Revealed: Just how much you lose by selling a home off-market

Homeowners who choose to sell their house off-market risk leaving tens of thousands on the table. New data reveals big losses for sellers who go it alone.

Buyers who choose to sell their home off-market risk leaving a significant amount of money on the table, a new PropTrack report shows.

According to the report, which analyses sales from 2022, houses sold off-market sold for, on average, 4.3 per cent less than those listed on the property platform.

The report says, nationally, house sellers who listed their homes in 2022 ended up pocketing on average $32,300 more than those who sold off-market, with units fetching, on average, an extra $6800. In Adelaide, house listers pocketed an average $6800 more than those who sold off-market, with regional listers fetching an extra $7000.

Ray White Glenelg director Adam Keane said the potential profit could easily be far higher.

Mr Keane recently listed and sold a Warradale property, initially offered off-market.

“After 16 groups of buyers came through the property, there were no offers over $900,000,” he said.

“After encouraging the vendors to style the home and list, they had 12 registered, and eight active bidders, pushing the sale price to $1.035m.

“An investment of an extra few thousand dollars in marketing resulted in more than a $135,000 increase.”

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LJ Hooker state manager SA & WA, Alice Springs and Broken Hill Bill Dimou. Picture: Tom Huntley

LJ Hooker state manager SA & WA, Alice Springs and Broken Hill Bill Dimou said the only way a buyer could be confident they had achieved the best price for their property was by listing it publicly.

“If you want to get the best possible price for probably your biggest asset you will own, you should tell as many people about it – simple,” he said.

“As much as an agent will do their best to get the best price for the property, I believe there is always a risk that by not advertising the property you may miss out on that emotionally buyer that is prepared to pay a premium.

If you want to get the best price for your home, tell everyone it’s for sale, experts say.

“That said, we must always respect the seller’s reasons for wanting to sell off-market.”

Nationally, PropTrack data showed sellers who sold a property off-market for between $250,000 and $500,000 dudded themselve sby 4 per cent compared with those who listed on realestate.com.au, while properties between $500,000 and $750,000 sold for about 3.5 per cent less.

Properties sold off-market between $750,000 and $1m sold for more than 5 per cent less, while properties over $1m got more than 6 per cent less than those who listed.

Senior Economist at PropTrack – Paul Ryan. Supplied.

PropTrack senior economist and report author, Paul Ryan, warned against trying to get a quick sale on the quiet.

“Deciding to sell off-market may come at a significant cost to sellers,” he said.

“While some sellers might try to save money by not advertising online, this analysis shows the potential earnings lost in the final sale price far outweighs the initial cost of advertising.

“These results are based on sales in 2022, when home price growth slowed in many regions, reflecting the potential costs of selling off-market in current conditions, where strong buyer demand and limited supply is pushing prices up in most markets.”