Buy and sell property without estate agents.

Not quite: there are two separate fees. First, a once-off R 199 platform access fee unlocks your account. It is currently free for the first 2 000 verified accounts, and that offer is still open. Second, once you list a property, R 199 per month keeps that listing live, free for the first 500 sellers and paid after that. Neither fee is a commission or a percentage of the sale price, and you can cancel the monthly listing fee any time. The costs of the sale itself are the same whatever the platform: the buyer pays transfer duty (on a price above R 1 210 000) and the transferring attorney’s fees, and the seller pays costs such as bond cancellation, compliance certificates, and rates and levy clearance.

Every user completes identity verification through Secure Citizen before they can submit offers or contact sellers. Buyers can also upload a bond pre-qualification certificate for additional credibility. Tyre-kickers do not make it past the front door.

A conveyancing attorney handles the legal transfer in every property sale in South Africa. This is required by law. Privately connects you with verified attorneys, and the cost is roughly the same as you would pay when selling through an agent. The difference is, the agent is no longer between you and the attorney.

Yes. Many sellers do exactly that. R 199 per month is billed only while your listing is live and you can pause or cancel any time, so it can run alongside whatever else you are doing without locking you in.

Yes. Privately is POPIA compliant, South Africa’s data protection law. You can export your data, change your communication preferences, or delete your account at any time. We never sell your personal information to third parties.

No. Browsing properties on Privately is completely free, and you do not need an account to look around. The once-off R 199 platform access fee only applies once you want to contact sellers or submit offers, and the R 199 / month fee only applies if you list a property.

Property typically takes 3 to 6 months to sell in South Africa, depending on pricing, area, and market conditions. Listings priced near the Lightstone valuation tend to sell significantly faster: buyers can see, in one glance, that the price is fair.

You negotiate directly. Buyers submit formal offers through the platform; you can accept, reject, or counter, without an agent shaping the conversation. Every step is recorded so there is no he-said-she-said later.