In a real estate market with an extreme lack of properties, such as in high-end cities like Sydney and Melbourne, you may struggle to find reasonable homes at fair market value. For first-time prospective buyers looking for a lower price point, it might pay dividends to find off-market real estate — in other words, a home that does not appear on the usual real estate listing channels.
What does Off-Market Property Really Mean?
Off-market properties are homes or plots of land that are for sale but do not appear on the popular national or local Real Estate sites. Such listings are legal, open market properties that a listing agent or team of real estate agents show to potential buyers.
Although off-market listings make up a small percentage of real estate listings, potential property owners and real estate investors might shift their focus to off-market deals if they find themselves facing high prices on portals like Domain and Realestate.com.au and increasing demand in the current home market. By doing this due diligence, potential home buyers might find less competition or a possibly lower sale price in a hot housing market.
3 Reasons a Seller Might Keep a Home Off Market
Homeowners might choose to keep their property off the portals, on account of privacy concerns or in the hope of getting the highest possible price. Consider these three reasons a seller might choose to keep their real estate off market:
- See what the appetite for such a property is, and work out the interest: Some homeowners choose the off-market route to see the potential or market value they could receive from a future home sale. As market sales skyrocket above asking price, they might post a “coming soon” listing to judge if they should add their property to traditional real estate listings or pursue an off-market sale.
- Keep bidder numbers small: Some off-market homes fall into the category of “pocket listings” or “office exclusives.” In these scenarios, sellers choose singular brokers, or brokerages, to control the property listings and keep the sale out of public records. Knowledge of the selling property travels by word of mouth only to a small and select group of serious buyers. With a smaller bidding pool, sellers can mitigate cutthroat bidding wars that are common at real estate auctions or auction websites.
- Ensure privacy: High-profile homeowners might want to keep the selling of their home private from the prying eyes of their neighbours or the general public. Home sellers must deal with the time-consuming hassle of open houses and showings. Additionally, if an unfortunate, life-changing event triggered the initial selling process, showings might hold even less appeal for a homeowner wishing to maintain their privacy.
Disadvantages and Advantages of Buying an Off-Market Home
Buying a home off market has both disadvantages and advantages. Finding off-market real estate deals requires significant time, patience, and cash flow. Another downside is that some off-market homes are often distressed properties in short-sale or foreclosure stages. You will then battle with the ethical dilemma of finding a great deal at the cost of someone else’s misfortune.
Among the pros of buying an off-market home is that you can significantly broaden your search for investment opportunities by researching outside of the public advertising of portals Instead of relying on real estate agents to find investment properties that meet your criteria, you can sign up for direct mail marketing that will send you targeted advertisements. You will also have more flexibility and a wider selection of homes to choose from since the strict timetable aspects of traditional bidding are a non-issue.
If you are looking for larger off-market properties, then please contact us at newpropertynetwork.com.au and we will be able to assist you in your search.
