If you're selling, off-market means your agent sells your home without advertising it publicly: no listing on the property websites, no signboard and no ads. Instead, your agent takes it straight to buyers they already know.

If you're buying, it means homes you won't find by searching online. You hear about them by getting known to local agents, or through a buyer's agent (someone you pay to find a home for you). With no public campaign, you have less price information to go on, so checking the price is up to you.

Selling off-market can suit you if you want privacy, have a buyer waiting or want to avoid open homes. The trade-off is that fewer buyers see your home, so fewer may compete for it.

Selling quietly changes very few of the rules. Your agent still needs your written agreement and, in most states, must pass on every offer.

In NSW, Victoria, SA and WA, the rules against underquoting cover what an agent tells a buyer, not just ads. Underquoting means suggesting a lower price than the agent's estimate or, in some states, your own price.

This page covers selling first, then buying, then the rules that apply to both.

On-market, pre-market or off-market: what's the difference?

Off-market means a home is for sale but isn't advertised to the public. You'll also hear it called an off-market sale or an off-market listing. Consumer Affairs Victoria describes it as an agent "selling a residential property without publicly advertising the sale".

Pre-market and off-market sales often start the same way, with your agent calling buyers on their list. The difference is the plan: a pre-market home is meant to go on to a public campaign, while an off-market home is meant to sell without one. If it doesn't, you can still go public.

Why do sellers go off-market?

Sellers go off-market for privacy, a buyer who's already waiting, fewer inspections, lower marketing costs or a chance to test the price. The question is whether those matter more to you than the extra buyers a campaign brings.

• Privacy. No photos of your home online, and no strangers at open homes. In Victoria, though, your sale price will usually still be published.
• A buyer may already be waiting. If your agent has a buyer on their list who wants a home like yours, you may be able to sell without a campaign.
• Less disruption. Fewer inspections, which can matter if you have tenants, young children or a busy job.
• Lower marketing costs. You can avoid most public advertising costs, such as property website listings, a signboard and print ads. Your agent's commission is a separate matter, covered below.
• Testing the price. Some sellers try off-market first, to see what buyers will offer before committing to a campaign.

Is selling off-market a good idea?

It depends on your home and who's likely to buy it. A public campaign puts your home in front of a wider group of buyers, and competition between them is what pushes a price up. Off-market, you're relying on the buyers your agent already knows.

On paper, fewer buyers means less competition for your home. But we know of no independent Australian research on whether off-market homes sell for more or less. No Cotality or government figure shows how many sell off-market either.

If you're unsure, ask your agent how long you'd try off-market before going public. A short, agreed window means you haven't given up the open market.

Does selling off-market save money?

It can save you money on marketing, but on its own it doesn't lower your commission. You still pay your agent the commission set out in the agreement you sign with them, whether your home sells off-market or after a campaign.

Check your agreement for any marketing you've already agreed to pay for, such as professional photos. Our guide to what it costs to advertise a property lists the main costs.

Commission is negotiable either way. If an agent suggests off-market to save you money, it's fair to ask whether the commission changes too.

What to ask an agent who suggests off-market

Before you agree, it's worth hearing your agent's reasons. Ask:

• How many buyers on your list want a home like mine, and how many have their finance approved?
• What recent sales of similar homes support the price you expect?
• How long will we try off-market, and what happens if the offers fall short?
• What will I pay if it sells off-market, compared with a full campaign?
• Will you pass on every offer to me in writing?
• Do you, anyone at your agency or anyone close to you have a link to the buyer?

Asking two or three agents the same questions shows you whose plan fits your home. The questions to ask when you interview an agent cover the rest.

You can compare local agents on OpenAgent to draw up your shortlist.

How do you find off-market properties?

If you're buying, you find them through people, not property websites. Agents offer off-market homes to buyers they already know, so the way in is to be one of those buyers.

• Get known to local agents. Tell the agents who sell in your suburbs what you want, your budget and whether your finance is approved, and ask to hear about homes before they're advertised.
• Use a buyer's agent. A buyer's agent is someone you pay to find a home and negotiate for you.
• Register with OpenAdvantage. OpenAdvantage is OpenAgent's free buyer network: tell us your suburb and what you're after, and you can get early access to homes before they're listed. OpenAgent doesn't act as your agent, so the checks below are still yours to do.

Pros & cons of listing off-market

If you're selling a property off-market, you may be able to significantly reduce your overheads, depending on which type of off-market listing you go with. 

Off-market listings may also give you key buyer insights about your property that can help you make an informed decision about your next steps. This makes off-market listings an ideal choice if you’re unsure of whether you want to sell your property yet.

How about the cons? There’s a chance you will get less interest in and/or a lower price for your property with an off-market listing than with a typical campaign. Of course, this will be dependent on a number of factors. 

Listing off-market can significantly reduce your overheads.

It comes down to numbers—with comparatively fewer buyers than on-market listings, there is likely to be less competition for your property. A full-blown marketing campaign will also get more eyeballs on your listing, and is more likely to generate greater interest in your property.

