Deadline Sales Explained

Updated 12 May 2025

Summary

Scroll through realestate.co.nz or homes.co.nz and you’ll see heaps of listings tagged “Deadline Sale – closes *date* (unless sold prior)”. After the 2022-2024 market slump, vendors want to create urgency without an auction's high stress/energy (and high upfront cost).
A deadline sale (also known as a “buying by deadline”) does exactly that: it wraps a short marketing blast — usually three to four weeks — inside a publicly advertised end date, then invites offers at any time before the cut-off.
Because the seller can accept early, genuine buyers must front-foot due diligence or risk missing out. You can’t just wait until the auction (as it may never migrate to an auction if it’s sold prior). The Real Estate Authority (REA) and Kāinga Ora's consumer site Settled.govt.nz rank deadline sales as the fastest-growing "private treaty" method, second only to plain negotiation LINK.

To help explain what you need to know, our guide covers:
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Disclaimer: Our guide is for general information only — please seek legal advice tailored to your situation before signing any Sale & Purchase Agreement. Related guides of use include:

What is a Deadline Sale?

A deadline sale (a deadline private treaty or set-date sale) is a time-sensitive private negotiation. The property is advertised without a fixed price - prospective purchasers submit written Sale & Purchase Agreements (SPAs) up to (or before) the deadline. Unlike a tender, deadline sale offers can be conditional (e.g., based on getting mortgage finance, a building report, or LIM), and the vendor may accept an attractive offer immediately rather than wait for the deadline.
Listings almost always include “unless sold prior” as a legal signal that early acceptance is on the table. If no offer meets the vendor’s expectations, they can extend the date, switch to negotiation, or withdraw the property altogether.

Why do people go for deadline sales? When can they be useful? Why would I bother?

For home sellers:

Deadline sales create competitive pressure without committing to unconditional auction terms (like the tender sale process).
Deadline sales keep the price hidden - meaning neighbours and future buyers can’t see your lowest acceptable figure. Often, displaying a price is information buyers can use to price other properties (or set up a ceiling for negotiations if it doesn't sell).
Unlike auctions that lock you in until auction day, deadline sales give you the flexibility to accept a compelling early offer and skip many weeks of open homes and negotiations post-auction.

For home buyers:

Deadline sales allow you to include finance or building-report clauses — an added protection that is impossible at auction (as all bidders must generally bid unconditionally).
A private process protects your ceiling price from other bidders (unlike in an auction where all buyers have access to all information).
Deadline sales give you the offer to clinch a property very quickly (e.g. get it quickly before the majority notice it's on the market). If you make a strong early offer and lock out competitors, you can snag a great property that would potentially go for a much higher price if it went to auction.

How is a deadline sale structured?
A deadline sale follows many steps similar to a tender sale but with some variations:

Listing appointment & appraisal – The real estate agent recommends a deadline sale in the Agency Agreement, citing recent comparable sales.
Two-to-four-week marketing run – Professional photography, portals, social ads. All material must carry the deadline date and, ‘unless sold prior’ wording.
Buyer viewings & pre-offer due diligence – LIM, building report, and mortgage pre-approval are all done and provided. Serious buyers register interest so the agent can notify them of competing early offers.
Offer period – Written Sale & Purchase Agreements (not tender documents) are submitted at any time up to the deadline. If the vendor wants to consider offers early, the agent circulates a multi-offer form; buyers then submit their “best foot forward”. If the vendor prefers to wait, offers are held unopened until the deadline.
Deadline day – Vendor reviews offer(s) with their real estate agent. They can either accept one, reject them all or counter-sign the most attractive offer.
Unconditional date – If the winning offer has conditions, the buyer works through them (often five to ten working days).
Settlement – Standard 20 to 60-day timeframe, unless otherwise negotiated.

Auctions vs Tender Sales vs Deadline Sales – How Do They Differ and What Do I Need to Know to Proceed?

Deadline sales sit neatly between auction adrenaline and open-ended negotiation without requiring buyers to be cash-unconditional. Vendors create scarcity without sacrificing flexibility; buyers reopen the door to conditional offers in a tight market. This hybrid nature of the sale process is the main reason this method of sale is so popular. However, unless sold prior, the phrase means homework cannot wait — finance, LIM, and building checks must be front-loaded.

Feature	Auction	Deadline Sale	Tender Sale
Price guidance	No price, bidding, public	No price, written offers, private	No price, written offers, sealed
Conditions allowed	None – bids unconditional	Yes – vendor chooses	None – tender unconditional
Early acceptance	N/A (auction day only)	Yes, at any time	No (offers opened together)
Transparency of price	Full – live bids	Low – private	Nil – sealed
Marketing cost	Highest	Moderate	Moderate–high

I’m a buyer considering a deadline property sale; what do I need to know?

