You can start preparing to sell a house before probate in NSW, but the sale can’t settle until the Supreme Court has granted probate. Whether you can sign and exchange contracts any earlier is a question for the estate’s solicitor or conveyancer, because it depends on the estate and on how the contract is written.
Below is what you can get on with now, what has to wait, and where families in Green Valley, Busby and Liverpool get caught out when money is tight and the house is sitting empty.
BJ Gregory is a licensed real estate agent, not a lawyer. The probate points below come from official NSW sources, named as we go, but your solicitor should advise on your own estate.
Can you sell a house before probate in NSW?
Partly. An executor can get an appraisal, choose an agent and plan a sale before probate is granted. The sale cannot settle, and the title cannot pass to a buyer, until the Supreme Court grants probate. Whether contracts can be exchanged earlier depends on the estate and the contract, so ask the solicitor.
What can happen before probate, and what has to wait?
Probate is the Supreme Court’s confirmation that the will is valid and that the executor has authority to deal with the estate. Until the grant comes through, the executor can plan. After it, the executor applies to NSW Land Registry Services to be recorded on the title, lodging a Transmission Application with the probate (NSW LRS Registrar General’s Guidelines). Only then can a buyer’s transfer be registered.
| Before the grant: you can | After the grant: has to wait |
| Get a free property appraisal so the family knows roughly what the home is worth | Settlement of any sale |
| Check the certificate of title for joint tenants or tenants in common | Recording the executor on the title (Transmission Application) |
| Publish the 14-day notice and file the probate application | Transferring the title to a buyer |
| Choose an agent and plan timing with the solicitor | Distributing the estate to beneficiaries |
| Secure and insure the empty home, and speak to the lender |
Signing or exchanging a contract sits in neither column. Ask the solicitor first.
Can you exchange contracts before probate in NSW?
Maybe. We’d rather say that plainly than pretend there’s a neat rule.
Solicitors’ guides online disagree: some say you can exchange with a condition making settlement depend on probate, others say wait for the grant. We haven’t found official NSW guidance setting a general rule either way.
What the Supreme Court does say is telling. Its probate page lists when it may consider a request to fast-track an application, and states that requests from executors or administrators who sell real estate without first obtaining a grant will not be entertained (Supreme Court of NSW). Signing a contract early won’t move your application up the queue.
If exchanging early is on the table, the solicitor or conveyancer needs to review the contract before anyone signs. The contract terms are their call, not ours.
When might you not need probate at all?
Sometimes the house was never part of the estate.
The Supreme Court explains that property held as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant, and that no grant is needed if all of the deceased’s assets were held that way with someone who survived them (Supreme Court of NSW, Applying for a grant of probate). Legal Aid NSW adds that where the deceased owned property in their own name or as tenants in common, a grant should be applied for.
Here the surviving owner lodges a Notice of Death with NSW Land Registry Services, with evidence such as the death certificate, to take the deceased’s name off the title (NSW LRS guidelines). After that, they’re selling their own home.
The certificate of title shows which kind of ownership applies. Even with a joint tenancy, check with a solicitor before relying on this.
How long does probate take in NSW?
The Supreme Court doesn’t publish a single “it takes X weeks” figure. It publishes something more useful: a weekly table showing which filing dates its registrars are working through.
When we checked in early October 2026, the Court was assessing straightforward probate applications filed about two to three weeks earlier. Letters of administration (the grant used when there’s no will) and complex applications were further behind, with some filed two to three months earlier still waiting. The Court put the delay down to application volumes and registrar availability. The figures change every week, so check the Supreme Court of NSW probate page for the current position.
“Being assessed” isn’t the same as “granted”, either. If the registrar finds a problem, they issue a requisition, and the application waits until it’s answered.
The clock starts before filing, too. The Probate and Administration Act 1898 requires at least 14 days’ notice before the application is filed, published through the NSW Online Registry (Supreme Court of NSW, notice of intended application).
