Estate agents usually manage listing your house on the market.
Once you find a suitable buyer, there’s often debate over whether – and when – your house should be taken off the market.
Read on to learn more about this.
Reasons to take a house off the market
You might want to take your house off the market for many reasons. These include:
- You’ve completed a sale
- You’re moving to a different estate agent
- You’ve changed your mind about selling
- Local property prices have changed since you first listed it.
Major platforms such as Rightmove often inform viewers how long a house has been listed.
If it’s been a while, you could feel that it compromises your negotiating position. A change of strategy might be needed.
When do estate agents take property off the market?
When offers are accepted
Some buyers, sellers, and estate agents think houses should be taken off the market as soon as an offer is accepted.
This is often done to show good faith to the buyer. But you aren’t required to do so, and many experts advise against it.
After the exchange of contracts
However, in most cases, estate agents take your house off the market after the exchange of contracts. (Your solicitor will tell you when this is complete.)
This is the point at which your sale becomes legally binding. Your buyer can’t pull out of the sale, so there’s thus no point in continuing to list the house as ‘for sale’.
Can I force an estate agent to take my property off the market?
Usually, yes. You are the paying customer, and keeping you happy is in their best interest.
If you ask to do this prematurely, they might advise against it. But they’ll still typically do what you ask.
The main exception is when you find a different estate agent. Your previous company might be reluctant to take the listing down.
Your contract with the estate agent should outline your rights, and theirs, in this situation.
There may even be a fee if you move on before the initial 12-week period is up.
You could also face difficulty if your estate agency contract forbids you.
This might be included in your contract as being in your best interest, i.e. you’re being asked to trust the judgement of the experts.
Should I take my house off the market before contracts are exchanged?
Property experts usually advise that you keep your house listed until contracts exchange.
You never know what could go wrong at the last minute. You keep your options open by maintaining visibility, even during your deal’s latter stages.
As a middle ground, many estate agents will list your house as under offer during this period.
This tells viewers that negotiations are ongoing. It can create a sense of urgency amongst other buyers to get their offers in before it’s too late.
A common exception is if you’ve agreed to take the house off the market during your negotiations. See more on this in the section below.
Can I offer to take my house off the market in negotiations?
Yes. You can offer this to potential buyers in return for a higher offer. It might settle their nerves if they’re desperate to buy your house.
You’ll show that you’re committed to them. It could result in a higher offer, too.
However, this strategy has a risk because the deal could fall through.
Will my estate agent keep my house listed after exchange?
This is not uncommon. Estate agents often like to shout about their successful sales.
So, once you’ve exchanged contracts, they might want to keep it listed under the ‘Sold’ banner.
Check your estate agency contract to see your rights in this scenario. By signing the contract, did you agree to let them do this?
If there’s no mention of it anywhere, you can ask them to take it down, and they should oblige.
Should I accept a last-minute offer on my house?
You could receive last-minute offers if you keep your house on the market after agreeing on a sale. This is often referred to as gazumping, which is often considered unethical.
If you’ve built rapport with your existing buyer, you could prefer to go with them. And you must vet any buyer before proceeding to see if they’re a credible candidate.
Accepting your current, lower offer could be safer if you don’t have time to do a thorough background check on your new buyer.
Can I stop my estate agency from using my house in their marketing materials?
When an estate agent successfully sells your house, their company may want to brag about this in their marketing.
Your initial contract may outline whether you’re required to comply with this. But if there’s no reference to it, you can ask them not to.
