Heard about the option to sell your property off-market, but not exactly sure what this term means?

An off-market property usually describes a property that is listed without the use of public advertising or marketing to help promote the sale. 

Curious to learn more? In this article, we’ll explore off-market listings and help you work out if listing a property off-market is the right move for you.

What does off-market mean in real estate terms?

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering, “What does off-market mean in real estate terms?” you’re not alone. It can be a confusing term to wrap your head around.

Traditional off-market property listings

A traditional off-market property listing describes a property for sale that isn’t marketed or advertised using typical ‘on-market’ real estate sales channels. 

When you choose to sell a property at an auction or private sale, your real estate agent will usually use a variety of on-market methods to market your property. For example, they may use:

• Online listings on real estate websites
• Advertisements in newspapers and magazines
• Brochures, posters, and flyers
• A sale board outside your property.

On the other hand, a traditional off-market property listing doesn’t make use of any of these real estate marketing campaigns. Instead, the real estate agent in charge of the listing will contact and source potential buyers from their database or from people who have previously expressed an interest in buying in the area. 

If a sale is made during this time, it is called an off-market sale. Properties may also be classed as off-market in the few weeks before they are listed on any of the major real estate portals. 

How do traditional off-market listings work?

Traditional off-market listings work by showing your property to a select group of potential buyers on a platform dedicated to off-market sales.

If you decide to go with a traditional off-market listing, you may need to pay real estate agent fees.

Some sites will require a real estate agent to put together your traditional off-market listing for you. In such cases, you will need to pay an agent fee and sign an agent agreement. Like any other legal document, it’s important to consult a solicitor if you don't understand the terminology or wording of your agent agreement.   

Your agent agreement will include details about: 

• Your property
• The duration of the agreement
• If the agreement is sole (exclusive) or general (non-exclusive)
• The agent's estimated selling price
• Your acceptable selling price
• The advertised price
• Method of sale
• Settlement period 
• The commission and fees you agreed on

Other sites will charge you a commission fee upon successful sale . There’s also the option to do a pre-market listing. This describes when a property is officially for sale, but on-market listings and marketing materials (like those mentioned above) for it are still being made. 

As such, only buyers who have signed up to receive notifications about pre-market listings on each given platform will learn about them. Eventually, these listings will end up on a publicly-facing listings portal.

Some traditional off-market listing sites may give you the option of getting professional photos of your property. If your budget allows, it's recommended that you do, because regardless of whether your property is off-market or on-market, you'll want to show it in its best light to attract buyer interest. 

But as you can imagine, the cost of professional photos can range in the hundreds to thousands of dollars. That’s not to mention the cost of other types of marketing collateral, like a floor plan or videos. (And let’s not forget about the real estate agent’s fees too!).

It’s worth noting that some of these sites will limit the amount of information about your property they show to buyers, including photographs, floor plans, and videos of it. In fact, some won’t show any specific details about your property until the buyer makes contact with you. 

Needless to say, this can make it quite difficult for your property to stand out among the thousands of other listings. It also makes your listing less enticing for potential buyers, as they’ll need to make a decision whether to reach out to you based on very minimal information. As many sites charge buyers to make contact with off-market sellers, buyers of such sites tend to be more discerning with who they reach out to.

Once your listing is up, you’ll need to wait for interested buyers to come across it. If someone is interested in your property, they’ll make an offer and the sales process will proceed as per normal.

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.