Pros And Cons Of Selling Your House Off Market in Pinellas County
If you live in any of these cities in Pinellas County Florida:
- Clearwater
- St. Petersburg
- Largo
- Dunedin
- Seminole
- Tarpon Springs
- Safety Harbor
- Bay Pines
- Harbor Bluffs
- Ridgecrest
- Feather Sound
- Bear Creek
You might want to keep the sale of your home discreet—reserving pieces of information like home details, price, and photographs confidential. In contrast to the popular MLS (Multiple Listing Service), where all pieces of information are exposed, you can opt for a private listing also known as an off-market listing.
Private listings are accessed by only a few professionals and through word of mouth. The market is limited to a few serious buyers, and you are guaranteed maximum discretion. You can also use the off-market listing to generate exclusivity—which if used well—guarantees a great deal of profit.
Read further to grasp how off-market listing deals works and the pros and cons that tag along with it.
What Does Off-Market Listing Mean?
With an off-market listing, you and your agent decide to limit the market space for your home by not listing it on a multiple listing service in Pinellas & Hillsborough County. Thus, only a few buyers know about the “home-to-be-sold.” More so, an off-market listing is free from all of the crowd, and your privacy is paramount and ensured.
Here are some of the reasons off-market listings might be the right way to sell your home.
● It Preserves Your Privacy
If you are not comfortable with people knowing where you live or you don’t want any public attention, the off-market listing is the obvious choice for you.
When you decide to sell your home in Pinellas County using an off-market listing, your agent shares the house information with a few other real estate professionals. These agents know prospective buyers who are serious and seek out opportunities to purchase property that not everyone has access to.
Although this might not result in a bidding war as it does with public listings, it saves you from all of the attention and ensures your house information is safe from the public.
● It Attracts More Serious Buyers
Since the market is exclusive, buyers are more intentional about entering it. Unlike public listings, there are no passersby or window shoppers. Thus, those who reach out to you intend to buy your house—which saves you a lot of time.
● You Get To Test The Market Price Of Your Home In Pinellas County
Using off-market listings lets you know what your house would be worth on the market. When you put your property on a private listing, you can speculate how the public market will view your prices.
If your house is too expensive, you can cut its price down before sending it to a public listing. Also, if you think it is too low, you can increase it before it enters the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Either way, it ensures your price is just right and would attract buyers quickly.
● You Save A Lot On the On-boarding Cost
Putting your house on an off-market listing cuts the cost of hiring a property stylist, photographer, and in most cases, listing fee. With off-market listings, you save a lot of cash because you don’t need to worry about how your house looks.
More so, it saves you time as well. With a private listing, you can list your house almost immediately. It is that easy, and you don’t have to go through an exhaustive processes. Thus, it saves you the time that you would have spent on a public listing.
● There Is No Pressure If Your Off-Market Listing Hasn’t Sold In a Long Time
The number of days an offer has stayed on the market in public listings contributes to fear and uneasiness in many sellers. Long days on the market is interpreted to mean the property up for sale is somewhat deficit.
Although this might not be true in most cases, it affects how the market views your home. Hence, longer days in the market inherently devalue your property.
In contrast, off-market listings don’t have these parameters—so your house can last as long as you want on the market.
You can test the market and take your time to sell your home without the fear of it devaluing your property or getting negative remarks from real estate professionals.
Off-Market Listings And Its Drawbacks
Here are some reasons why you should think a little longer before you opt for off-market listings.
● Lesser Competition
The drawback of this listing lies in its name. Off-market listing only permits your offer to reach a limited audience. Since only a few buyers know about the house you intend to sell, you have fewer potential buyers as well.
When you have a small market, it means two things; your home might not sell as quickly as it should, and also, your home is likely to be underpriced. If you aim to sell your home as fast as possible or amass as much profit as possible, you should rethink using an off-market listing strategy.
● It Fetches Lower Market Prices.
If you sold your home in Pinellas County via an off-market listing, you might never know if it would have fetched a higher price on a public listing. Also, because there is a limited market and small competition, it is unlikely that you will get to push up the pricing of your home.
As with selling any other property, when you intend to sell your house on an off-market listing, it comes with its fair share of pros and cons. If you want to check if your house pricing is suitable, you can do that on an off-market listing then go to MLS to sell.
But even with that, you can get a backlash. If your house pricing is affordable, it might be rushed on a private network and bought.
However, on a public network, you can get a bidding war over your property and get up to twice, in some cases, three times your listed price. So in regards to testing the market, the public listing might have an advantage over the private listing.
Conclusion
How you wish to sell your home in Pinellas County is totally up to you. If you place your privacy above the profit, or you don’t want the pressure that comes with public listings, you can opt for an off-market listing. Either way, there are both effective ways to sell houses—the distinguishing factor is what is most important to you.