But don’t let this dissuade you from considering an off-market listing. By using a reputable off-market listing platform, leveraging marketing collateral like photography and 3D video tours, and keeping your costs low, you can stage a successful off-market property listing. 

How do you check the price when there's no campaign?

Look up recent sales of similar homes nearby, ask the agent for their price information, and get the documents and contract checked before you make an offer. With no campaign, there's no advertised price guide or public bidding to show you what the home is worth. Other buyers may still be interested, though.

• Ask for the agent's price information. In Victoria, the agent must give you the Property Price Statement, with the indicative price and comparable sales, within 2 business days of asking.
• Ask for the documents your state requires (see the table below), and have a conveyancer or solicitor check the contract before you sign.
• Get a building and pest inspection. In the ACT, the seller's reports must already be available for most homes.
• Know your cooling-off period, the short time after signing when you can still pull out. An off-market sale is usually a private sale, so your state's cooling-off applies, though some buyers and sales are excluded. WA has none by law, and Tasmania has one only if your contract includes it.

Our guide to auction vs private sale sets out each state's period and its conditions. The seller may ask you to give up your cooling-off, which some states allow. Ask your conveyancer before you agree.

Don't let a deadline rush you. In NSW, agents can't use high-pressure tactics, such as calling you straight after an inspection to demand an offer by the end of the day.

What rules still apply when you sell off-market?

Almost every rule that protects you and your buyer still applies, because most aren't tied to advertising. The exceptions are rules that only cover advertising, such as those in Tasmania and the NT (see the table below).

An off-market sale through an agent is usually a private sale, and these are the main rules for one, as at 21 October 2026.

Your agreement. In every state and territory, your agency agreement must be in writing, and in most it must be signed before the agent can act for you or charge commission. It sets out the commission and the marketing and other costs.

Every offer. In NSW, Victoria, WA, Tasmania and the ACT, your agent must pass on every offer, unless you've told them otherwise in writing and the law allows it.

In SA, your agent must take reasonable steps to get every offer in writing and signed, and give you a copy within 48 hours unless you agree a later time.

If you're selling in Queensland, it's worth asking your agent to agree in writing to pass on every offer, because we didn't find the same rule in Queensland's law. In the NT, the government lists passing on offers among an agent's usual duties.

The agent's interest. In NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT, your agent, or someone close to them, can only buy your home if they tell you and get your written consent first. Some of these states add conditions, such as a fair price. In SA, a purchase like this needs the Commissioner's approval.

SA (with one narrow exception) and Tasmania also ban one agent acting for both you and the buyer.

The price and the paperwork. In most states, the price rules cover what your agent says to a buyer, not only what's in an ad. In some states, your documents need to be ready before a buyer is even approached.

Whatever your state's rule covers, the ACCC, the national consumer regulator, says it's illegal everywhere for an agent to mislead buyers. Each rule here has exceptions, so check how they apply to your sale with your conveyancer or lawyer.

Victoria's sold price rule. From 1 October 2026, your agent must add the sale price to the home's Property Price Statement within 7 days of the sale becoming unconditional (once any conditions, such as finance, are met). This applies even if the home was never advertised, and the price stays online for at least 18 months.

Exemptions cover family or personal violence involving the seller or buyer. Consumer Affairs Victoria says a general preference to keep the price private isn't enough on its own to get one.

An application can come from you, the buyer or the agent, and must be made within 7 days of the sale becoming unconditional. The price isn't published while it's being decided.

The rule doesn't apply if you signed with your agent before 1 October 2026 and your agreement included a non-disclosure term.

Victorian offer deadlines. Consumer Affairs Victoria says asking buyers for offers by a set date and time could count as a fixed-date sale. That would mean publishing your reserve price for 7 days before the sale can go ahead. If your agent suggests a deadline for offers on your off-market sale, ask how that rule applies.

NSW changes on the way. If you're buying or selling in NSW, new rules are expected towards the end of 2026, NSW Fair Trading says. They include a price or price range in ads sent by email, and a Statement of Information (with comparable sales) for buyers who ask.

Our guide to selling your property covers each step of a sale, whichever way you sell.

Frequently asked questions

Where this information comes from

• The definition: Consumer Affairs Victoria's industry questions and answers on the property sales and underquoting laws (updated 15 October 2026). We found no Australian law that defines "off-market".
• The rules: each state's and territory's legislation, approved forms, agents' codes of conduct and consumer regulators, checked between 16 and 21 October 2026, and the ACCC's guidance on real estate. WA's price rule and the NT's list of agent duties are from their governments' consumer pages.
• How common they are, and their prices: we found no Cotality or government measure of how many Australian homes sell off-market, and no independent measure of whether they sell for more or less. A 2022 consumer survey of 500 Victorian buyers asked how they bought. We haven't used its figure, because it covers only Victoria and isn't one of those measures.

The one Australian price comparison we found was published by a property website that earns from advertised listings. It counts any sale not listed on that site as off-market, so we haven't used it.