How selling real estate works, and the brokerage contract ― the steps from valuation to handover, and how to choose between the three types of brokerage contract

You are selling the family home you inherited. For someone doing it for the first time, the biggest worry is not being able to see \"what to do, in what order.\" From the seller's standpoint, this article sets out the flow of valuation, the brokerage contract, marketing, the sale contract, and settlement and handover, how long each takes, and the differences between the three types of brokerage contract you sign at the start (general, exclusive and exclusive-and-sole) and how to choose.

About this translation ― This page is an English translation of an article originally written in Japanese by KuraLab's operator, a licensed real-estate transaction specialist (宅地建物取引士) and administrative scrivener (行政書士) in Japan. The Japanese original is the authoritative text; where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails. The article explains Japanese law and procedure in general terms as of the date shown. It is not legal, tax or immigration advice for your situation ― please confirm with a licensed professional in Japan. Japanese terms are kept in parentheses so you can search for them. Read the Japanese original

The three companies' valuations were 24,800,000 yen, 26,500,000 yen and 29,000,000 yen. The woman selling the family home she had inherited naturally chose the 29,000,000 yen company. An exclusive brokerage contract for three months. Two viewings, zero offers. In the third month the company suggested, "Shall we lower it to 25,000,000 yen?" That was 4,000,000 yen off the first valuation. The woman said, "I wish they'd said so from the start." This article is so that the next person does not have to spend those three months.

You are going to sell the family home you inherited. For most people, selling real estate happens once or twice in a lifetime. If you know the overall flow in advance, you can understand what the estate agent tells you and decide without being rushed. Here it is in order.

The first step is the "valuation" (査定). You ask estate agents to assess what it is likely to sell for. There are desk valuations (from documents only) and on-site valuations; if you mean to sell, get an on-site valuation. At this stage I recommend asking several companies for valuations. Valuations can differ by millions of yen between companies, and the company that gives the highest valuation is not necessarily a good company (there is a tactic of quoting high to win the brokerage contract and later recommending a price cut). To have your own sense of the market, work out a rough figure for the land from the official land price or roadside land value described in the article on the four land prices, and check it with the Land Price Scan tool; then you can judge whether the explanation of a valuation is reasonable.

The flow of a sale and rough timings. Month 0: valuation (on-site valuations from several companies; have your own sense of the market too). Months 0 to 1: sign the brokerage contract (general, exclusive or exclusive-and-sole). Months 1 to 4: marketing and viewings (clearing the house, checking boundaries and encroachments). Once a buyer is found: the sale contract and earnest money (explanation of important matters; earnest money of about 5 to 10%). One to two months after the contract: settlement, handover and registration of the ownership transfer (fixed asset tax prorated by day, the rest of the brokerage fee). February to March of the following year: the tax return for the capital gain (such as the 30,000,000 yen special deduction for vacant houses).

Next you sign a "brokerage contract" (媒介契約). This is the contract asking an estate agent to sell for you, and there are three types. A general brokerage contract (一般媒介) lets you ask several companies at once, and you may find a buyer yourself. An exclusive brokerage contract (専任媒介) means you ask only one company, but you can still contract directly with a buyer you find yourself. An exclusive-and-sole brokerage contract (専属専任媒介) means you ask only one company, and even a buyer you find yourself goes through that company. Under the exclusive and exclusive-and-sole types, the company must register the property with the designated real estate information network (REINS, レインズ) and report to the seller regularly (at least once every two weeks for exclusive, at least once a week for exclusive-and-sole), and the contract period is three months or less. A general contract carries neither obligation.

Which to choose? In practice, the basic approach is: for a property that sells easily (housing in cities, condominiums), use a general contract and let several companies compete; for a property that is hard to sell (rural areas, flag-shaped plots, land with an old house on it), use an exclusive contract and have one company work on it seriously. With an exclusive contract the company has the security that "no other company will take it," so it finds it easier to spend money on advertising. With a general contract there is competition, but each company may ease off, thinking "another company may close it." There is little reason on the seller's side to choose exclusive-and-sole (it is a contract that removes any possibility of finding a buyer yourself).

The three types of brokerage contract. Can you ask several companies? General: yes. Exclusive: no (one company). Exclusive-and-sole: no (one company). Contracting directly with a buyer you found yourself: general yes, exclusive yes, exclusive-and-sole no. Registration with REINS: general no obligation, exclusive within 7 days, exclusive-and-sole within 5 days. Reports to the seller: general no obligation, exclusive at least once every two weeks, exclusive-and-sole at least once a week. Contract period: general not fixed (three months by custom), exclusive three months or less, exclusive-and-sole three months or less. Suited to: general, properties that sell easily; exclusive, properties that are hard to sell; exclusive-and-sole, (little reason for the seller to choose it).

