A study by SNEEKPEEK, an online buyer/seller real estate alert site that facilitates private real estate sales, estimates that as many as 1 in 10 homes that are sold in Australia are sold privately, without ever being advertised on the market by an agent.

You might think that home sellers would want to cast a big net when marketing their property, but many don’t and would prefer a low key affair. “Some sellers look to market their property privately for the convenience and privacy that goes along with an off-market sale – no marketing, no open houses, no staging, no sticky beaks and often no agent,” says Steve, CEO of SNEEKPEEK. “Many owners simply choose to test demand by pre-marketing their home before going out to the whole market. This way they can save themselves thousands in marketing fees.”