Secret house sales in Britain add £30.9bn to market value

Alliance Fund has revealed that the secret property market in Britain experienced £30.9 billion worth of property transactions in 2021. This figure is ranked the highest annual market value in more than a decade. 

An analysis of the number of properties that were sold off-market across Britain over the last year was made. The market value of these secret property sales based on current market values was also accounted for too.

Secret housing market transactions

The end real estate fund claim that in 2021, 98,235 homes were sold off-market. That is a 51.4% increase compared to the previous year and the third largest annual total of off-market transactions in the ten years.

This also marks the first annual increase in the number of off-market transactions since 2017, with off-market sales falling every year since, until 2021.

During this time, the average house price across Britain was £261,927. With off-market homes attracting a 20% premium this puts the average property in this category at £314,312 in 2021.

Overall, Britain’s secret housing market contributed almost £30.9bn in market value last year.

So far in 2022 alone, it’s estimated that over 35,000 homes have already been sold off-market, equating to just shy of £12bn based on current market values. 

Chief executive officer of Alliance Fund, Iain Crawford, commented: “When we think of secret property sales, we think of ultra high net worths completing on prime London mega mansions without wanting to draw attention to their latest acquisition. But this sort of market activity actually accounts for a very small percentage of off-market property transactions.”

“In fact, many off-market sales are simply homes in areas with overwhelming levels of buyer demand, where stock is sold subject to contract before a for sale board is even erected.”

“In these instances, agents will have a long waiting list of prospective buyers who are desperate to live within a certain postcode or development, so they needn't waste the money required to market a home on the open market.” 

“While this is a common practice, it’s certainly been turbocharged as a result of the pandemic property market boom, with buyers falling over themselves to secure what little for sale stock was available while mortgage rates remained very favourable.”

“As a result, last year saw the third largest level of off-market sales in the last decade, but with house prices also heightened due to such high demand, the overall contribution these transactions made to total market value was by far the highest it has been in the last 10 years.”