How to sell your home off market in Australia

An off market sale is one where a home changes hands without a public campaign: no portal advertisement, no signboard, no published inspection times. The home is for sale; it is simply shown to a chosen few.

You will also hear "pre-market", which usually means a short private window before a planned public launch. A true off market sale is one the owner intends to keep private from start to finish.

On property websites, "off market" often just means a home is no longer advertised. Off market does not mean sold.

The reasons are usually personal rather than financial.

• Privacy. Some owners would rather not have their home, price or circumstances on display, perhaps because of a separation, an estate or a public profile.
• Less disruption. No weekends of strangers walking through while the family still lives there.
• Testing the water. Some owners want a sense of what buyers might pay before deciding whether to sell at all. See Can you test buyer interest without listing your home?
• Lower upfront marketing spend. There may be less to pay for advertising, although commission usually still applies if an agent sells the home.

Most off market sales go through a licensed agent, and the shape is similar in every state.

1. Get more than one appraisal. Consumer Affairs Victoria suggests getting several and not choosing an agent just because they quote the highest price. An agent's estimate is not a valuation; a qualified valuer can provide an independent one for a fee.
2. Sign an agency agreement. It is a sales authority in Victoria, an agency agreement in New South Wales and a Form 6 appointment in Queensland. It records the agent's estimated selling price, commission and any marketing costs.
3. Agree the approach in writing. Who will be approached, how long the private window runs, and what happens if it does not produce an offer you like.
4. The agent approaches buyers. Usually buyers registered with the agency and buyer's agents with clients in your area.
5. Private inspections and offers. Inspections are by appointment, and offers are negotiated as in any private sale.
6. Contract and disclosure. A conveyancer or lawyer usually prepares the contract and the seller's disclosure documents, which your state generally requires the buyer to receive before signing.
7. Exchange and settlement. From here it runs like any other sale.

If the private window does not work out, you can usually move to a public campaign or simply stay put.

Yes. Consumer Affairs Victoria and the NSW Government both say you can sell without an agent, and Queensland's guidance on appointing an agent notes that under a sole agency no commission is payable if you sell the home yourself. You then take on pricing, finding buyers, negotiating, the deposit and settlement.

The legal documents remain. In New South Wales, you must have a contract of sale prepared before you can advertise. In Victoria, a conveyancer or lawyer prepares the vendor's statement (the section 32 statement) and the contract of sale. In Queensland, since 1 August 2025, sellers must give the buyer a seller disclosure statement (Form 2) and prescribed certificates before the buyer signs, or the buyer may be able to terminate.

The hard part is usually finding buyers at all.

If you already have an agent, read your agreement first. In New South Wales and Queensland, an exclusive agency can mean commission is payable even if you find the buyer yourself, while a sole agency generally does not charge commission when you sell to a buyer you found. In Victoria, an exclusive authority can entitle the agent to commission even if you sell without their help.

It is a trade between privacy and reach, and either choice is reasonable.

What you gain: privacy, fewer inspections, possibly lower advertising costs, and the freedom to stop quietly.

What you give up: fewer buyers see the home, so there is usually less competition, and it is harder to know whether an offer is the strongest available.

PropTrack's analysis of 2022 sales estimated that houses sold off market went for 4.3% less on average than comparable houses advertised on realestate.com.au, and units 1.2% less. Two caveats: PropTrack counts any sale not matched to a realestate.com.au advertisement as off market, including homes advertised elsewhere, and an average across very different homes says little about yours. The logic is simple, though. Price is set by competition, and fewer buyers usually means less of it.

Going off market changes how a home is marketed, not the law around the sale. Details vary by state.

• Price quoting. In Victoria, an agent must not advertise or tell a buyer a price below the seller's asking price, the agent's estimated selling price, or a written offer the seller has already rejected, so the rule covers private conversations too. In New South Wales, the agency agreement must include a reasonable, evidenced estimated selling price, and a range can be no wider than 10%. In Queensland, an agent who suggests a price must back it with a comparative market analysis.
• Rules are changing. Victoria introduced a Property Price Statement and published reserve prices for auctions and fixed-date sales from October 2026, and New South Wales expects new underquoting and advertised price laws towards the end of 2026.
• Cooling-off. Buyer cooling-off varies by state. In Victoria it is three clear business days for most private sales. In New South Wales it is five business days after exchange, a buyer who withdraws pays 0.25% of the price, and it does not apply at auction or where the buyer gives a 66W certificate. In Queensland it is five business days, with a penalty of up to 0.25%, none at auction, and buyers can waive or shorten it in writing. For agency agreements, New South Wales gives owners until 5pm the next business day, while Victoria has no cooling-off once you sign a sales authority.

None of this is legal advice; a conveyancer or property lawyer in your state can tell you what applies.

SecretHomes is a consent-based matching platform. Homeowners create a private property profile, buyers create briefs describing what they want, and the Human Alignment Engine quietly looks for alignment between them. Nothing is publicly advertised, nothing is shared without your consent, and an introduction is only made when both sides say yes. It is free for homeowners and buyers, and you do not have to be ready to sell.

SecretHomes matches and introduces. It doesn't act as an estate agent and doesn't give pricing or sale advice. If you want to take a match further, a licensed agent handles it from there.