Key takeaways
- Selling on auction means agreeing a reserve and a sale date with the auctioneer, marketing the property to bidders who must register before they can bid, and selling to the highest bidder on the day if bidding reaches your reserve.
- With us, a property typically runs three to four weeks from signed mandate to auction day; transfer then takes typically two to three months through a conveyancer and the Deeds Office.
- Our charges to the seller are an appraisal fee, a listing fee and commission on the sale price. They vary per auction and are set out in writing in the conditions of sale before you sign.
- Before transfer can register you will need a municipal rates clearance, a levy clearance for sectional title, your bank's consent to cancel the bond (it is settled from the proceeds and cancelled when transfer registers), and the compliance certificates your property needs: electrical, and where they apply, electric fence, gas and, in Cape Town, water.
- Auction suits sellers who need a firm date and a public price: estates, relocations, unusual property and property that has stalled on the open market. A conventional home in a busy suburb often does as well by private treaty.
How selling property on auction works
An auction turns the sale of your property into an event with a date. You agree a reserve and an auction day with the auctioneer, the property is marketed to bidders who must register before they can bid, and on the day it sells to the highest bidder if bidding reaches your reserve. Bidders see each other, and competition sets the price.
Three documents govern the sale:
- The mandate. Your written agreement with the auctioneer, which the Consumer Protection Act regulations require. It must set out every fee (or how it is worked out), the rules of auction, whether the sale is with or without reserve, and how the proceeds are settled.
- The rules of auction. How the auction itself runs: a written set for every auction, signed by the auctioneer and, for a public auction, available at least 24 hours before it starts (regulation 21(1), CPA Regulations, 2011). See our rules of auction page.
- The conditions of sale. The contract between you and the successful bidder: the deposit, the commission, the period to secure the balance, occupation, and what happens if either side defaults.
The regulations also make the auctioneer your agent, with a duty of care to you, a duty to disclose risks they know of or ought to know of, and a duty to run the sale so that the highest or most favourable offer is accepted. Our certificate numbers are on our credentials page.
Step by step, from first call to registration
- First call and appraisal. We look at the property and give you a price guide: what it should realistically achieve in a competitive room. If auction is not the right route for it, we say so. Private treaty through Dynamic Real Estate may suit it better.
- Costs, reserve and mandate. Before you sign, the regulations require the auctioneer to give you an estimate of the total cost of the auction. You agree the reserve in writing and sign the mandate.
- Ownership and documents. You sign a declaration that you own the property or have the right to sell it, which the auction regulations require, and we verify that against the deeds record before anything is marketed. A missing spousal consent turns up here, while it is still cheap to fix.
- Preparation. Professional photography and a written catalogue entry. Tell us now about known defects, leases and alterations, so the catalogue is accurate.
- Marketing and viewings. The portals, our buyer database, and social and traditional advertising. Viewings are concentrated into scheduled slots. Buyers can also submit offers and pre-auction bids online, and any offer is yours to accept or decline.
- Auction day. Bidders take part in person at the venue or online through our online auction room. You do not have to attend; we keep you informed as it happens.
- The fall of the hammer. If bidding reaches your reserve and the hammer falls, the property is sold. The successful bidder signs the conditions of sale and becomes liable for the deposit and the buyer's commission on the terms they set. The balance must be secured, by bank guarantee or cash, within the period the conditions allow.
- Transfer. A conveyancer prepares the transfer, obtains the rates and levy clearances, collects the compliance certificates you have arranged, arranges the cancellation of your bond with your bank's attorneys and lodges at the Deeds Office. In a normal transfer you are paid out on registration, less your bond settlement and the agreed costs, as the conditions of sale set out.
| Stage | Typical timing |
|---|---|
| Signed mandate to auction day (with us) | About three to four weeks |
| Legal minimum advertising period for an auction that includes property | More than five business days before it starts (regulation 19(3)(b), CPA Regulations, 2011) |
| Balance secured by the purchaser | Within the period in the conditions of sale |
| Registration of transfer | Typically two to three months after the auction, depending on the Deeds Office and any bond cancellation |
What it costs the seller
Our charges to a seller are an appraisal fee, a listing fee and commission on the sale price. The regulations require your mandate to describe every fee the auctioneer will charge, or how it is worked out, so check it for anything further before you sign.
| Charge | What it is for | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Appraisal fee | Professionally appraising the property and setting the price guide | As set out in your mandate and the conditions of sale |
| Listing fee | Including the property in the auction catalogue | As set out in your mandate and the conditions of sale |
| Commission | A percentage of the final sale price | As set out in your mandate and the conditions of sale |
We do not quote a firm-wide rate, because fees vary per auction and per property. You have them in writing, in the conditions of sale, before you sign.
