Questions and answers
What people ask before selling their home privately in New Zealand.
Can I sell my house without a real estate agent in New Zealand?
Yes. Nothing in New Zealand law requires you to use an agent to sell your own property. The Real Estate Agents Act regulates people who sell on behalf of others, not owners selling their own home. You market the property, deal with buyers yourself, and a lawyer handles the Sale and Purchase agreement and conveyancing, as they would in any sale.
What is Homepage?
Homepage is a platform for kiwis selling their own home. Each property gets its own standalone website at its own web address, plus a matching set of marketing materials: a flyer, fence sign, open home posters and social media images. Buyers enquire directly with the owner. There is no agent, no commission and no ads on the property site.
What does Homepage cost?
The pilot is free. There is no commission and no success fee at any stage. Before anything is ever charged, pricing will be published on this site and you will be asked to agree to it explicitly. Claiming an address as open to offers is free permanently.
Is Homepage a real estate agency?
No. Homepage is a marketing platform. We do not appraise your home, negotiate for you, hold deposits or prepare sale documents. The sale is agreed directly between you and the buyer, and both of you use your own lawyer.
Do I need a lawyer to sell privately?
Yes, in practice. In New Zealand the Sale and Purchase agreement is a legal document that a lawyer or conveyancer prepares, usually on the standard ADLS and REINZ form, and the transfer of title has to go through a lawyer or conveyancer. Both buyer and seller engage their own. Talk to yours early, before you put the house on the market.
What is a LIM report and do I need one to sell privately?
A LIM (Land Information Memorandum) is a report from your local council listing what it holds on the property: consents, rates, zoning, hazards and so on. You are not required to supply one, but buyers often make a LIM a condition of their offer, and having a recent one ready to download from your property site saves time and removes a reason to hesitate. Your lawyer can advise whether it makes sense for your property.
What does a Homepage property site include?
Your photos, a walkthrough video, 3D tours, the key facts such as bedrooms, bathrooms and land and floor area, your description, a map, property documents such as the LIM and title, open home times, and an enquiry form. The site uses a colour palette taken from your own photos.
What web address does my property get?
A web address you choose under homepage.org.nz, for example 12-cottage-crescent.homepage.org.nz. It is the address printed on your sign, flyer and posters and encoded in their QR codes. Registering your interest before launch with your address holds that web address for you.
What marketing materials do I get?
A print ready A4 flyer, a fence sign sized for a print shop to scale up to corflute, an open home poster, an open home sign in sheet and social media images. All of them are generated from the same details and colours as your site, and every piece carries a QR code that opens the site.
How do buyers find my property if it is not on Trade Me?
Through the sign out the front with its QR code, the flyer, your social media and community groups, and your own networks. Homepage does not list your property on Trade Me Property or other portals. Many sellers run a private portal listing for discovery and use their Homepage site as the place buyers land, with the sign and flyer pointing there. Homes for sale on Homepage also appear on the Browse homes map.
Do buyers need an account to enquire?
No. Buyers do not need to create an account, that would only create a hurdle for you. They fill in the enquiry form on your property site and their name and contact details come straight to you.
Will buyers see my phone number or email address?
Only if you choose. By default a buyer who enquires gets a confirmation and you get their details, so you are the one who replies. You can switch on sharing your contact details with buyers for a listing if you prefer.
What does open to offers mean on Homepage?
It is a free option for owners who are not on the market but would consider the right offer. The address and suburb are published as open to expressions of interest, with no price, no photos and nothing about the owner. Buyers register their interest and you see the leads on your dashboard and decide whether to respond.
Can I run open homes?
Yes. You set the times, they appear on your property site and in a calendar feed, and you get a printed sign in sheet and a poster for the day. Visitors can also check in digitally on their phone, and the check ins are kept with your listing.
Which sale methods can I use?
Price by negotiation, asking price, deadline sale, tender and enquiries over. The guide to pricing your home explains how each works and when it suits.
Does the property site show Homepage branding?
No. The site is themed from your own photos and shows your home, not us. The only mention of Homepage is a small line in the footer.
What happens to the site after the house sells?
You mark the listing as sold. The site stays up and the address keeps working, so anyone who kept a flyer or scanned the sign still lands somewhere sensible, and enquiries close.
Can an AI assistant show me a Homepage sign for my address?
Yes. Ask your assistant to show you a Homepage for-sale sign for your address. The sign lives at homepage.org.nz/sign?address=12+Cottage+Crescent&suburb=Upper+Hutt (swap in your own address), the picture alone at /api/sign.png with the same details, and assistants that have Homepage connected as a tool can draw it themselves. It is a demo, marked as one, and nothing is created against your address until you choose to register. The full description for developers and assistants is at homepage.org.nz/llms.txt.
Can I use Homepage outside New Zealand?
No. Homepage is for properties in New Zealand only.
Still wondering about something? Read about Homepage, the guide to selling privately and the guide to pricing your home.
These answers are general information about how a private sale works, not legal, financial, tax or valuation advice, and we are not a licensed real estate agency. For advice about your own situation, talk to your lawyer, accountant or a registered valuer. Use of the platform is subject to our Terms & Conditions.