Desperate letter drops
Off-market offers roll in for homes
EVERYTHING is for sale – or so it would seem to some – with Tasmania experiencing a wave of letterbox-drop offers on offthe-market homes in the increasingly sought after market.
According to numerous reports, homeowners and renters across the state have found offers of sale in their letterboxes from buyers keen to grab their house and move in, even if it is not listed for sale.
Some of the notes seen by the Mercury include offers to buy the property outright with no agent fees.
A Kingston resident had a letter dropped in her letterbox last week from “cashed up” house hunters offering a “good price”.
According to the resident, it was the second proposition of an off-the-market sale since living in the house.
She said despite the method of approach, she empathised with the prospective buyers given the current state of play.
“In fact we even considered doing it a couple of years ago ourselves when we were struggling to find a place to buy … it was a strategy recommended to us … we had missed out on a number of places,” she said.
“It’s even hard for cashed up people like those who dropped the note at ours.”
Chief economist from PRD Real Estate Diaswati Mardiasmo said an increase in the unorthodox buying methods reflects a “dire” housing shortage.
“This would be reflective of a supply issue, particularly as residential developments that are ready to sell (not land where buyers need to build) have been quite limited over the past five years. When there is a sudden increase in demand and the supply is not there, it can get very competitive,’’ she said.
She said the approach could create a level of uncertainty in the market.
“With houses being publicly on sale, those in the market can gauge where we are at in terms of prices – however with closeddoor negotiations this throws the balance out and can result in surprises,” Dr Mardiasmo said.
“Whether or not it throws the balance of property prices entirely depends on the volume of sales as a result of this method.”
Dr Mardiasmo warned buying and selling a home could be complicated in terms of paperwork and legalities, and often parties would refer to a real estate agent to ensure the sale was done properly.
“At the end of the day you can’t really blame house hunters ... it’s outside of the box thinking for sure.”
Residents from across the state including, Hobart, Devonport, Queenstown, Dynnyrne, Mt Stuart, Snug and Hobart’s Eastern Shore have also reported receiving one or more letters at their residence.
One Geeveston resident claimed a real estate agent had “traced down our details” on behalf of a buyer keen to make an offer.
Others claimed to have been approached directly though social media.
In its March quarter report, the REIT revealed there were 3205 property sales in the first three months of the year totalling $1.6bn, which was among the highest quarter on record since 2002.
One young New Town resident, Lachlan, found a simple solution. A poster tacked to the front window with an angry stick man and the words; “This house is not for sale!!”. According to dad Luke, there hasn’t been an offer since.