The costs of selling any property
- Rates. Transfer cannot register without a municipal clearance certificate showing that rates and service charges on the property for the two years before the application are paid (section 118(1), Municipal Systems Act). Arrears are settled first.
- Levies. For a sectional title unit, the conveyancer must certify that the body corporate has confirmed everything the seller owes it is paid or provided for.
- Bond cancellation. Your bank's attorneys charge to cancel the bond. If the bond is in your own name and on a variable rate, the National Credit Act limits the early termination charge to the interest for three months, less any notice you have given (section 125(2), National Credit Act), so tell your bank as soon as you decide to sell. The Act does not apply to a bond held by a company, a close corporation, or a trust with three or more individual trustees or a corporate trustee, so in those cases check the notice terms in the loan agreement.
- Capital gains tax. When you sell your primary residence, part of the gain is disregarded, subject to conditions. A draft Bill published with the February 2026 Budget would raise that exclusion from R2,000,000 to R3,000,000 of gain from 1 March 2026, and SARS’s capital gains tax page already shows R3,000,000, but Parliament was still holding hearings on the Bill on 30 September 2026, so check which figure applies when you sell. A rental, a holiday home, or company- or trust-owned property is a different calculation. Check with your tax practitioner before you set the reserve.
- Non-resident sellers. If the seller is not a South African resident and the price exceeds R2,000,000, the purchaser must withhold 7.5% of the full price (10% for a company, 15% for a trust) for SARS, unless SARS issues a directive for a lower amount (SARS guide to section 35A withholding; rates as at 30 September 2026 in SARS, Taxation in South Africa 2026, section 2.15).
Compliance certificates, and any repairs they need, are covered below. On the other side of the table, the purchaser is liable for the deposit, the buyer's commission and transfer duty. A sale attracts either transfer duty or VAT, not both. If you are a VAT vendor and the property is part of your enterprise, the sale is generally subject to VAT instead of transfer duty, and the VAT Act deems the price to include VAT unless the contract says otherwise. Make sure the conditions of sale state whether the property is sold plus VAT, and work that into your reserve with your accountant. Bidders price their own costs into their bids: see buyer's premium explained and transfer duty in South Africa.
Setting your reserve
The reserve is the lowest hammer price you will accept. Below it, the property does not sell on the day. It is your decision, made with our advice, and the regulations do not allow an auctioneer to set a reserve without the seller's express written permission. The law requires notice that a sale is subject to a reserve, not the figure.
Build the reserve from the bottom up, not from hope. Start with your bond settlement figure. Add your commission and fees, the clearances, the certificates and any repairs they need, any tax, and what you need to walk away with. That is your floor. A reserve far above the price guide does not protect you: it gets the property passed in, in front of every buyer in the market.
Selling without reserve is restricted. Apart from rates, servitudes and restrictions on record, the property must be free of liens and encumbrances in anyone else's favour, unless every holder agrees in writing to accept the highest bid or someone financially responsible guarantees in writing that they will be settled. In practice, a bonded property cannot go under the hammer without reserve unless the bank agrees in writing to accept the highest bid, whatever it is, or someone financially responsible guarantees in writing that the bond will be settled. The rules of auction must then bind the auction to run without reserve. More in the reserve price explained.
Documents you will need
Have these ready when you sign. Not every line applies to every property.
