Luxury home sellers in London are using WhatsApp as private sales rise

ENGLAND: As the UK real estate market struggles, more and more Londoners are choosing creative ways to buy and sell their homes, with WhatsApp emerging as a new platform for luxury listings. (Reported by news source)

According to UK estate brokers Hamptons International, off-market house sales in the British capital increased in the last three months of 2022, making up more than one in five (22.3%) transactions — the largest proportion on record.

In particular if they choose to take their home off the market with the intention of trying again in six or twelve months, sellers have been looking to test price quietly without leaving a digital imprint, he said.

According to the agency, private property sales have virtually tripled in London since 2018, when they represented only 8.8% of yearly transactions vs 21.2% in 2022. Across the country, private sales have also increased over this time, but to a smaller level.