By Luis Lequerica, Managing Director & Co-founder · Updated 21 Oct 2026
How to Find Off-Market Properties in Sydney
What off-market properties are, whether they are cheaper, and how a buyers agent gets you access to Sydney homes before they hit the market.
An off-market property is a home offered for sale without public advertising. It is offered without being publicly listed on realestate.com.au or Domain, and no open home or auction campaign announces it. Instead, the seller and their agent quietly offer it to a small network of trusted buyers and buyers agents. In Sydney, off-market sales are common in high-demand areas such as the Eastern Suburbs, where discreet vendors want privacy and a fast, clean result. For buyers, the appeal is potentially less competition than a public campaign. For sellers, it is control and confidentiality. The trade-off is access: you cannot find these homes by searching portals, because they move through relationships rather than public listings. A buyers agent's regular contact with selling agents can help uncover opportunities beyond public listings, and research into recent comparable sales helps you assess whether the price is fair.
Sydney’s best homes often sell before they are ever advertised. In the Eastern Suburbs and other tightly held pockets, a meaningful share of quality property changes hands quietly, through relationships between sellers, selling agents and buyers agents. If you only search realestate.com.au and Domain, you never see these homes. This guide explains what off-market property is, whether it is actually cheaper, and the practical steps to get access before the crowd does.
How to find off-market properties in Sydney
- Work with a buyers agent. Their daily contact with selling agents surfaces homes before any campaign begins.
- Build agent relationships. Introduce yourself to agents in your target suburbs and keep in touch so they remember you.
- Be ready to move. Having finance ready and a clear brief puts you in a stronger position when an opportunity appears.
- Watch for pre-market opportunities. Some homes surface briefly before a full campaign, so be ready to act.
A real off-market purchase
A young family came to us after we advised them, before they were even clients, that an apartment they loved would sell well beyond their budget. It did. Weeks later a local agent called about a listing that had not gone online. No advertising, no open homes, nobody else in the running. We inspected it before the public market saw it and bought it for $1.47 million.
The result: a garden apartment in a stronger suburb, with a private garden and secure parking, for roughly the price they had been prepared to pay for an apartment offering considerably less.
Read the full story: off-market garden apartment secured in South Coogee.
Off-market vs on-market: how they compare
| Factor | Off-market | On-market |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility | Private, agent networks | Public portals and campaigns |
| Competition | Fewer buyers | Open to everyone |
| Negotiation | Direct, more room | Auction or multi-offer pressure |
| Privacy | High | Low |
| Access | Needs relationships | Anyone can enquire |
How a buyers agent gets you access
A buyers agent works the selling agent network every day, which is where off-market homes live. They hear about a property, inspect it, check the price against recent comparable sales, and negotiate directly, all before it reaches the public.
In practice that means years of relationships with selling agents across our target suburbs, so we get invited to inspect before a campaign starts. It means valuing the property against recent sales that same week. And it means putting the contract, the building and pest inspection and the strata report in motion straight away, so the decision gets made on full information rather than under pressure. See recent purchases for how that has played out.
This is the core of our full property search in Sydney: we work the agent network so you see the homes that never reach a portal.
Mistakes buyers make going off-market
- Assuming off-market always means cheap. Some vendors go quiet to achieve a premium. Always value independently.
- Moving without finance ready. Delays in confirming finance can put you at a disadvantage when a seller wants to move quickly.
- Skipping due diligence. Fewer competing buyers is not a reason to skip building, pest or strata checks.
Frequently asked questions
Are off-market properties cheaper?
Not always. Off-market properties can be cheaper because there is less competition and no auction pushing the price up. But some sellers go off-market precisely to achieve a premium quietly. The advantage is access to opportunities beyond public listings, with potentially fewer competing buyers. In one recent purchase, our clients secured an off-market garden apartment in South Coogee for $1.47 million, roughly what they had been prepared to pay for an on-market apartment offering considerably less.
How do I find off-market properties in Sydney?
Most off-market homes are shared through selling agent relationships, not portals. One way to access them is through a buyers agent who speaks to those agents daily. You can also build your own relationships in your target suburbs, but it takes time and consistent contact before you are the buyer they call first.
How do you buy an off-market property in Australia?
The purchase process is similar to buying an advertised property, but the property is offered privately. You inspect it, assess its value, arrange finance and due diligence, and negotiate the price and contract terms with the selling agent before it is ever advertised. A buyers agent can coordinate the process and represent you throughout.
Is it better to buy an off-market property?
It is not automatically better: less competition does not guarantee a lower price. The property still needs to suit your brief and represent fair value. Assess it against comparable sales and complete the same due diligence as any other purchase.
Do you need a buyers agent to access off-market listings?
No. You can access off-market opportunities by building relationships with selling agents. A buyers agent brings established networks and daily market experience to identify which properties fit your brief, assess whether the price makes sense and negotiate on your behalf.
Why do sellers sell off-market?
For privacy, speed and control. Some vendors do not want neighbours, tenants or the public knowing they are selling. Others want to test a price quietly, avoid marketing costs, or sell quickly to a qualified buyer. Confidentiality is the common thread across most off-market sales.
Are off-market sales common in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs?
Yes. Discreet, high-value sales are a regular feature of the Eastern Suburbs, where privacy matters to many vendors. A meaningful share of quality homes in these suburbs trade through agent networks before any public campaign.
Can you negotiate on an off-market property?
Yes. Price and terms are negotiated directly with the selling agent. Research into recent comparable sales helps you assess fair value and negotiate with confidence.
This is not theory
A selection of recent acquisitions. Every one sets out the client brief, the strategy behind our search and the property we secured.
Bondi · $2.65M
$2.65M garden apartment secured in Bondi Beach
Read it →
South Coogee · $1.47M
Off-market garden apartment secured in South Coogee for $1.47M
Read it →
Maroubra · $6.3M
$6.3M block of units secured in Maroubra
Read it →
Newtown · $1.75M
Newtown corner terrace secured $150k below the off-market ask
Read it →
Malabar · $6.36M
$6.36M Malabar family home secured before auction
Read it →
Waverley · $3.5M
$3.5M freestanding house secured in Waverley
Read it →
Elizabeth Bay · $1.3M
First home secured in Elizabeth Bay for $1.3M in three weeks
Read it →
Marrickville · $3.769M
Freehold warehouse secured in Marrickville for $3.769M
Read it →