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Selling property

Selling property

Written by

Zettle Editorial Team

Reviewed by

Cordell Smith, Solicitor and Founder, Zettle

Last updated

September 18, 2026

Selling a property involves more than finding a buyer. You’ll need to make decisions about preparing your property for sale, understanding your legal obligations, considering offers and planning for settlement.

This guide brings together practical advice to help you understand what needs to happen at each stage, what to prepare and which decisions deserve careful consideration. Whether you’re just starting to think about selling or already have an offer on the table, you’ll find guidance relevant to your situation, with state-specific information for NSW, Queensland and Victoria.

Browse by stage

Getting ready to sell

Choosing who handles your conveyancing, what selling really costs, and preparing your contract of sale and disclosures before you list.

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Going to market

Choosing between auction and private treaty, handling offers, how the deposit is held, and what rights the buyer has after they sign.

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Under contract

Your obligations once the contract is signed: honouring your warranties, meeting the conditions, keeping insurance running, and getting to settlement.

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Settlement

The final steps of selling: discharging your mortgage, settling the adjustments, handing over, and the tax on your proceeds.

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Buying or selling in your state

Selling property in Queensland: the complete state guide

Your plain-English guide to selling a home in Queensland: getting disclosure-ready, your obligations, the costs and settlement, step by step.

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Selling property in New South Wales: the complete state guide

Your plain-English guide to selling in New South Wales: preparing the contract, your obligations, the costs and settlement, step by step.

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Selling property in Victoria: the complete state guide

Your plain-English guide to selling in Victoria: preparing the vendor's statement, your obligations, the costs and settlement, step by step.

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Explainers

Do you need a conveyancer to sell a property?

No law requires a conveyancer, but individuals can't access PEXA, so in practice almost every seller uses a conveyancer or solicitor.

What does it cost to sell a property in Australia?

Selling costs agent commission, marketing, conveyancing fees, mortgage discharge and possibly capital gains tax, plus an ATO clearance certificate to avoid 15% withholding.

What must you disclose when selling a property?

Sellers must disclose title, planning, rates and notices before a buyer signs — via a Section 32 in Victoria, prescribed documents in New South Wales, or a Form 2 in Queensland.

How do you prepare a contract of sale?

In NSW and Victoria your conveyancer prepares the contract of sale before you advertise; in Queensland the agent commonly prepares it and your conveyancer reviews it.

What happens when you accept an offer on your property?

Accepting an offer binds you once both parties sign, though in Victoria and Queensland the contract can remain subject to conditions being satisfied.

How do settlement adjustments work when you sell?

Settlement adjustments split the property's ongoing costs (council rates, water, and any body corporate or strata fees) between you and the buyer as at the settlement date, so each side pays only for the days they own the property. Your conveyancer calculates them on a statement of adjustments.

Guides

How to choose a conveyancer

What actually separates a good conveyancer from a stressful one, what to compare, and the questions worth asking before you engage anyone.
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What conveyancing costs, and how to read a quote

Why a conveyancing bill has two very different parts, what sits in each, and how to compare quotes without being caught out by the headline number.
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What is PEXA?

What PEXA is and why most Australian property settlements run through it: how it works, its benefits, and what it costs.
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Settlement running late? Your rights, the risks, and how to avoid a default

How settlement timing works: settlement periods, 'time is of the essence', delays and your extension rights across VIC, QLD and NSW.
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READY TO SELL?

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