The phrase private home sale often conjures up a mental picture of celebrities listing lavish estates or oligarchs on the hunt for yet another home. This preconception is rooted in the immense popularity of private sales by the rich and famous. However, it is a fantastic option for numerous sellers and home purchasers providing an element of flexibility and directness that can accommodate a wide range of circumstances. A popular option with many buyers and sellers before the recession, it has roared back into popularity in the last two years, as more people want to move assiduously, conclusively, and with unique parameters.

Private sales are the premium matchmaking service of estate agency. Directed by the home on offer, the client remains at the centre of the process, and hand selected contenders are brought to view the home. Potential buyers are approached and matched by agents familiar with the needs, requirements, and timescales of both the buyer and the seller. This curated, persona driven aspect aligns the emotional factors and decisive nature of interested buyers with the privacy, discretion, and ability to quietly and securely capture a good price for the client. Less uncertainty as to what price a home will command and who the purchaser will be makes this a very attractive method to sell a home.

Selling a home can be a public, performative, and exposing process. What was once a private and sacrosanct space is now photographed, listed publicly online, viewed and examined by strangers, and labelled with a price tag. Deciding to sell privately has multiple advantages that shelter the client from that turbulence and emotional wear and tear. Firstly, the sale pace is set by the client in conjunction with the agent. Since prospective buyers are cherry picked, there is no risk of buyers on a research gathering mission or merely wanting a gander at a property in a specific location. The process unfolds on a tailored schedule mutually agreeable to the client and purchaser but not constrained by seasonality. A longer date of entry can be arranged and a high-level of personalisation brought to the entire handover process. Discretion for seller and the buyer is a key attribute that ensures that the home’s contents, the owner’s privacy, and the home value is not on public display.

This is a value-added service that lends itself to situations where sellers have a specific series of constraints that mean selling and finding buyers needs to be on a more flexible and bespoke schedule. The tailored nature of this service does often carry a premium, which means that some homes will not be an ideal fit for this type of sale. Contrary to stereotypes, it does not relegate private sales to the exclusive purview of over million-pound homes. Individuals selling or purchasing homes who feel that agility, privacy, and a non-seasonally dependent process would fit with their personal requirements should consider private sales as a viable and beneficial avenue.