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The Advantages of Off-Market Marketing

RAT 119 (Rawlings Agency Tip)

Have you ever tried using the 'off-market' approach to secure an instruction? It could be just what you need in this market.

Off-market, or more correctly 'low-key' sales are where you market a property without the usual advertising, website and portal exposure. The technique has generally only been used in the past by upper market agents eg where a celebrity vendor required a discreet sale. But you can use it too, to your advantage, for the following reasons:

  1. Attracts Instructions:Discretionary sellers are beginning to reappear in the market. These are people who may sell if the right buyer comes along but they do not wish to be seen to be formally on the market yet, especially if they haven’t told friends and family.
  2. Converts Appraisals to Instructions: There is often a conflict between suggesting a high enough figure to impress the vendor and securing the instruction at a saleable price. Low-key marketing off-marketing reduces the risk of the property going stale due to overexposure at the wrong price. This enables you to try an ambitious figure to selected buyers for a limited period of time and you might get lucky - especially in a rising market. This is music to a seller’s ears!
  3. Attracts Buyers: Counter-intuitively, off-market properties are very attractive to buyers. Everyone wants something that others cannot access and this approach can stimulate interest in a property that a regular ad might not have attracted.
  4. More viewings: The more a buyer can tell about a property from a website, portal or property details, the less they need to actually see it! However if, from your verbal description, if the property is in the right area, is within their price range, of the right size, style and condition - then why would they not view it?
  5. More offers: If the buyer knows that the property has not yet formally hit the market, they know they’ll need to make an offer that ensures it does not!

Addressing vendor’s concerns:

  • Q. “How will I find buyers if the property is not being advertised?” A. We have plenty of other properties in this price range which are indeed being advertised and which attract buyers daily. We then hand-select those buyers we feel are best suited to your property so you’ll only ever receive viewings from well-qualified buyers.
  • Q. “As we are not formally marketing the property, will we still need an EPC?” A. Technically we are formally marketing the property, albeit in a low-key way. So an EPC will still be required.
  • Q. “As your advertising costs are reduced, presumably you’ll be charging me a reduced commission?” A. I’m afraid our fees are not related to our costs, but to our ability to get you the very best price the market will pay, within a timescale that is convenient for you. In fact, there is arguably more work involved in offering what is essentially a much more proactive service than just advertising your property and waiting for the phone to ring, which is what some agents do!

As with any alternative approach, the key is to create points of difference, distinction and remarkability if you are going to be the professionally attractive agent of obvious first choice. Why not try it today and let me know how you get on!