Things that tend to slow it down:
- no will, or a will the Court treats as complex, such as an informal or copied will
- paperwork problems that lead the registrar to issue a requisition
- a family disagreement or a challenge to the will
Can it be sped up? Only in appropriate circumstances. The Court gives examples, such as the deceased having already sold a property that’s due to settle, or financial hardship where the only person entitled is a surviving spouse or minor child. Requests aren’t considered until the 14-day period has passed.
Why the order of steps matters for a sale
Because a buyer works to a date.
A buyer arranges finance and books removalists. If the settlement date arrives before the grant, the estate can’t hand over the title, and what happens next depends on the contract wording. At best you’re asking for an extension. At worst the deal falls over, the marketing money is spent, and the home relists with a history buyers will ask about.
There’s a family cost too. A week of talking with beneficiaries before anything is signed is cheaper than months of repairing trust.
Our view: get the plan ready, but let the grant, or a clear timeline from the solicitor, set the pace. For pricing, sale method and costs once probate is in hand, see our executor’s guide to selling a deceased estate.
What if money is tight while you wait?
The loan repayments don’t pause. Rates notices keep arriving. And an empty house still needs insuring.
Call the lender early. Ask what they need from the executor and what options exist while probate is underway.
Check the home insurance. Policies can have conditions about unoccupied homes, so get written confirmation that cover continues. For securing the place, see our guide to clearing a deceased estate.
Contact the council about the rates account and ask what they need from the executor.
Ask the solicitor about hardship. It’s one of the grounds the Supreme Court lists for expedition, where the only person entitled is a surviving spouse or minor child.
None of this replaces legal or financial advice.
What can you do with us while you wait for probate?
Quite a lot, and none of it commits you to selling.
BJ can do a free property appraisal, so everyone has the same realistic starting point before deciding whether to sell.
We’ll plan timing around where the probate application is sitting, so nothing gets rushed. With your permission, we’ll keep in touch with the estate’s solicitor or conveyancer so the sale follows the probate timeline, not the other way round.
If some of the family live interstate or overseas, BJ can speak with authorised family members by phone or video call. He handles the first conversation and review himself, drawing on over 20 years as a second-generation agent across Green Valley, Liverpool and Fairfield. If you’re after a real estate agent in Green Valley or a real estate agent in Liverpool who won’t rush you, that’s how we work.
Questions about probate timing
Do you need probate to sell a house in NSW?
Usually, yes, if the house was in the deceased’s sole name or held as tenants in common. If it was held as joint tenants with someone who survived them, it passes to that person and probate isn’t needed for the house. Check the certificate of title and confirm with a solicitor.
How long does probate take in NSW?
There is no fixed figure. The Supreme Court of NSW publishes weekly processing times instead. In early October 2026, straightforward probate applications were being assessed about two to three weeks after filing, while letters of administration and complex applications took longer. Requisitions, complex wills and disputes can add time.
Can I list the house before probate is granted?
We haven’t found an official NSW rule on listing before the grant, so speak with the estate’s solicitor before the house goes to market. What is clear is that the property can’t be transferred to a buyer until probate is granted and the executor is recorded on the title.
Can probate be sped up if we already have a buyer?
Not on that basis. The Supreme Court of NSW says it will not entertain expedition requests from executors or administrators who sell real estate without first obtaining a grant. It may consider expedition in other circumstances, such as financial hardship where the only person entitled is a surviving spouse or minor child.
When does the probate clock actually start?
Before the application can be filed, at least 14 days’ notice must be published through the NSW Online Registry. After filing, the application waits in the Court’s queue for assessment, and any requisition the registrar raises has to be answered before a grant can be made.
A calm first conversation
You don’t need probate finished, and you don’t need to have decided to sell. If it would help to know where things stand, BJ is happy to do a no-obligation property review and talk through the timing with you. Call 0422 333 333, email bj@gregory.agency, or reach us through our contact page.
