Most people know that you can find properties for sale on websites such as realestate.com.au or domain.com.au, in the property section of the newspaper and on displays at real estate offices.
If you’re currently in the market for a new home or investment property, you’ve probably spent some time looking for the right property for you in one or more of these places.
However, what you may not realise is that the pool of properties “for sale” extends well beyond the properties you see online or in print. In fact, many properties don’t ever get to the advertising stage. Instead, they’re sold “off market”, without the general public ever realising they were for sale.
If you’ve been struggling to find the right property for your family or portfolio, this may sound a little discouraging. But it doesn’t have to be. Because finding – and buying – “off market” properties is a lot easier than you might think.
You just need to follow a few simple steps.
“Off the market” properties
A property is “off market” if it’s currently for sale, but is yet to be advertised on any media at all. In other words, this is a property that has no “for sale” sign in front of the house, no ad in the newspaper, and no listing on realestate.com.au or domain.com.au. If it’s listed with a proactive real estate agent, it may be sold without ever being advertised at all.
Finding off the market properties
Most people who buy a property off the market are introduced to that property by the real estate agent. Often, the agent hasn’t even taken photos yet, let alone listed the property online.
If you want access to off market properties, you need to speak to real estate agents that specialise and sell a lot of properties in the area you’re looking at. Ask these agents to put you on their database and let you know if a house or other property that suits you pops up. Tell them to inform you about the property before it goes to market and let them know that if you like the property, you’ll make an offer immediately.
Many agents will be happy to help you buy off the market because it allows them to provide a better service to their sellers and reduces their marketing burden. Sellers are almost always highly motivated to sell off market to avoid the hassle of preparing for open homes and they worrying about how long their house will be on the market for. Ultimately, everyone involved gets the benefit of certainty and closure – including you. It’s a win-win-win.
Why buy off the market?
There are many reasons to consider buying off the market.
To begin with, buying off market ensures you get first priority access to homes in your chosen area. One of these “off market” properties may very well be your dream home or investment, so why wouldn’t you give yourself the best chance of finding it?
Buying off market is also a great approach if you’ve made offers on houses, but your offers were unsuccessful. Sometimes properties are already under contract before the open home, which makes house hunting a very frustrating experience. This isn’t nearly so much of a challenge for off market properties.
Buying off market is an ideal solution if you have an urgent need to move now. Whether you’ve just sold your house, your lease is expiring, you’re expecting another child or you have some other urgent driver behind your move, buying off market gives you access to more properties and the chance to secure the right one quickly.
Get in first
At The Henry Wong Team, we’re big believers in selling houses off market. At the time of writing, more than 1 in 3 of the houses we sell don’t make it to market.
If you’re interested in buying in the greater Wishart area or the Mansfield State High School catchment and want access to houses before the “for sale” sign even goes up, we can help.
Simply call Henry today on 0412 471 588 or use our buyer portal to let us know what kind of property you’re looking for.
