Sellers agree to market their properties outside of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for a variety of reasons. They may not be able to move before they sell, so their home won’t look as good as some of the comparable sales. They may have limited funds to paint, stage and fix up the house for sale. Or maybe they have small children, pets or tenants that make showing the property a challenge.
And finally, many off-market sales happen because a seller knows an agent who personally has a buyer for that seller’s property.
Many off-market sales are in very high price ranges, and there simply aren’t that many buyers out there who can afford those properties. So agents reach out privately to brokers who typically represent multi-million dollar buyers.
List and sale prices, in general, have a much narrower gap when sold off market. Because the sellers are not casting a wide net in the buyer pool, overbidding isn’t the norm. You also may need to be flexible on your closing and move-in date if sellers are still living in the property.
Here’s a look at how off-market sales have shaped up so far through mid June 2019 (based on MLS sales reported with no days on market):
Single-Family Homes
Sold Off Market: 69
Sold Above $2M:27
Sold Up to $1.5M 24
# Cash Sales: 15
Most Expensive: 2324 Pacific, an eight-bedroom, 11,000 square foot mansion floated at $15M but which sold for $14M.
Least Expensive: Investor-held 3207 Jennings in Bayview Heights for $610,000
Fun Fact: The Parkside and Sunset had the highest percentage of off-market sales, along with Bernal, Noe and Glen Park.
Condos
Sold Off Market: 110
Sold Above $2M: 17
Sold Up To $1.5M: 70
# Cash Sales: 16
Most Expensive: 250 Laurel #501 in Presidio Heights for $4,640,000
Least Expensive: A studio at The Hamilton (631 O’Farrell) for $570,000
Fun Fact: More than half of the condos sold off market were in larger buildings with ten or more units. 31 sales took place in smaller, two- to four-unit buildings at an average price of $1,673,000.