Understanding the Depth of the Off-Market Market

If you’ve spent any time scrolling the real estate portals lately, you’d be forgiven for thinking the market is thin. A handful of listings, the same familiar addresses, and a nagging sense that surely there must be more out there.

There is. You just can’t see it.

The Off-Market World Is Bigger Than You Think

The size of the off-market market is one of the best-kept secrets in real estate, and most buyers have little idea of its scale. Right now, it’s where the real action is happening.

Almost everything we’re currently working with hasn’t been advertised. Not a portal listing, not a signboard, not a single open for inspection. Vendors are seeking buyers discreetly to build confidence to list their home – and hoping it sells without the need for a campaign.

It’s a sensible position. A well-run off-market campaign protects the vendor’s privacy, avoids the inconvenience of a campaign, and — when it works — delivers a clean, low-friction result for everyone involved.

Prices Are Moving — In Both Directions

What’s equally notable right now is the shift in vendor expectations. The gap between where sellers have been pitching and where buyers are prepared to land is closing, and vendors are increasingly the ones doing the moving.

A case in point: one property we are working on has been on the market since December. It opened at $7.5 million. We’re now in serious conversations at $6.5 million — and with competition now emerging, a resolution looks close.

Good homes are still selling. But the days of unmovable vendor expectations are giving way to something more pragmatic — and that pragmatism is creating real opportunity for prepared buyers.

Why Melbourne, Why Now

I’ll say this plainly: I feel strongly about Melbourne’s position. This city is undervalued. The fundamentals are sound, the lifestyle proposition remains world-class, and the weight of evidence points firmly upward from here.

Buyers who move now — who get their affairs in order, engage the right people, and work the off-market world — will look back on this period as one of the better decisions they’ve made.

The properties are out there. You just need to know where to look.