This year has been hectic for the housing market. In the first 15 weeks of 2021, £150 billion worth of houses, including off-market properties in Glasgow, were sold. A lot of this is because of lockdown. People’s lifestyle habits are changing. Many people are looking for larger family homes with gardens to spend any future lockdowns in. Hopefully, they won’t need to!
But this also means people that are already in large homes are more likely to keep them. For example, there are 58% fewer listings of four-bedroom homes than in 2019. For a lot of people, this means it is harder to find new homes to buy.
House hunting when supply is short isn’t fun at all! It takes a long time to find a house that you like and even when you do find one, there are lots of people looking at the same house. If the house gets lots of attention, there might likely be bids that you can’t compete with.
A boom in house prices and sales are also a good opportunity for investors. In Glasgow, property prices have increased by an enormous 16.5% since last year. People looking to make money through property investment can buy houses now and either rent them or sell them in the future for a profit.
But even if you’re an investor, you can face the same problems as regular home buyers. In a market where houses are scarce, it’s difficult to buy a house at a price where you can make a profit.
Don’t worry; we can help you out. Most people don’t know a lot about off-market properties and their benefits. In this post, we’ll tell you all you need to know and how you can use the benefits in Glasgow.
What are Off-market properties?
Off-market properties are houses that are not publicly advertised and listed on housing markets. Therefore, you won’t find them through your local estate agents or on mainstream property websites.
Typically, these off-market properties are sold directly by the seller to the buyer. Think of it as the same process as selling an old car straight onto someone else!
Usually, off-market properties are sold through an individual homeowner or even a landlord who’s very keen to sell their house quickly.
It’s uncommon to see large property developers selling off-market, but you should know that this doesn’t mean that something is wrong with the house- the buyer is just looking to sell quickly or more peacefully!
Usually, it’s more difficult for sellers to find many buyers unless they have one already. But once you find a seller, you can usually discover a great house that you wouldn’t find elsewhere.
Off-market sales are most familiar with high-value sales. With these kinds of sales, the houses are more likely to be looked at by high-class clientele who prefer more private transactions. So if you’re looking for or buying a very large or well-known house- off-market is the way to go!
But you can still find more ordinary houses being sold off-market. This is very useful in Edinburgh because finding houses is hard enough as it is. So accessing more housing market areas that other people don’t know about will give you an advantage and help you find more houses you love!
Benefits to Buyers
1. Less Competition
When looking for houses on standard estate agents, there’s usually much competition for the house you want to buy. Nothing is more frustrating than finally finding a house that you love, but someone else takes it!
But when you buy off-market properties, usually not many people know about the property, and you are less likely to get involved in any unexpected bidding wars!
2. Can be cheaper
You might encounter some sellers who will be in a rush to sell the house. The reasons vary, but usually, you will be able to negotiate a deal below the house’s market price.
3. The more relaxed buying process
Some sellers are in no hurry to sell, allowing you to take your time viewing the house, getting to know the seller and more. Additionally, there is less of a rush to decide since you are not competing to place a bid before other buyers; instead, you can take your time when deciding if the house is right for you.
4. Faster Process
When sellers contact multiple buyers, the buying and bidding process usually takes a long time because sellers wait for the highest possible bid. But with an off-market property, the seller can dedicate all their time to you, negotiating a deal with you as quickly as possible.
5. More Private
Houses are not listed publicly. Suppose you’re not comfortable with people knowing your moving house or looking for new accommodation. In that case, you’re covered because no one will know you’ve moved into a new house until you’ve announced it.
Opportunities to look out for
Scotland’s luxury housing market has been very hot in the last couple of years. Last year, 638 houses worth £750,000 or over were sold- the highest amount in the last six years. This includes Glasgow, which has its own fair share of luxury properties.
Luxury houses are an easy target for off-market sales. Owners of these types of houses are much more likely to be willing to sell the house off-market. A great idea would be to get in touch with estate agents in these types of areas. Estate agents will know houses that are about to be sold, and they can get you in contact with the owner before the house reaches the market.
You can also find companies online that specialise in finding off-market buyers and sellers- for example, Simpson and Marwick. They can add you to a database of people looking to buy off-market. So if a buyer is ready to sell a house, you’ll know about it.