By Nina Harrison

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Think everything worth seeing is on Rightmove? Think again. With the Chancellor’s Budget looming and rumours of new taxes swirling, both buyers and sellers are on edge.

The property market hates uncertainty, and right now everyone is second-guessing what might land on November 26.

Will stamp duty change again? Will inheritance tax be reformed? Is a wealth tax quietly being lined up?

Against this backdrop, many sellers are reluctant to throw their homes onto the open market and risk sitting there exposed if the rules suddenly change.

Instead, they are quietly testing the waters off-market. It is happening at every level, from the tired two-bed flat in Battersea to the Georgian townhouse in Islington, and the deals are often done long before a portal listing is drafted.

I often say: “By the time it hits the portal, it is often Plan B for the seller.”

The portals are the shop window. The real stock is hidden out the back, shown privately to the best-prepared buyers. Here is how to get into the stockroom.

Rightmove is like supermarket shelves on a Sunday evening: convenient, but by the time you get there, the best stuff has already been taken.

Many clients start by spending hours glued to the portals, convinced everything is there. The reality soon dawns, it isn’t, and that is when I get the call. Wonderful as the portals are as a tool, this is still a relationships business.

Clicking “request details” isn’t enough. Agents are people. Pick up the phone, meet them in person, and explain exactly what you want and why you’re ready to move quickly.

Agents always call the people they trust first. If they know you’re motivated and organised, you’ll get the call before the mass email goes out on a Friday afternoon.

Buying agents are no longer the preserve of the super rich. More and more people, even with budgets starting from £500,000, turn to us because they are time-poor, weary of bidding wars, or simply want someone else to handle the legwork.

Take a recent example: a well-priced ex-rental in W11 with huge potential came to market. I viewed it the same day and flagged it to my client.

Property is a gloriously nosy business. Tell everyone you are looking: colleagues, friends, the Pilates class, even your dog-walker.

In London’s village-like enclaves, neighbours in Lycra gossiping outside Gail’s often know who is moving before the estate agents do. It is a low-tech strategy, but it works.

Yes, people still respond to handwritten letters. If you have fallen in love with a street, say so. “Dear Homeowner, if you are ever thinking of selling…” has started more deals than you would imagine.

Many owners are dithering and just need a polite nudge. It is old-fashioned charm, and far more effective than another portal alert.

Not every board means the house will appear on Rightmove. Sometimes an agent sticks one up as a “soft launch” to gauge interest before committing to a full listing.

If you see a board but cannot find the house online, call the agent immediately. It might still be in that hush-hush stage where only the bold, or the nosey neighbour, gets a look in.

WhatsApp threads, Facebook forums, even Nextdoor (once you scroll past the lost cat posts) can throw up whispers of homes about to come on.

It can be messy and gossipy, but occasionally you will find that golden nugget: “Our neighbour is selling before Christmas.” Ignore at your peril.

For new-builds, the best plots rarely make it to the brochures. Developers quietly offer them to early registrants.

If you are serious about a scheme, register before there is even a show flat. By the time the glossy marketing kicks in, the prime units are already gone.

Auctions are where unloved terraces; probate houses and doer-uppers go when no one wants to fuss with marketing.

They can be intimidatingly fast-paced but they can also be a treasure trove.

Sellers want certainty, especially in a nervous market. Have your finance sorted, solicitors lined up, and be ready to move. A seller will often choose a reliable buyer over a higher, shakier offer.

The perception is that when times are tough, buyers vanish. But so do sellers. It is important to note that they have not disappeared completely, they are just hidden.

Once you make the decision to sell, you usually want to get on with it. The market has not stopped, it has just gone quieter, and more private.

The moral? Do not confuse the shop window with the whole store. The real market is happening behind the curtain, over coffees, on WhatsApp, via handwritten notes and, yes, through people like me.

Nina Harrison is a buying agent at Haringtons.