Once the brokerage contract is signed, "marketing" begins. The company advertises, requests for viewings come in, and the seller attends the viewings (or leaves the keys if the house is empty). For an inherited family home, clearing out the household goods and checking the boundaries and any encroachments is the seller's job at this stage. If the boundaries are not settled, the buyer may ask for a boundary survey, and its cost and time (several hundred thousand yen, several months) fall on the seller. Allow about three months of marketing for a price in line with the market, and six months to a year for a property that is hard to sell.

When a buyer is found comes the "sale contract." The buyer submits a purchase application, the conditions such as price and handover date are adjusted, and on the contract day the explanation of important matters (for the buyer) and a read-through of the contract take place, and the seller receives the earnest money (by custom about 5 to 10% of the price). As described in the article on earnest money, cancelling after the contract for the seller's own reasons means returning double the earnest money, so before the contract decide whether you really will sell on these terms. From contract to settlement is usually one to two months, including the time for the buyer's loan approval.

Last comes "settlement and handover" (決済・引渡し). The buyer pays the balance, the seller hands over the keys and the title certificate (registration identification information, 登記識別情報), and the judicial scrivener applies for registration of the ownership transfer (and cancellation of any mortgage). Fixed asset tax is settled pro rata to the handover date. On this day you pay the rest of the brokerage fee to the estate agent. After settlement, you declare the capital gain described in the article on taxes on sales in the following year's tax return. For an inherited family home, it is essential to check the requirements of the 30,000,000 yen special deduction for vacant houses before the contract.

In order. When the three-month exclusive contract expired, the woman did not renew it with that company and came to me. First, have your own sense of the market. The land, converting roadside value to an official-price basis, came to about 19,000,000 yen (area 165 square metres); the 32-year-old building was valued at almost zero on the market; and looking at closed sales nearby (the transaction price data in the Real Estate Information Library), detached houses of around 30 years old in the same neighbourhood had sold for 23,000,000 to 26,000,000 yen. 29,000,000 yen was above the actual market in this area, and 24,800,000 yen was the valuation closest to it. This was the pattern I described in the main text: quoting high to win the brokerage contract.

Next, choosing the brokerage contract again. This house was in an urban residential area and was not a hard-to-sell property. She signed general brokerage contracts with the other two companies at the same time. Listed at 25,800,000 yen, it had five viewings and two offers in a month. Of the offers at 25,000,000 yen and 25,500,000 yen, she contracted with the 25,500,000 yen buyer (whose loan pre-approval was done). Six weeks from contract to settlement. Including the first three months it took five and a half months, but from the switch to general contracts it was two and a half.

One piece of the seller's preparation that paid off. During the first three months, the woman had finished a boundary survey (three adjoining parcels, about 450,000 yen) and cleared out the household goods. At the viewings with the second and third companies, buyers saw "boundary confirmation documents available" and lost one reason to ask for a discount. Both offers said "it's surveyed, so we can decide quickly"; what the seller had done in those three months was not wasted. It was as I wrote in the main text: "checking the boundaries and any encroachments is the seller's job at this stage."

The documents a seller should have for a sale are the title certificate (registration identification information), the fixed asset tax notice, the building's plans and building confirmation documents, boundary confirmation documents and survey maps (if any), and, for an inherited property, completed inheritance registration. If inheritance registration is not finished, you can sign a sale contract but cannot settle. When you start thinking about selling, inheritance registration comes first.

Of the three valuations, the right one was the lowest, 24,800,000 yen, and the one the woman chose was the highest, 29,000,000 yen. After three months and a suggested cut of 4,000,000 yen, the house sold in two and a half months on general contracts for 25,500,000 yen. In the main text I wrote, "the company that gives the highest valuation is not necessarily a good company." Before comparing valuations, have your own sense of the market. With that, she would not have chosen the figure of 29,000,000 yen.

Written by: 長澤湊（licensed real-estate transaction specialist, administrative scrivener, assistant surveyor）　Content checked on: 2026-10-24

This article is a general explanation of Japanese rules and procedures, not advice on an individual case. Figures and rules are as of the date shown. For your own situation, consult a lawyer, judicial scrivener, tax accountant or administrative scrivener in Japan.

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How selling real estate works, and the brokerage contract ― the steps from valuation to handover, and how to choose between the three types of brokerage contract

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