Settled.govt.nz — REA Authority's Official Buyer & Seller Guide

The Facts

Settled.govt.nz is operated by the Real Estate Authority (REA), the Crown entity that regulates real estate agents in NZ. It is the official consumer-facing guide to buying, selling and renting property. Content covers the legal process, common scams, agent obligations, the role of LIMs and title searches, settlement, deposits, agency agreements, and complaints. Information is free, regularly updated to reflect current law, and written in plain English. Includes downloadable checklists, sale and purchase agreement explanations, and a guide to the Property Disclosure Statement.

A Developer's Take

Settled is the Real Estate Authority's official consumer guide to buying, selling and renting NZ property. Plain English, NZ-law-aligned, free, updated when the law changes. The opposite of agent marketing copy.

The use case I lean on: handing it to less-experienced clients. When a first-time vendor asks "how does a sale process actually work", I send them a Settled link rather than try to explain it from scratch. When a buyer wants to know what a LIM is, what a builder's report should cover, what their rights are if the agent has misled them, Settled has the answer in language they can read on their phone in five minutes.

The other use: source of truth on agent obligations. The Real Estate Authority is the regulator that licences and disciplines agents. The rules on what an agent has to disclose, what they can't say, how complaints get handled, are all on Settled. If you're in any dispute or feel an agent has crossed a line, this is the consumer's starting point.

What Settled doesn't do: market commentary, individual property data, pricing analysis. For that, you go elsewhere (CoreLogic, Homes, Tony Alexander).

Bookmark it for the moments when someone you're working with needs to understand the process at a basic level, fast. Better than any agent or law firm explainer because it's neutral and free.

When to use this

Use Settled.govt.nz when you need to explain something to a less-experienced buyer or seller in a way they can trust because it carries government authority. Useful for first-home-buyer education content, for handing to a vendor who is selling for the first time, or for confirming the legal position when an agent's claim seems off. Not the primary source for legal advice (use a lawyer) but the best baseline for the consumer-protection rules around NZ property transactions.