| Document | When | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Identity documents for every registered owner | Always | Everyone on the title deed has to be identified and has to sign. |
| Title deed, or a copy | Always | Confirms ownership, servitudes and title conditions. If the property is bonded, your bank usually holds the original. |
| Latest municipal rates account | Always | Starts the rates clearance and shows any arrears early. |
| Body corporate or HOA details and latest levy statement | Sectional title and estates | Needed for the levy clearance and for the rules buyers will ask about. |
| Marriage certificate and antenuptial contract, if any | Married owners | A spouse married in community of property may not sell joint immovable property without the other spouse's written consent, attested by two competent witnesses. |
| Company resolutions | Company-owned property | A board resolution authorising the sale and the person signing. If the property is all or most of the company's assets, the Companies Act also requires a special resolution of the shareholders, unless an exemption applies. Your conveyancer will confirm which you need. |
| Trust deed, the Master's letters of authority and a trustees' resolution | Trust-owned property | A trustee may act only once authorised in writing by the Master. |
| Letters of executorship, or the Master's letter of authority | Deceased estates | No one may liquidate a deceased estate except under letters of executorship or a direction by the Master. In a small estate the Master may dispense with an executor and issue a letter of authority instead. See selling deceased estate property. |
| Leases | Tenanted property | Existing leases are disclosed in the catalogue and the conditions of sale. |
| Approved building plans, if you have them | Where available | Buyers ask. An unapproved alteration is better disclosed than discovered. |
Where a liquidator, trustee or business rescue practitioner is selling, the sale runs under the process that appointed them: see insolvent estate and liquidation auctions and our estates desk.
Compliance certificates
Which certificates you need depends on what is on the property and where it is. The conditions of sale say who arranges and pays for them; in most sales it is the seller. Order them as soon as you sign, because a failed inspection means repairs before a certificate is issued.
| Certificate | When it applies | The rule |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical certificate of compliance | Any property with an electrical installation | The Electrical Installation Regulations do not allow a change of ownership if the certificate is older than two years (regulation 7). Additions or alterations since the last certificate, such as a solar or inverter installation, must be covered too. |
| Electric fence system certificate | Properties with an electric fence | Required where the premises change ownership after 1 October 2012 (Electrical Machinery Regulations, regulation 12). The certificate is transferable, so if one was issued, find it. |
| Gas certificate of conformity | Properties with a gas installation | Issued by an authorised person after an installation, alteration, or a change of user or ownership. |
| Water installation certificate | Properties in the City of Cape Town | The City requires a certificate from a City-registered plumber before a property can be transferred. Ask the conveyancer whether your municipality has a similar rule. |
| Beetle certificate | Mostly coastal areas, such as the Western Cape | A contractual requirement rather than a national statutory one. The conditions of sale say whether one is needed. |
Who auction suits, and who it does not
Auction tends to suit
- Executors, trustees and liquidators who need a transparent, documented sale on a timetable.
- A joint estate being divided, where a public process takes the argument out of the price.
- Owners relocating or emigrating, who need a date more than a long negotiation.
- Property that is hard to price from comparable sales: farms, smallholdings, unusual homes, commercial and industrial buildings.
- Property that has already sat on the open market for months.
- Portfolios and developers' remaining units, sold together on one day.
Think twice if
- It is a conventional home in a suburb with plenty of recent comparable sales. Private treaty often does as well; our auction or estate agent guide compares the two.
- You need one specific number and will not move from it. Set the reserve there and the property will probably be passed in.
- The ownership paperwork is not in order yet. Fix that first.
- Your bond is larger than the likely price. Speak to your bank before you sign anything: transfer of a bonded property needs the bank to agree to cancel the bond.
Property with a trading business attached can be sold with it or on its own: see business sales.
What can go wrong, and how to avoid it
- The reserve is set from hope. The property is passed in, the auction date is gone, and the market has seen it fail to sell. Agree the reserve on evidence.
- Paperwork surfaces late. A spouse who never consented, a lost title deed, an executor still waiting for letters, a company without the right resolutions. Any one can stall transfer for weeks, so we check before we market.
- A known defect is not disclosed. Selling as it stands is not a licence to hide what you know. The Supreme Court of Appeal has confirmed that a seller who knew of a latent defect and deliberately failed to disclose it to induce the sale can be held liable for damages. Tell us, and it goes in the catalogue. More in voetstoots explained.
- The purchaser defaults. Registration and vetting reduce the risk; they do not remove it. The conditions of sale set out what happens next, so read that clause before the auction. The regulations also bar the auctioneer from charging you a fee or commission when the buyer defaults, unless you agreed otherwise in writing, so check what your mandate says.
- You sell privately to someone the auction found. Read what your mandate says about a sale during, or after, the mandate period to a buyer the auctioneer introduced. Mandates commonly provide for commission in that case.
- You change your mind. The regulations allow a lot to be withdrawn before the auction starts, and an auctioneer may not remove one without your express written permission. Your mandate sets out what you owe if you withdraw. Once the hammer falls at or above your reserve, the property is sold.
Deal with these before the catalogue is written. Start on our selling page, see how property auctions compare with private treaty, or contact us for a price guide.