Off-Market properties Edingburgh

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The Edinburgh house market has been hot in the last couple of months, with house prices rising by around 17%!

The pandemic has also seemed to cause more demand for bigger family homes with gardens. Most people agree that staying in a cramped flat for months on end is not very fun at all!

Finding the perfect house isn’t easy, especially in Edinburgh, due to the minimal housing supply in the area. This means that even if you’re prepared to increase your house size, you may struggle to find a bigger house that’s right for you.

Don’t worry because we’re here to help! Off-market properties are a great way to find houses in an area where houses are pretty scarce. To help you out, here’s a quick introduction to what off-market properties are and how you can use them in Edinburgh.

We haven’t forgotten house sellers— there are still many benefits to selling your house off-market rather than listing them with estate agents and housing markets.

What are Off-market properties?

Since off-market properties are houses that are not publicly advertised and listed on housing markets, you won’t find them through your local estate agents or on mainstream property websites.

Usually, off-market houses are sold directly to the buyer via the seller. The process is almost the same as selling your old car to someone else.

Remember, this does NOT mean that there’s something wrong with the house. Selling off-market is for selling quickly and for those who have no problem finding buyers.

Large property developers rarely sell off-market, usually because it is more difficult to find many buyers (unless they have one already).

But if you are the buyer and 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!

This is very useful in Edinburgh because finding houses is hard enough as it is. Accessing more areas of the housing market that other people don’t know about will give you an advantage and help you find more houses you love! But you can still find more ordinary houses being sold off-market.

Benefits to Buyers

1. Less Competition

If you’re going through estate agents to look for your dream home, there is usually a ton of competition (especially nowadays). We can all admit that putting an offer on a house only to find out that the seller accepted another offer is a frustrating ordeal!

But when you buy off-market properties, there is much less competition because not many people know about the property!

2. Can be cheaper

You might find some off-market sellers who are in a rush to sell the house. This can work out in your favour since usually, they will be willing to negotiate and accept a deal that’s below the market price of the house just to speed up the process.

3. Relaxed buying process

Then some sellers are in no hurry to sell. An advantage to this is that you can take a bit more time viewing the house and getting to know the seller if you’d like. There is no rush to make a decision and get in your bid. If needed, you can take your time.

4. Faster Process

When sellers are in contact with multiple buyers, both the buying and bidding processes take a while. Sellers are waiting to get the most money for sale (aren’t we all?).

But through an off-market property, sellers are dedicating their attention to you, hoping to get the deal done as quickly as possible.

5. More Private

Houses are not listed publicly, meaning no one can know that you are moving or looking for new accommodation.

So if you prefer a more private process, off-market buying is for you.

Benefits to Sellers

1. Smaller Void Periods

Landlords wishing to sell a property are advised to ask their tenants to move out before they start the sale. Most of the time, a property is more likely to sell if it’s looking fresh and empty for viewings. Having these periods for a long time gets very expensive as there’s no rent coming in.

When selling off-market, you can send the property photos or details straight to the buyer without the tenant having to move out first. The tenant might not even have to move out if the buyer is happy to continue the tenancy.

2. Quicker Sales

Average sales on open markets usually take about 3-4 weeks to complete. You also have to deal with unserious buyers who may take very long to make a decision and use up more precious time.

With off-market sales, usually, you’re being approached by people who are already in a great position to buy, and your house fits their criteria. This saves time by cutting out prolonged viewing and negotiating processes.

3. Lower selling costs

When you sell on open markets, you need many ‘extras’ to help you along with your sale. For example, you’re going to need professional photographs, a floor plan and at least a home report. These services can cost quite a lot of money and eat into your profit when selling the house.

Selling off-market means you can skip all of this. A good phone camera will give you great resolution photos, which your buyer will be happy with.

When most people sell using estate agents, the costs rack up since estate agents can take a commission from the sale. But again, when you sell off-market, you can avoid these costs.

4. More secure sale

If you’re selling a very high profile house, possibly one with expensive paintings and decorations, putting photos on public markets may not be a good idea.

Selling off-market means only the buyer sees the photos and gives you less chance of getting unknown visitors at your house!

Conlcusion

The list above shows many benefits to both buyers and sellers by using off-market sales. Off-market properties in Edinburgh are on the rise, so it’s time to get involved!

Try and contact estate agents– they usually know about sales that are going on but haven’t yet reached the open market.

Even word of mouth is a great strategy to find houses. Let friends and family know you’re looking to buy or sell a house, and the news will travel fast.

By using these strategies, it can help you find off-market buyers or sellers in Edinburgh.