement. The trick is preparing properly, pricing realistically and staying organised through the process. These ten quick tips cover what most homeowners ask us when they first get in touch with Market My Place.

Price with the market, not against it

Look at recent sales in your suburb, not asking prices. The best comparables are properties that have already sold in the last six months, with similar bedrooms, land area and condition. Use the free Homes.co.nz, OneRoof and Trade Me Property tools, then sense check with a registered valuer or a free CMA report. Pricing too high in the first few weeks often costs you more than pricing fairly. Buyers see fresh listings first. If yours is overpriced on day one, it gets skipped.

Plan how you will run open homes, private viewings and offers before the sign goes up. Decide which days suit you, write down the questions you want to ask buyers, and keep a simple spreadsheet of contacts and feedback. Buyers like sellers who feel organised. They also like sellers who answer the phone. Being available on a Saturday afternoon is one of the quietly underrated reasons private sales work so well in New Zealand.

Use the marketing power without the commission

You do not need a giant agency budget to get a home in front of serious buyers. Market My Place gets you onto Trade Me Property, Realestate.co.nz, social media campaigns and our own listing site, with photography, signage and a floor plan included. You handle the conversations and the offers, with our team in the background if you need a hand. Most homeowners save thousands compared to a traditional commission. That is money that stays with your next deposit, not someone else’s pay slip.