Register your interest. The first step is to register interest with the listing agent in writing so they’re obliged to alert you to any multi-offer situation.
Pre-load your homework. If the seller/agent gets early action and wants to pull forward the transaction before the deadline, you may have 48 hours of notice of a rival early offer to review and adjust your offer. Make sure you have finance pre-approved, the lawyer briefed, and the building inspector on standby in case this happens.
Price your offer strategically. Without public bidding and no asking price, you won’t know what the competing offers are likely to be at. You’re effectively flying blind and unlike an auction, you don't know whether another person out there has set a floor on the price (by nature of their last bid). Use the Council valuation (CV) LINK, comparable sales in the area and a mortgage adviser’s desktop appraisal to triangulate the appropriate price you would pay for the property.
Choose whether to go conditional or not. Unconditional offers trump higher conditional ones and are far more attractive to the seller. However, if you can’t go unconditional for whatever reason (e.g. mortgage finance approval), keep conditions tight (e.g., five-day finance clause). Often, a conditional offer with a reasonable price is still a strong bid, especially if there is a lack of other offers.
Watch the clock. Offer expiry clauses shorter than 24 hours can pressure vendors — but risk backfiring if your lawyer misses something. Settled recommends aligning expiry with the stated deadline plus at least three working hours.

I'm a homeowner considering a deadline for a sale. What do I need to know?

Set a realistic timeframe to get the maximum number of offers. Too short and buyers can’t arrange proper due diligence, and you may get too few offers (or many offers that are conditional); leave the deadline date too long, and the buyers feel no urgency or pressure to put in a bid and may prioritise other listings instead. The ideal deadline sale timeframe is long enough to create a sense of urgency but not too short such that it stresses out the prospective buyers too much that they give up interest in the property. Three to four weeks is the sweet spot in most markets.
Decide your sold-prior stance early. If you’re open to an early offer, give written instructions to the agent so they manage registered buyers fairly. Getting an early offer without knowing what to do means you waste precious time liaising with your agent (and prospective bidders).
Clarify price expectations privately. While no guide price is published in the public listing, agents can give buyers a high-level range verbally (whilst still complying with all regulations). Be consistent and upfront with your agent.
Analyse your risk profile. Deadline sales work best when you're confident of multiple interested parties but still want the safety net of conditional offers — e.g., properties slightly outside the auction sweet spot or with quirks that limit the buyer pool.
Have a Plan B. If the best offer on deadline day disappoints, be ready to counter or shift to a priced listing immediately to maintain momentum on the property without having to start from scratch.

Common Deadline Sale Traps (And How to Avoid Them

Deadline sales are not always the best option. We list issues that buyers and sellers can come across, but this is not an exhaustive list.

Common Trap	How it hurts	Avoidance tactic
(Buyers) Assuming the property will wait until the deadline.	You can lose the deal to an early unconditional buyer.	Register interest and get due diligence done in week 1 (so you can move quickly if the agent needs to send out multi-offer protocols).
(Buyers) Submitting a weak conditional offer.	The vendor may accept a lower unconditional offer purely because there are no strings.	Tighten your provisions/conditions or lift the price to compensate for setting conditions on the purchase.
(Vendors) Ignoring “multi-offer” protocols.	REA can void the process if the multi-offer protocol is not followed correctly (e.g. the buyers may walk).	Agents must use the REA standard form signed by all parties.
(Vendors) Letting the deadline lapse without direction.	Once the deadline sale offer expires, the vendor is forced to restart marketing for the property – often regurgitating the same stuff.	Ensure you know your acceptance or counter-strategy in advance.

Deadline Sale Checklists for Prospective Buyers and Prospective Sellers

Deadline sales require careful oversight – we outline important checklist steps whether you plan to buy or sell using via a deadline sale. If you are unsure about anything, ask the real estate agent and/or your lawyer. Do not leave things unanswered or unknown – too much money is at risk.

Deadline sale checklist for prospective buyers

Get your finance pre-approval in writing (not verbal).
Get an independent valuation ready if your mortgage lender requires it.
Get a LIM and building report commissioned immediately after your first viewing if you’re remotely interested in the property.
Get your lawyer to review the Sale & Purchase template before you fill in the price.
Register your interest with the agent and ask to be notified of any offers.
Set a calendar alert two days before and on the day of the deadline sale to reassess strategy (if you do get notified, it will be time-sensitive).

Deadline sale checklist for prospective sellers

Choose which method of sale (auction vs deadline sale vs tender) objectively based on your needs — not just because it “sounds good” or because that’s what your friends/family have done. Each method has its pros and cons.
Confirm “sold prior” rules in the listing agreement (to ensure compliance with REA).
Instruct your agent on offer handling (e.g. whether to hold offers until deadline day or present them to you early).
Pre-order the LIM and building report to hand buyers confidence and save them time/$$.
Decide your walk-away number before the first offer hits the inbox (e.g. the number you would be happy with to wrap up the process entirely without considering any future bids).
Line up a conveyancer for rapid same-day advice on deadline day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the vendor extend the deadline?

Yes, but advertising must be updated and all registered buyers must be informed (per REA guidelines LINK).

As a seller, do I need to use a tender document?

No — standard Sale & Purchase Agreement (SPA) with deadline clauses LINK are compliant for running a deadline sale.

Is the highest offer always accepted?

Not necessarily. The highest offer with conditions can be particularly onerous on the vendor and create significant uncertainty. Unconditional offers that are lower in price are often accepted (especially if the price is not significantly lower than the highest offer). Certainty can trump price.

What deposit is payable?

Usually 10%, but this will vary depending on the listing, acceptance or when conditions are satisfied — confirm in your offer.

I'm a little concerned about deadline sales given that I haven't gone through the process and am used to auctions. Are they legitimate?

Yes, deadline sales are a legitimate selling method that the REA regulates. Deadline sales are more marketing than anything else but have some significant differences (highlighted in the comparison table above).