Great selling agents can often get you a better price off market than on market. Here’s how and why.

A committed but not desperate seller may choose to sell off market for a variety of reasons including:

1. Less hassle preparing the house for a series of public inspections
2. Avoid marketing expense
3. Stay under the radar
4. To sell quickly

But does selling off market mean they’ll get a lower price?

The answer is not necessarily.

Suppose there is only one interested party … clearly the vendor will probably achieve a better result if their selling agent negotiates well than if there are crickets at their auction.

Now suppose there are ten interested parties. And let’s say we know what price each will pay and we list those prices in order. At auction the vendor will get the price the second highest bidder will pay. With an asking price (or simply by negotiation) they may get more than that.

If you have no idea what the property is worth, or can’t find an agent who you trust to get a good read on all the buyers then you should always buy and sell at auction. However if you are able to form a view on value/price and can engage a highly skilled sales agent then you may do better selling off market.