Selling unadvertised properties

Hi

What is the reason agents don't advertise properties on major websites and invite buyers through private mailing lists. What is the benefit? Is that a sign of strong market or a weak one?

 

Maybe the seller isnt that serious and doesnt want opens.

 

Why would they do that? The only reason I can think off is that they don't want to build a history of their attempted sale. In case the property does not fetch the desired price they can pull it from the market and no one would know. Once the property is on the major websites everyone knows they tried but couldn't sell.

 

So many of them? Its almost a strategy. Half of the open homes I visit on Saturday are private invitations.

 

Selling for a bargain and want it done fast and discreet?

Put a bargain online with opens, and every man and his dog will be out to have a look, empty offers and sticky beakers etc.

If agents know they could have someone on their books in a position to buy, quick/easy/painless (hopefully) and the vendor gets a quick sale, agent gets their comission with no fuss.

 

You have to consider both sides of the transaction (& the 3 parties).

Agent

1. "I've always got several buyers on my books looking for something just like your property"
2. "Most of the interest will come from someone in a small radius from the property or knows someone in that radius"

Vendor

1. "I'll bite, if you have all of those buyers, prove it"
2. "I don't want to spend anything on press marketing/I am extremely private and don't want the neighbours to know"

Buyer/Buyer's agent

1. "Cashed up buyer, what can you show me off-market?"
2. "I don't want people to know that I'm buying"

 

The vendor doesn't want to spook their tenant and risk the tenant sabotaging the sale process.

 

Maybe the agent is testing the water for a price, as the property may be unusual/not have any comparables to gauge from.

Even down to the vendor simply not wanting to pay the advertising costs.

 

We had one we were thinking of selling a small regional property. Had contacted the Agent, and were ready to go, but something happened (I can't remember what it was now), and we just never bothered. End of financial year was drawing to a close & we had another one that was due to be listed beginning of July. Agent called, they had just sold one similar to mine to a cash buyer & they wanted to buy another two in the area, did we want to sell? I said yes, we still wanted to sell, but it will have to wait now because we had one listing beginning of July & didn't want too much CG in the same financial year. I said if you can get contracts exchanged prior to the end of June, I'd sell, otherwise we'd just wait until the following year.

So, Agent took the purchaser & another party through straight away. Neither of them wanted the property, so we still have it.

 

We looked at one where the parents were going into a home and it was going to take the kids weeks to get it ready to be able to take photos for sale, so the agent used this to sell it a month or so quicker.

 

Real Estate agents have a list of buyers that are local developers.

I get such calls and this is what happens:

• A site is develop-able (and there are plenty around my area)
• They call all builders first to make a move takes it (or is open to do so)
• Sellers are often elderly in need of going to the nursing home and need the money quick
  I have purchased 4 such properties (either diseased or elderly going to nursing home)
  To them an offer of $800,000k today cash is better than $850,000 a month down the track with cooling off and long settlement and all the drama
• We go in and settle the sale in under 10 days but ask to -$20,000 for the pleasure of short settlement time (we negotiate and a deal is reached)
• Real Estate agent get his/her commission.
• For the loyalty of finding me a development site, and for being neutral when negotiations take place, I'll do him a favor: When the property is developed, I'll engage him/her to sell for me this fancy brand new sparkling place, that looks good on their property list.
• Usually we do duplex around our area, so they get two sale out of it, so two individual commission (three if you count the original site)

And yes, the vendor saved some not having to list on realestate or domain etc.

 

We often buy unadvertised property.
The main reason for off market sales is the vendor does not want to spend money on advertising limiting costs to agents commission.

We often buy property that is not technically for sale.
The Vendor saves even more in this case. No agents fees, no preparation costs, no open for inspections.