Selling Methods Explained

Selling isn't one thing. It's a choice between a few different ways of getting there.

Every property sells the same way in the end, someone signs, someone settles. But how you get from "for sale" to "sold" can look pretty different depending on the method. And most of the confusion we hear from sellers isn't about the house itself. It's about the terms.

So before you're standing in your kitchen trying to work out what "offers over" actually commits you to, here's the plain version.

The main ways a property gets sold

Auction

A public, time-limited process. Buyers bid against each other on the day, and once bidding reaches the vendor's reserve, the property is "on the market" and will sell to the highest bidder when the hammer falls. Under Queensland law, agents can't give buyers a price guide for an auction property, not in the ads, not over the phone, not in person.

That's different to the reserve itself. The vendor sets a genuine reserve with us in writing before the auction, it's a real number. It just stays confidential rather than being published, and is only disclosed if the property doesn't reach it and gets passed in.

Tends to suit: a property where we're expecting solid competing interest, since the format lets that competition set the price in real time.

Offers over

A stated figure is published and buyers are invited to offer above it. That figure has to represent the vendor's genuine minimum acceptable price. Using a lower figure than the vendor would actually accept is treated as bait advertising, so it's a number we only put forward when we'd expect the vendor to say yes if it landed on the table.

Tends to suit: a property with reasonable comparable sales data to anchor a starting figure, with genuine upside beyond it.

Offers to purchase

No published price at all. Buyers submit their best offer and terms by a certain point, putting the emphasis on the buyer to show their hand rather than react to a number we've set.

Tends to suit: a genuinely hard-to-compare property, a unique layout, a rare block, something with a wide spread of buyers at very different price points. One set figure risks putting off a buyer who'd have gone higher, or anchoring everyone low.

For sale by negotiation

Similar spirit to offers to purchase, no advertised price, but usually ongoing rather than tied to a set date. Buyers make an offer, we take it to the vendor, and the conversation continues until both sides land somewhere.

Tends to suit: a property with genuinely very little to compare it against locally, where a published guide figure would be more guesswork than guide.

Off-market

No public campaign at all. No portal listing, no signboard, no advertised open homes. The property is offered privately to a shortlist of buyers instead, often through an agent's own database.

It's not the method we'd suggest by default, less public exposure generally means fewer eyes on the property, which can mean less competitive tension driving the price.

Tends to suit: a sensitive personal situation, testing one particular buyer's interest before going public, or prioritising a fast, quiet, low-fuss process over maximum reach. Worth a proper conversation rather than ruling it out.

So which one's right for your place?

Honestly, that's the actual conversation worth having with your agent, because it depends on your property, not a formula. What we can tell you is the thinking behind it: how many genuinely comparable sales exist nearby, how many likely buyers there are, how differently they might value the property, and whether your circumstances call for privacy over reach. The method should follow those answers, not the other way around.

Once you've got a buyer: under contract vs unconditional

This is the bit that trips people up just as often as the selling method itself, because "sold" isn't actually one moment. It's two.

Under contract means a buyer and seller have both signed. It's a big milestone, but it isn't final yet. Most residential contracts in Queensland include conditions, most commonly finance and a building and pest inspection, that still need to be satisfied. The buyer also has a 5 business day cooling-off period on a standard contract (this doesn't apply to auction sales), during which they can walk away.

Unconditional means every one of those conditions has been met or waived. The finance is approved, the building and pest report is through, the cooling-off period has passed. At this point the sale is locked in, and what's left is settlement, the day ownership and funds officially change hands.

The gap between "under contract" and "unconditional" is where a sale can still fall over, which is exactly why we don't pop the champagne at the first signature. We'd rather tell you honestly where things actually stand than let "under contract" sound more final than it is.

The jargon, explained plainly

Catch last week's Real Estate Explained, "Should You Renovate Before You Sell?": read it here

General information only and current as at August 2026. This isn't financial or legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, please speak with a qualified professional.