Now more people in Australia prefer selling their homes privately as they find it easier than working with money hungry agents.  Private selling of homes has the major advantage of saving about 5 to 7 percent on agent commissions.  The disadvantage is lack of professional marketing and advertising to get the house maximum exposure in the market.  Advertising makes a lot of difference and listing your property on many property sites on the internet is one way of maximizing its exposure reaching out to a wider audience cost effectively. The process involves answering phone calls, showing the house to people, placing ads in the papers and on the Internet.   The other reason for selling privately is that houses can sell themselves if priced correctly, made it appear attractive and marketed in the right way.

Consider these steps in selling your house privately:

1. Evaluate the house through the eyes of the buyer.  So take a good look at the house inside out, and note down things for making a good first impression.  
2. Getting the house ready for sale is very important.  You should remove clutter and clean and repair the garage, exteriors, clean gutters and pipes and give a new coat of paint, make repairs to all internal fittings and refurbish the kitchen cabinets and wardrobes. Clean and make windows allow lighter inside.  For upholstery, blinds and carpets professional cleaning may be required.  Take care to get pets out of the way and security issues get less exposure. Make sure every fixture is in working order.
3. Make a study of the market in your area to know the current trends and pricing.  Note the price of a house advertised and how long it is on the market and the properties sold recently and its price.  The brokers in your area will also give such details to you or you can find out easily by searching for real estate statistics in your area.
4. Set a realistic selling price for your house to sell fast, and avoid long stay in the market as buyers might wonder why it has not sold for so long.  It is better to get an independent valuation by a professional so that you do not undervalue the house.  
5. Get a pest and building report ready so that the prospective buyer will be satisfied about the house being pest free.  
6. Prepare and distribute flyers or information packages highlighting the positive features of the house like schools nearby, land and house dimensions, recent repairs, cost of utilities and amenities, nearby shops and other services and your contact details etc.
7. Place a ‘For Sale’ sign and advertise in the local newspaper.
8. Make use of free and affordable online property listings.
9. Decide about how much you are willing to negotiate and how much discount you will allow for a quick sale and what are the settlement terms.
10. The above steps will lead you to clinching a good deal. Have a solicitor or conveyancer to finish the deal.

Good luck for a satisfactory and reasonably quick house sale.