Off-market sales on a growth spurt as vendors canvass their options
An increasing number of Melbourne vendors are choosing to sell their homes off-market – and it’s not difficult to see why.
Vendors are attracted to off-market sales campaigns because of the lack of stress and pressure that comes with using this sales method. There are also other major bonuses such as saving on marketing expenditure and other costs, and buying and selling with a greater level of privacy.
But perhaps the biggest plus-factor for vendors is that an off-market campaign allows a seller to test demand for their property in a low-risk way. If demand proves strong, they have the option to sell the home off-market or instead shift up a gear to a three- or four-week auction campaign, which typically exposes their property to a broader and deeper buyer pool.
The number of off-market campaigns occurring at the moment is uncharacteristically high. Nelson Alexander’s 17 sales offices are conducting 20 per cent of all sales off-market, which is significantly higher than the ratio of three or four years ago.
Nelson Alexander Northcote-based partner Luke Sacco says with an off-market campaign qualified buyers are privately invited to inspect a property that’s within their price range. There are no advertised open-for-inspections where anyone can turn up.
Mr Sacco says off-market sales have become very appealing to sellers at a range of price points because these owners don’t risk having their property being seen as one that’s stayed unsold for a longer-than-average period.
“Essentially, the off-market campaign is giving people the ability to put their toe in the water withoutdamaging the product,” he says.
“If, for example, none of the invited buyers shows interest in the $1 million asking price, then the property has not been listed on realestate.com.au or Domain and it hasn’t been lumped in with other properties that have passed in at auction or failed to sell.
“The vendor can then realign the property and get the price right or the owners might decide not to sell if they can’t get their price. If they decide not to sell, it hasn’t cost them anything, and they haven’t gone through all the trouble of setting up the property for sale and paying for advertising.”
“Essentially, the off-market campaign is giving people the ability to put their toe in the water withoutdamaging the product”
The aim of the game with an off-market campaign, of course, is to land a sale – and vendors are far better working with an agency that is not a franchise to achieve that desired transaction.
Nelson Alexander’s 17 offices are wholly owned by the company, so they actively share information and buyer lists between each other.
Many prospective home buyers do actively move between suburbs. It’s quite common for a Northcote home owner to trade up to a larger property in Essendon or for a Carlton-domiciled family to relocate to Kew for schooling reasons.
Mr Sacco says most vendors will consider the option of an off-market sale if they have faith that a large agency can find the right buyer or a buyer at the right price.
Privacy and keeping the transaction details away from the public gaze is another consideration for some buyers and sellers.
“The off market sale works well for us,” Mr Sacco says. “All 17 Nelson Alexander sales offices are linked. We are touching each other’s suburbs, and our buyers do cross over.”
The quote pricing on a property that’s offered for off-market purchase is generally not as hard and fixed as it is with the quotes on an auction listing.
Nelson Alexander almost always offers a price range, with a low point and a high point, on an auction property. By contrast, an off-market property may be just opened up to offers from buyers, without the vendor setting a firm asking price. In other cases, the vendor may have a “wish” price and there may be opportunities for buyers to make offers below this.
Buyers also need to factor in that they are likely to be inspecting unstyled properties without rented furniture and so on.
Mr Sacco says vendors of lower-priced through to expensive homes are now more comfortable with the off-market deal.
“The interest is across the board,” he says. “Most people now are conscious that the market has levelled off, and if there is a sales option where there is less risk, they are more inclined to jump in and have a go.
“And some vendors, once they see there is demand for their home, have the confidence to go to an auction, which they can do. You are not locked into doing anything.”
If you would like further information on marketing your property off-market, please contact any Nelson Alexander sales office.
