There’s a growing trend of homes changing hands ‘in secret’ – no signboards, no public open homes, and no social media hype.
In fact, one in five Sydney homes are selling off-market, according to last month’s Australian Financial Review.
It sounds appealing: quick, private, and seemingly low-stress. But a quick sale isn’t always a smart one – and behind the tempting pitch of ‘discreet’ lies a strategy that could quietly cost you thousands.
Here’s what selling off-market really means, and why it may not deliver the best result for your property.
What is off-market?
Put simply, off-market means your property is not publicly advertised on major portals such as Domain or realestate.com.au. Instead, your agent taps into their database and offers the property to their own buyers. If one of the agent’s contacts shows interest the agent handles negotiations privately.
Why sell off-market?
Many agents push off-market sales because they’re easy and low-risk; there’s no need to manage a marketing campaign, or schedule weeks of open homes.
However, selling off-market is not a method of sale, and does not eliminate viewings – interested buyers can still visit the property by private inspection.
Of course, there are circumstances where maintaining privacy via a non-public strategy may be paramount to the seller, in which case selling off-market may be the better path forward.
Competition drives price, and always will
The key to achieving top dollar isn’t secrecy – it’s competition. And without full exposure, you can never really know what your home could have achieved in an open market.
When a property is publicly listed, it invites qualified buyers to see it, with the intention of generating a bidding war via a well-planned and well-executed campaign through open homes (and an auction in suitable instances).
A professional on-market campaign creates urgency, optimises exposure, and leverages the greatest possible pool of buyers to maximise offers.
A $56,500 case study
In a recent Prudential Real Estate sale in Narellan Vale, a clear public campaign strategy turned strong early interest into a competitive bidding environment that exceeded expectations with an above-market result.
With a price guide of $980,000 – $1,020,000, the property attracted solid early interest, with eight qualified buyers attending a VIP open home midweek – generating an initial offer of $1,000,000.
Given the level of enquiry and despite the initial offer, the decision was made to still proceed with the scheduled Saturday open home, which drew a further 14 buyer groups. Five additional parties expressed interest, and a Timed Sale process was leveraged by Prudential’s sales team to engage all active buyers.
The strategy proved a win, with the original buyers raising their offer to a final end sale price of $1,056,500 – an impressive $56,500 above the initial offer.
The verdict
For unique homes or circumstances where discretion is essential, off-market sales have their place. But for most sellers and agents, chasing convenience could jeopardise the final sale price, as the best results almost always occur in an open market.
Prudential Real Estate Macquarie Fields | (02) 9605 5333 | macquariefields@prudential.com.au
Prudential Real Estate Narellan | (02) 4624 4400 | narellan@prudential.com.au
