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Off Market Properties Sydney
How We Find and Buy Off-Market Properties
Navigating the competitive Sydney real estate market can be daunting, yet a world of off-market homes for sale lies just below the surface of the listings you’ll normally see on Domain.com.au.
While it takes time and energy beyond the standard search process to uncover quality off market properties for sale the effort is invariably rewarded with increased visibility over our target buy zones, more properties for our clients to choose from and less competition from novice buyers. If you choose our Done For You service, all of the hard work is done for you- we just show you the very best off-market properties as we unearth them. If you choose our Done With You service we’ll closely coach you to set up, and stay on top of your off-market property search campaign, and check your off-market finds regularly.
Let’s walk through the mindset, strategies and tools required to snap up a hidden gem, so you can decide which of our services will be best for you.
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Done With You
If you’ve already identified properties that you like then this service may suit you.
Why Scout Off-Market Properties?
Access to Hidden Gems
What portion of properties that you could purchase are you really seeing?
In Sydney’s premium suburbs up to 20% of properties transact without mainstream marketing. Those properties don’t receive mainstream marketing either because they don’t need it, or the owner doesn’t want the exposure for any number of reasons that put a buyer at an advantage.
Of the properties that are listed on-market across all suburbs, around 30% are being shown off-market (pre-market) for a week or two prior to the Domain listing. The best of these sell in the first or second week on-market, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for inspections, due diligence and contract review.
If you’re not accessing off-market homes for sale you’re missing the gems, and potentially not seeing up to 50% of properties you might purchase.
Less Competition, Better Deals
There is undoubtedly a smaller buyer pool accessing the off-market property scene however these buyers are generally more sophisticated and motivated. Think buyers agents, VIP agent database buyers and underbidders from recent transactions. Playing in this space requires great local market knowledge, good agent relationships and a commitment to act quickly and decisively if the property is right for our buyers.
Confidentiality and Privacy for Buyers
Purchasing property is a personal process, and off-market homes provide an added layer of privacy and discretion. Transacting off market is the antithesis of duking it out on the street in front of the masses at an auction. Buyers and sellers appreciate the discretion an off-market property transaction affords, regardless of the purchase price.
Dan was an absolute pleasure to deal with during a recent purchase he completed with me off market. Dan was at all times working in his clients best interest and helped find them the perfect property in exactly the location they wanted to buy. Dan displayed excellent market knowledge and was able to provide confidence to his clients who were located interstate, helping them secure the property before it hit the market.
Andrew Cary
Dan was a pleasure to deal with recently for an off-market property sale. He communicated effectively, swiftly and made negotiations seamless.
He always acted with integrity throughout the whole process and I would definitely recommend him to other purchasers in the market looking to engage a buyers agent.
He always acted with integrity throughout the whole process and I would definitely recommend him to other purchasers in the market looking to engage a buyers agent.
Ben Langsam
I had the pleasure of meeting Dan in an off market transaction and found him to be a delight to deal with.
His communication and professionalism was outstanding throughout the deal and his tenacity meant that he was able to secure the property that his client had earmarked.
His communication and professionalism was outstanding throughout the deal and his tenacity meant that he was able to secure the property that his client had earmarked.
Anthony
To find quality matched off-market properties in Sydney that tick all of the clients boxes we apply a specific proprietary process from week one of our search for our Done For You clients.
We also coach our Done With You clients on our exact process. In a nutshell our off-market search has three key pillars;
- developing a brief that is aspirational yet achievable. We build the must haves and nice to haves into a perfectly formed succinct description to share with our target buy zone agents.
- Extreme outreach (phone, SMS, social DM, email) to our refined database of local area agents that specifically transact the type of properties we’re scouting. We have strong relationships with dominant agents in most markets thanks to our credibility representing motivated buyers and they’ll hear from us weekly.
- We scour B2B and B2C platforms listing off the market properties (Agency Websites, Quietlist/Earlymatch/Listingloop etc)
Moving relentlessly through these pillars is how we consistently find great off-market properties for clients.
1. What Does 'Off-Market Property' Mean?
There are many variations of “off-market”. In the purest sense off-market homes for sale will have zero online presence or marketing collateral. They will be shared purely by word of mouth, sometimes by an owner without the intervention of an agent. The more conventional definition of off-market is a property that isn’t listed on a major property portal like Domain. A property listed for sale behind a paywall or gated site may still be considered off-market.
A property that is marketed for sale with the intention to be listed onto a major portal would better be described as “pre-market”
2. What Prompts An Off-Market Listing?
Several factors motivate sellers to list their property off-market:
- Privacy Concerns: Sellers may want to avoid the publicity associated with traditional sales, in particular if they are a high profile figure, are in financial difficulty, are working through a divorce, or don’t want neighbours to know about the transaction
- Testing Market Conditions: Some sellers use off-market listings to gauge buyer interest and price points before committing to public advertisements.
- Avoiding the Great Unwashed: Many sellers detest the idea of dozens of strangers tramping through their home at open homes, instead preferring that only serious qualified buyers with specific credentials attend private inspections.
- Time Sensitivity: An off-market strategy can expedite sales by focusing efforts on pre-qualified buyers rather than holding open homes
- Cachet; if the home is prestigious an off-market campaign provides an air of exclusivity to the transaction
3. How to Find Off-Market Properties in Sydney?
Working the three pillars consistently yields us results finding off-market properties. The perfect brief, communicated relentlessly to a highly targeted database of selling agents, accompanied by a scouring of all B2B/B2C off-market portals. Alternatively, hiring Unicorn Buyers Agents to do this for you will yield a great result.
4. Key Off-Market Property Considerations?
Our first consideration is to discover whether the vendor actually intends to sell or whether they’re just testing the market.
Our next consideration is to understand why the vendor is selling off-market. Quite a few reasons motivating a vendor to trade off-market can be used as bargaining chips in the negotiation process. They can also serve as a red flag, with additional due diligence required. For example:
- Off-market properties for sale which have been resold several times in as many years may indicate a problem (bad neighbours, local crime/noise)
- Several off-market properties for sale simultaneously on the same street may indicate upcoming disruptive development/rezoning
- Several offmarket properties for sale in the same scheme simultaneously may indicate upcoming special levy/large costs, or financial distress if owned by the same vendor.
- Off-market properties for sale by owner can be problematic. Often the owner is not aware of the value of their property or prepared to meet the market.
5. What Value Does a Buyers Agent Add to the Off-Market Property Search?
We can show you properties you would never have found themselves, giving you a greater choice and deeper understanding of the market you’re buying in.
We will save you time and effort by qualifying off-market vendors as serious sellers, at a price that fits with your budget. We leverage our experience and relationships with agents to understand why a vendor is selling off-market so we can negotiate harder for you. Buying off-market properties is in our DNA but not all off-market homes for sale are worth considering. We sort the wheat from the chaff so you don’t have to.
Ready to purchase? Contact US for a no obligation chat
8am-6pm Mon – Sat
If you like us and we’re in a position to help there’s just a bit of paperwork then we get straight to work.
