I was recently asked if summer is a quite time for the London Property Market.
I would say 90% of the business I do is off market, where time and budget are not important and so the timescale of a sale can be much longer. As a result, those properties that are sold off market are often done so because the owners do not want to be seen to advertise their property for six months or longer, which can often be how long a property takes to sell at this level of the market, due to different motivations amongst the buyers.
At the very top end of the market, say over £10million, most of the activity is conducted in this way, but the way buyers operate is very different from the conventional market.
Reasons for selling off market are often to do with the fact that wealthy owners do not want their affairs to be public, and if they are in a position of high standing they do not want to be seen to be ‘in difficulty’, which is often the assumption (often the wrong one!) that people come to in this economic climate.
The fact is that the best properties are sold off market at this level. And the best buyers are those who are also operating under the radar. Premium prices are achieved only in the sense that, when a buyer finds a property that really suits them, they are often advised and willing to pay a premium in order to secure it for themselves. Properties at this level of the market are often complete one offs, so if the house is right, then the budget becomes more flexible.”