Private property sales is something that has really taken off in the past year or so. Since the UK housing bubble burst, it has gotten harder and harder to sell houses, and estate agents have been forcing their clients to continually lower their prices, and their expectations in order to achieve a sale.

Selling property privately carries a massive saving compared to using estate agents; estate agents charge between .5% and 4% of the sale price, whereas private property sales websites like Zungalow.com offer the chance to advertise to a wide audience for as little as £29 per year. Most people save around £3000 when selling property privately.

Most people who consider private property sales have a lot of questions, like, but the estate agent does the valuation, how much is my house worth? And, who takes care of the viewings?

There are a whole host of house pricing sites out there today. Anyone considering selling property privately can easily value their home:

You can enter your postcode into Zoopla.co.uk and find out how much homes in your area are selling for. Zoopla prices are based on Land Registry figures and recorded sale prices. Nationwide do a house price calculator on their house price index page. A good way of valuing a house for private property sales is to get a figure from both of those sources, and either split the difference or employ personal judgement.

As for who takes care of the viewings private property sales are just that; private. You as the seller are responsible for everything: valuing, making for sale signs, advertising, house dressing, viewings and negotiating with anyone who makes offers, everything.

If that sounds like too much pressure, selling property privately doesn't have to be a bold choice. Private property sales have gotten so big that estate agents are finally facing some real competition. Combine that with the limited numbers of instructions agents are currently receiving and the seller is in a prime bargaining position.

Most people who are selling property privately are also selling with an estate agent; they have negotiated a clause into the estate agent's contract that says if the property is sold through private property sales the estate agent receives no fee. This tends to make the estate agent really work to sell your home and gives those selling property privately the best of both worlds.