By Trish Willis | Member of the Property Institute of NZ | March 2025

When well planned, you can attract multiple offers and a premium sale price any season if interest rates are low and you have prepared your garden and home presentation to stand out from competing listings. But there are additional things you can do to help ensure this happens.

It is well proven that a prepared seller can do well any time of year so if the time is right for you now, use our five tips below to help achieve a great result price and time-wise.

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Find out how much it costs to sell a house so you can plan.

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Tip #1  Prepare to choose a real estate agent wisely

Whether you are in selling Summer, Autumn, Winter or Spring, your choice of real estate agent will have a direct impact on your sale price and days on market.

The method of sale you agree to use, the marketing and advertising plan, attention to details and the accuracy of their property appraisal are all fundamental to achieving an optimum sale price - if your estate agent has all the experience and capabilities you will need from them. There is a great deal more to selling real estate that many think which is why people change agents.

The most effective way to find the best real estate agent is to compare from a shortlist of agents who have been vetted - a genuine free service for New Zealanders selling property.

The average days on market nationally is currently 57 but the average days on market for vetted real estate agents is just 29. 

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Find out the difference a vetted real estate agent can make.

Tip #2  Buying and selling in the same market can ease pressure

If you are buying and selling in the same economic market, you have less cause for concern as you might sell for less than you might have a year ago but you can also expect to pay a bit less for your new property than it would have cost a year ago. While you might get a bit less for your property, you will also probably be paying less commission - so keep that in mind. 

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Tip #3  Who's in the market for buying houses?

Regardless of the time of year there are always buyers for the usual reasons such as getting onto the property ladder, downsizing, upsizing, upgrading, changing jobs to new locations, births, deaths, building new, wanting to invest, wanting a warmer home or being closer to family which has become more common in recent years.

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Tip #4  How to sell for the best price

Sale prices are generally dependent on things like the structure/layout of the property, presentation, land size, aspect and location to name a few. But ultimately, house sale prices are heavily reliant on the competency of the real estate agent, their appraisal accuracy and method of sale used. Here is a checklist to help you better scrutinise free real estate appraisals.

As long as a property is listed with a suitable property agency and the real estate agent is capable, experienced, trusted and proven competent, your chances of the price you want increases.

Real estate agents who have been proven competent through our vetting process are more likely to have worked in difficult markets and have the attributes and negotiation skills required to get you the best result. 

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Find out more about independently vetted agents.

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Tip #5  Buyers need more help to purchase properties

Home buyers need more help to meet bank lending affordability and Loan to Value Ratio rules. This requires help from their real estate agent to liaise with banks, mortgage brokers, insurance companies, property valuers, lawyers, councils, tradespeople, Trusts and families - often at speed.

You may have a property zoned for development in Auckland and would like to know how to sell to developers or you may have tenants that wish to remain as tenants if the buyer is investing in your property. 

On many occasions, home buyers need to sell their existing home, so your sale and purchase agreement may be conditional upon that. The scenarios are many and a real estate agent must have the capability to manage conditions, often within tight timeframes.

A high level of knowledge, tact, integrity, competence, experience and negotiation are a minimum so make sure your real estate agent has been vetted - it can be very reassuring and can achieve the result you need. 

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You can request a list of vetted agents to objectively compare here - a genuine free service for New Zealanders since 2009.

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