The owners of off-market listings are willing to sell, but prefer to do it in a discreet way.

Off-market listings used to be limited to celebrities who didn’t want the average person walking through their home. They are, however, rising in popularity despite not being known to the general public. Even though everything has a price, the owners of off-market listings are genuinely willing to sell but prefer to do it in a discreet way.

So why is the off-market sale rising in popularity?

Privacy

Having a million-dollar home meant a great deal 15 years ago, but today, the median house price in Sydney sits above that and is already over $900,000 in Melbourne. Homes have become an increasingly valuable asset and thus homeowners are not happy with large numbers of people coming through.

By keeping the property off-market, you know that only those that are genuinely interested in purchasing a home similar to yours will be able to see it, which removes the possibility of stickybeaks taking a look for their own amusement.

Unfortunately, two of the more common reasons houses are sold are for death and divorce, which may already be difficult times. A four week sale campaign isn’t something people will necessarily want to add to their list if either of these categories are the catalyst. People in these situations may want to avoid any stigma or keep their matters private as much as possible which is best done when people don’t know the house is for sale.

For people’s investment properties, off-market listings are rare, so it mostly sits with the attachment to personal homes.

Save time and money

Off-market listings aren’t going to be viewed by as many people, so replacing all of a home’s furniture is not always necessary. Some off-market listings are still photographed but the reach of these will be significantly lower than that of online listings

Preparing a home for sale is a huge task and for many, it involves a lot of decluttering. This includes removing personal items that make the home unique to the owners. When full staging takes place, the owners generally vacate the property entirely and move out, however, this also comes at an additional cost as rent must be paid or the next property you have purchased must already have settled.

With off-market sales, it isn’t necessary to leave the property, or remove personal items. This saves a significant amount of time and stress, in what can already be a tense process.

Off-market sales also remove the need to have an auction, so there are savings to be found there also.

It should still reach the right buyers

In return for saving time and money, vendors should be aware that they are potentially at risk of obtaining a lower price for the sale of their homes, which is due to a smaller pool of potential buyers.

One of the most common questions people ask before their homes become off-market listings is whether or not people will find out about the home and have the opportunity to inspect and make an offer.

Off-market specialists need to be excellent matchmakers as they need to sell homes without the benefit of mass-marketing from online portals.

To achieve this, agents should be consistently working to build their database of legitimate buyers, with notes for each person about homes that they are seeking. Quality databases are therefore becoming increasingly important. There doesn’t need to be thousands of people viewing a listing but instead people who you know and know what they are seeking. This will help guarantee that potential purchasers can be notified without the need to go public with a listing and also help the vendor achieve the best possible price.

Effects for purchasers 

While there are more benefits for those selling the home, off-market homes have benefits for purchasers too.

Buyers can avoid the stress of an auction where they won’t see a property snapped up by someone else right before their eyes. For homes that people really want, auctions can be disheartening. Instead, people have slightly more time to make an offer and negotiations are done in private, away from other interested parties.

The downside to off market sales is the lag effect it has on suburb data, as the sale will not usually be divulged in industry data, but rather via public government data, which can take up to six months from the date of sale.

When deciding whether an off market sale is the right choice for you, it’s important to weigh up the pros and cons and discuss any concerns you may have with your agent.

Source: https://www.therealestateconversation.com.au/blog/nathan-jones/why-are-more-people-choosing-sell-market/private-sale/discreet-real-estate-sale