James Blunt to tour Australia
available,” Ms Saddington said.
She said she recently sold 25 Chatswood Drive, Anglesea for the asking price of $730,000 before it was officially put on the market.
“The Melbourne buyers had been looking (for a holiday house) for a while and missed out on other properties so they went straight for the asking price and got it,” she said.
Ms Saddington said 70 per cent of her buyers in Anglesea were looking for properties priced from $500,000 to $750,000. She said 10 per cent of her sales were off-market.
Whitford, Newtown agent John Moran said the number of off-market sales was quite high at the moment because of the abundance of buyers in the market a shortage of stock.
“We are seeing two or three off-market sales a month. Usually it would be one every two or three months,” Mr Moran said. “Buyers are paying what the property is worth or slightly above.
“Most have missed out on properties in the past and don’t want it to happen again so they are happy to pay a little bit more to secure it.”
Some vendors also decide to sell off-market to save money and have a stress-free sale.
Hayden, Ocean Grove agent Lynley Bassett said sometimes selling off-market would save the owner the hassle of getting the house ready and the stress of it being on the market. “It also saves them a few thousand dollars on marketing,” Ms Bassett said. BRITISH singer-songwriter James Blunt will tour Australia next year and has hinted Ed Sheeran might join him on stage. Blunt is currently supporting Sheeran on tour in the US and the pair will both be in Australia in March, with a day or two free for an onstage collaboration. Blunt recently released his fifth album The Afterlove, which includes a song cowritten with Sheeran called Make Me Better.
He will perform at the All Saints Estate, Rutherglen, on March 17 with Pete Murray, Busby Marou, Alex Lloyd and Karise Eden.