Kiwis sold on idea of DIY home sale

Forget estate agents, Kiwis are selling privately. Photo / Richard Robinson

The recession is thought to be behind a sharp increase in the number of homeowners selling their properties privately.

Inquiries to private sale company HomeSell are up 65 per cent this month compared with July 2008.

Managing director Kirsty Gillespie said vendors battling through the downturn were trying to avoid paying huge commissions.

And she claimed her clients achieve similar success rates as agents - about 72 per cent.

Nationwide, HomeSell increased its listings by 10 per cent between June 2008 and 2009, with the largest regional rises in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty.

"Most people will sell privately because they don't value what an agent offers them, they think they get paid too much to do too little work," said Gillespie.

But the Real Estate Institute urged sellers to use a qualified agent and save themselves the hassle of the DIY approach.

Gillespie said private sellers still had to present their property in a professional way. Like any home on the market, the house had to be clutter-free and clean to attract the top price.

Chris Caldwell, HomeSell chief for the Auckland region, which also includes Coromandel and Northland, sold a bungalow in the Auckland suburb of Ellerslie last year for $465,000.

With an agent's commission starting at 3.95 per cent for the first $400,000, he says he saved about $18,000 by selling privately.

But Real Estate Institute of New Zealand president Mike Elford insisted private selling was "hit and miss" because vendors were emotionally attached to their home.

"People need to be very cautious - it's very difficult to sell your own property. Don't be under any false illusions how difficult it is to deal with people."

One mortgage broker said difficulties can spill over into settlement negotiations that may delay or derail a final sale.

Squirrel Mortgages principal John Bolton said he had a private sale fall over earlier this year when the vendor and buyer realised they were working to different dates. The buyer thought settlement was at the end of May, while the vendor thought it was at the end of July.

The buyer had arranged to move out of their current home and organised builders to start renovating the new one.

"Everytime we have a private sale we have problems," warned Bolton.

He said the biggest problem was buyers and vendors continuing to communicate when they should be using lawyers to keep the paperwork and pricing in place.

Banks can also get nervous of private sales.

Westpac spokesman Craig Dowling said the bank used open market prices as a benchmark for mortgage lending but took a more conservative view of private sales.

Dowling said the current 'test' for an open market sale was if the transaction has been conducted by a licensed agent.

All other mechanisms, including private sales and Trade Me, were not considered "open market".

Pierre Olivier sold his Auckland home privately in four weeks and says the process was "as easy as pie".

He advertised the three-bedroom West Harbour home on website HomeSell and Trade Me.

The listings attracted about four calls a day and he held open homes every weekend until he sold.

Olivier says the house went for more than $470,000, with a marketing outlay of $1036.

"Everyone I speak to I tell them, 'don't waste your time with estate agents, unless you want to part with $20,000'," he said.