This is the method generally favoured by negotiation experts.

A private sale gives the agent the best opportunity to use their negotiation skills to obtain the highest price from the buyers. It is the safest and least expensive of all selling methods. It is also the quickest way of selling with our average days on the market being just 30 days. Almost 80% of homes in Victoria are sold by private sale each year.

This may be appropriate in some circumstances.

Almost all buyers at auction pay less than their limit which means most sellers at auction under-sell their homes. Selling at auction also means having to commit to thousands of dollars for a lengthy advertising campaign. Doncaster auction results are not as popular as private sales.

9 Reasons why auctions get lower prices.

Watch Neil Jenman's Inside Secrets about Auctions

A private auction takes place when there is more than one buyer interested in a property for private sale.

A private auction allows each skilled sales person to negotiate the highest price from their buyer, with a signed Buyers Price Declaration. It is then placed in a sealed envelope and kept confidential, and is only opened along with all other offers in the presence of the seller.

As a seller determined to achieve the highest possible price, the one thing that you should never do is let your interested buyers know what other offers you have received. Why? Because the focus for the interested buyers becomes outbidding the competition by $1,000 as opposed to focusing on the highest price they are willing and able to pay. For example, if you have a bargain hunter bidding against an emotive buyer at a public auction, the bidding stops at $1,000 above the bargain hunters final bid. Any chance of getting the emotive buyer's best price has been lost.

A Private Auction eliminates this, as buyers do not know what the other buyers are offering.

The highest bidder at a public auction is the winner, yet you don't necessarily get the highest price! Under a Private Auction with multiple offers, you often get tens of thousands of dollars more. 

A Private Auction also guarantees you won't fail publicly if your price is not reached.

One of the least favoured real estate selling techniques as generally there is no price indication.

Buyers submit their offers at their own accord in a sealed envelope before a certain date, and the seller opens the bids all at the same time. The seller is not compelled to accept the highest bid.

Similar to the tender process, properties are put on the market to get an indication at what price buyers might be interested at.

When there are multiple buyers interested in the property, a private auction occurs (see Private Auction).

Another variation on the tender process, where the agent sets a price range and invites purchasers to submit a formal expression of interest stating their best price.

At the close of the sale period, the agent refers the offers to the vendor who can choose to accept the highest offer, open negotiations or re-list the property for another set period.