If you’ve spent any time looking at property in London, you’ve probably heard people quietly talk about “off-market homes” – the good stuff that never hits Rightmove or Zoopla.
In this post, we’ll break down what off-market actually means, why it’s become so common in London, and how you can realistically access these deals.
What are off-market homes?
Most homes are sold “on the market” – via:
- High street estate agents
- Property portals like Rightmove and Zoopla
- Public auctions and open marketing campaigns
Off-market property is different. These are homes that are for sale – but they’re not publicly advertised.
They might be:
- Quietly offered to a small pool of selected buyers
- Shared internally between agents and their best clients
- Shown only to pre-qualified buyers (cash buyers, chain-free buyers, serious investors)
In other words: off-market is the private layer of the property market. The board never goes up. The portal listing never appears. But the property is very much available – just not to everyone.
For buyers, that means less competition and a chance to negotiate directly. For sellers, it means more control and privacy.
How much property is sold off-market?
More than most people realise.
Different sources put the numbers slightly differently, but there are some clear trends:
- Across the UK, a meaningful chunk of homes are now being sold off-market rather than via the portals.
- One large agency report suggested around 7–8% of all homes sold in a given month were off-market.
- In the prime end of the market, the proportion shoots up – around a third of homes over £1 million are estimated to be sold off-market.
- Another dataset suggests that in London specifically, roughly 23% of property is sold this way.
If you put that into real numbers, that’s thousands of properties each month changing hands without ever appearing online. Tapping into this supply can be a great way to reduce the competition and buy your first home!
So when we talk about Off market homes London, we’re not talking about a tiny niche. It’s a big, active slice of the market – and if you’re not plugged into it, you’re only ever seeing part of the picture.
Why do buyers buy off-market?
From the buyer side, off-market homes have a few big advantages:
- Less competition – No “open day”, no 20 offers, no sealed bids circus. You’re often dealing with the seller (or their agent) in a much calmer, more direct way.
- Better negotiation potential – With fewer bidders, there’s often more space to agree a sensible price – sometimes below what it would fetch if launched on the open market.
- Less stress – No constant refreshing of portals, no panic viewings, and fewer last-minute bidding wars.
- Privacy – Some buyers simply don’t want their search, budget or personal circumstances widely known. An off-market process can feel much more discreet.
In a hot market like London, where every half-decent listing on a portal gets swarmed, off-market gives buyers a way to step out of the noise.
Why do sellers choose off-market sales?
If off-market homes exist, it’s because sellers are choosing that route. Their reasons are usually very practical:
1. Privacy and discretion
- High-net-worth owners, public figures and business owners often don’t want their sale in the spotlight.
- People going through separations, bereavement or other sensitive situations may prefer a quieter process.
Off-market lets them control who sees the property and when.
2. Testing the market
Some sellers want to “test the water” before they go fully live:
- See if there’s interest at a particular price
- Get a feel for how quickly they might be able to sell
- Explore options with a handful of buyers first
If they get a strong offer off-market, they may never need to list publicly.
3. More control over buyers
Open marketing can produce:
- Time-wasters
- Unprepared buyers
- Chains that fall apart
Off-market sales tend to filter for more serious, qualified buyers – people who can actually move. That’s attractive if a seller values certainty and speed over squeezing every last pound.
4. Using the right partner
Some sellers work with agents or specialist platforms who already have a network of motivated buyers. They’re happy to skip portals entirely if they know their agent can quietly place the property with the right person.
How to find off-market property deals
So – how do you actually access Off market homes London in practice?
You can’t just type “off-market” into Rightmove and call it a day. But there are a few proven routes.
1. Network with the right people
The property world is still very relationship-driven:
- Estate agents: Build proper relationships with agents in your target area. Let them know exactly what you’re looking for, your budget, and how quickly you can move. When a “quiet instruction” comes in, you want to be on the shortlist of people they call.
- Landlords & investors: Join local landlord groups, online forums and investor meetups. Portfolio landlords often review their holdings annually and may sell without ever marketing openly.
- Friends, colleagues and neighbours: Tell people what you’re looking for. You’d be surprised how often “a friend of a friend” knows someone thinking of selling.
2. Be proactive on the ground
You don’t have to wait for opportunities to come to you.
- Spot homes that look empty, neglected or obviously in need of work.
- If a particular building or street appeals to you, note the addresses you like.
- Write polite, direct letters to owners – “If you are ever considering selling…”
Success rates aren’t huge, but it only takes one “yes” to land a deal that never hits the market.
3. Work with off-market specialists
There are agents, sourcers and platforms whose whole model is connecting buyers with off-market stock.
They:
- Maintain private lists of sellers who want discretion
- Match serious buyers to properties before they ever go live
- Handle the process with more of a “curated” feel than a free-for-all portal launch
This is exactly where drifthome comes in.
4. Find off-market properties on drifthome
At drifthome, our goal is to make Off market homes London easier to access for both sides – buyers and agents. (See more in this article by The Negotiator)
Here’s how it works from each angle.
For agents and sellers
Agents regularly take on instructions where:
- The seller doesn’t want a public listing (yet or at all)
- The price is sensitive and they want to “soft launch”
- They want serious, motivated buyers – not portal tourists
With drifthome:
- You can add off-market instructions without blasting them across every portal.
- Our matching engine surfaces buyers whose preferences actually fit your listing – location, budget, property type and more.
- Those buyers can be identified and contacted within hours of instruction, not weeks.
Instead of waiting for portal leads, you’re instantly plugged into a pool of people actively looking for homes like yours in London.
That means:
- Faster first viewings
- Higher quality enquiries
- A smoother journey from instruction to offer
For buyers
As a buyer, you:
- Create a profile with your budget, preferred locations, property type and must-haves.
- drifthome learns what you actually like and don’t like, and uses that to surface better matches.
- When agents upload off-market properties matching your profile, you see opportunities that never hit the open portals.
You’re not endlessly scrolling through irrelevant listings – you’re seeing homes that align with your brief, including stock that’s being marketed quietly.
In a city as competitive as London, that’s a big advantage.
If you’re serious about Off market homes London – whether you’re an agent with discreet stock, or a buyer who’s sick of missing out on the best properties – off-market is no longer something you can ignore.
The good news is you don’t have to rely on whispered introductions and luck. Platforms like drifthome are opening up this “secret market”, giving you a faster, smarter way to match off-market homes with the right buyers, often within hours of the property being instructed.
