Selling your house
Want to sell your house?
Put it on auction, on a set date.
An auction gives your house a sale date instead of an open-ended wait for the right offer. Registered bidders compete for it, and you agree a reserve with us first: the lowest price it can sell for. Dynamic Auctioneers sells houses, flats and townhouses on auction anywhere in South Africa from our office in Centurion. We also sell by private treaty, the estate-agent route, so you get a straight answer on which one suits your house.
The short version
- An auction sells your house on a fixed date to bidders who have registered and been vetted, instead of waiting for one buyer at a time to make an offer.
- We agree a reserve with you before the auction. If bidding does not reach it, your house does not sell.
- Selling carries an appraisal fee, a listing fee and commission on the sale price, all set out in the conditions of sale before you sign.
- If the house still has a bond, in a normal transfer it is settled from the proceeds and cancelled when transfer registers.
- Our office is in Centurion, Gauteng. We sell houses anywhere in South Africa, and our online auctions take bids from anywhere.
Your options
Selling a house: the routes open to you.
There are three main routes to selling a house. This is how they compare on what usually matters: when the house sells, who sets the price, and how sure the sale is.
| Estate agent | The house goes on the open market until the right offer arrives. You negotiate with one buyer at a time, and offers are often subject to bond approval or the sale of another property. Our real estate desk handles this route. |
|---|---|
| Auction | A fixed date, agreed before marketing starts. Registered bidders compete in public. The winning bidder is bound by that auction’s conditions of sale, and those conditions say whether the sale needs your confirmation. |
| A company that buys houses | The company buys the house itself and makes you one offer. Nobody bids against it, so the price is whatever you and that one buyer agree. |
Is auction right for your house?
When auction suits a house sale, and when it does not.
We run both routes, so we have no reason to push you towards one. These are the situations where auction tends to earn its place.
You need a date
Moving for work, moving closer to family, emigrating or buying elsewhere: an auction gives you a day to plan around instead of an open-ended wait.
You inherited the house
An executor needs a price that stands up in front of the heirs and the Master. A public auction sets one in the open, with a paper trail. Guide: selling property from a deceased estate
Two owners going separate ways
In a divorce or a split between co-owners, a public sale on one day gives both of you the same price, set by the bidders rather than by either of you. Guide: selling property in a divorce
It has sat on the market
A house that has stalled on the open market gets a deadline and a room of registered bidders.
It is hard to compare
An unusual house with few comparable sales nearby is hard to price. Competition between bidders sets the number.
When an estate agent is better (private treaty)
A conventional home in a busy suburb, with plenty of comparable sales, often does as well by private treaty, and we will tell you so. Guide: auction or estate agent?
The process
How selling your house on auction works.
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01
Call us or send the form
Tell us where the house is and what it is. One of our auctioneers calls you back, and you are not committing to sell.
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02
Price guide, reserve and mandate
We look at the house, tell you what we think it should achieve, check that you are entitled to sell, and agree the reserve with you in writing. Nothing is advertised until you have signed the mandate, your written instruction to us to sell.
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03
Photographs and marketing
Professional photography, a written catalogue entry, and marketing across the property portals and to our buyer database.
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04
Auction day
Bidders register and are vetted before they can bid. You do not have to attend; we keep you informed as it happens.
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05
Transfer and payment
After the sale the conveyancer lodges the transfer at the deeds office, any bond is cancelled from the proceeds, and you are paid what is due to you.
Our guide to selling your property on auction goes through every step, the costs, the compliance certificates and what can go wrong.
What you will need
Have these ready and it moves faster.
These are the documents a house sale usually needs. The paperwork for your own sale confirms the final list.
For a house sale
- Proof of identity for every registered owner
- The title deed
- Your latest municipal rates account
- Body corporate or HOA details, for a flat, townhouse or estate home
- Which bank holds the bond, if there is one
- Consent of both spouses where you are married in community of property
- The compliance certificates the house needs before transfer, such as an electrical certificate of compliance
Start here
Tell us about your house.
Rather talk to a person? Phone 086 155 2288, or email administration@dynamicauctioneers.co.za for property and movable1@dynamicauctioneers.co.za for vehicles, machinery and contents.
What would you like to do?
Answer a few short questions and one of our auctioneers will call you back. The call costs nothing, and you are not committing to sell anything.
What are you selling?
How would you like to sell it?
Not sure which? Pick either. We will talk it through when we call.
Which of these is closest?
Pick the closest one. You can describe the rest on the next screen.
Which kind of estate is it?
What are you looking for?
Before you can bid you register with us, and we check your identity. Bring your ID and a recent proof of address.
Tell us what you have.
A few details is enough. We will ask the rest on the call.
Common questions
Selling your house, answered.
How quickly can I sell my house on auction?
The auction date is agreed with you before any marketing starts, so you know the day your house goes under the hammer from the outset. After the sale, transfer runs through the conveyancer and the deeds office, as it does for any property sale.
Can I sell my house on auction if it still has a bond?
Yes. In a normal transfer the bond is settled from the proceeds and cancelled when transfer registers. Your bank’s consent to cancel it is one of the documents the transfer needs, so let us know which bank holds it when you first call.
Will my house sell for less on auction?
It cannot sell for less than the reserve you agree with us before the auction. If bidding stops short of it, the house does not sell, and you can consider any offer that comes in afterwards or turn it down.
I inherited a house. Can I sell it on auction?
While the house is still in the estate, the executor sells it, not the heirs directly. The executor needs letters of executorship from the Master (letters of authority, for a small estate), and unless the will says otherwise, sells on terms the heirs approve in writing, or that the Master approves where they cannot agree or an heir is a minor, absent or under curatorship. In a small estate, the holder of letters of authority follows the Master’s directions. Our guide for executors takes it step by step.
We are divorcing. Can we sell our house on auction?
Yes, as long as everyone on the title deed signs the mandate and, if you are married in community of property, both of you sign it. A spouse married in community of property cannot sell the joint home without the other’s written consent. Our guide to selling property in a divorce covers the different marital regimes.
Can I sell my house on auction without attending?
Yes. Plenty of sellers do not attend. We keep you informed while the bidding runs, and bidders take part online or on site, depending on how that auction runs.
Guides for this
Read up before you decide.
Selling your property on auction: how it works, step by step
Selling property on auction in South Africa: the steps, the timeline, what it costs the seller, the reserve, documents and certificates, and what can go wrong.
Read the guide Selling · 13 minAuction or estate agent: which route suits your property?
Auction or estate agent? An honest comparison for South African sellers: speed, certainty, bond conditions, price, costs, privacy and which route suits you.
Read the guide Estates · 15 minSelling property from a deceased estate: a guide for executors
How an executor sells deceased estate property in South Africa: letters of executorship, heirs' consent or Master's approval, auction, timeline and proceeds.
Read the guideWant a straight answer on your house?
Tell us where it is and what it is. You will get a price guide and an honest view on whether auction or private treaty suits it.
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