Selling off-market in Megève: the ARES method.
Selling off-market means selling with no public exposure at all: no listing, no portal, no shop window. The property is shown only to qualified buyers, one by one, under confidentiality. It is ARES’s speciality in Megève, Demi-Quartier and Combloux — and in this segment, the norm more than the exception: many of the resort’s finest properties change hands without ever having been advertised. The method holds in five steps: a confidential valuation using our ABC method (Achieved, Benchmarked, Calibrated), a discreet file, a targeted approach of our network of buyers and co-brokers across Geneva, London, Monaco, Paris, Milan and Dubai, qualified viewings, then negotiation through to completion. At every step, the owner keeps control.
The method, in five steps
| Step | What | How |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Confidential valuation | Our ABC method: Achieved prices (transaction history), Benchmarked (comparable properties currently for sale), Calibrated on the basis of our knowledge of the market (property characteristics and market climate). |
| 02 | Discreet file | Presentation file prepared for private circulation only; photos and details stay off the internet. |
| 03 | Targeted approach | Qualified buyers from our register and co-brokerage partners (Geneva, London, Monaco, Paris, Milan, Dubai), one by one, under confidentiality. |
| 04 | Qualified viewings | Accompanied viewings limited to serious, vetted candidates. |
| 05 | Negotiation & completion | Negotiation led by ARES, then completion before a French notaire; the sale can remain unpublicised end to end. |
How do we value a property? The ABC method
At ARES, every valuation follows the ABC method.
A for Achieved — we start from the prices actually signed: the transaction history in Megève, Demi-Quartier and Combloux, including the off-market sales we have recently completed.
B for Benchmarked — that base is set against comparable properties currently on the market: what is offered today, at what price, and for how long.
C for Calibrated — the expert adjustment. Data does not tell the whole story: condition, exposure, ski access, view, charm, scarcity — and the market climate of the moment. That calibration is what turns data into the right price.
The result: a defensible range, established in full confidentiality.
Off-market, in numbers
Source: the ARES observatory — our sales and our portfolio since 2021. No public statistics exist on off-market sales: here are ours.
23 — off-market sales completed by ARES since 2021. Transactions that appear in no public statistics — and that feed the ABC method.
40% — the share of our portfolio sold off-market. At ARES, off-market is not a side service: it is a pillar of how we sell.
Half as many viewings — it takes roughly 50% fewer viewings to complete a sale than with public distribution. Each presentation being individual and chosen, we do not run viewings: we arrange the meeting of a property and its buyer.
80% — the probability that a presentation leads to a viewing. The reason is simple: the property is visible nowhere — the buyer who travels comes to see a real opportunity, not one more listing.
+30% — the probability that the offer received is close to the asking price. With no listing, there is no online price history, no “how long has it been for sale?”: the negotiation starts from the property, not from the wear of its exposure.
A market tipping over
By our observation, around 30% of Megève’s prestige market now sells off-market — and that share grows year on year. What was once an insiders’ practice is becoming the natural channel for the finest properties.
Where the buyers come from
35% of our clientele lives around Lake Geneva — Geneva first, one hour from Megève and home to our rue du Rhône office. 20% is international — Italians, Britons and Americans first. The rest, 45%, is French. It is this mesh — local, Lake Geneva, international — that makes selling without a listing possible.
The condition these numbers rest on: real scarcity
These results have a counterpart, and we prefer to state it: they hold only if the property remains genuinely confidential. 15% of our off-market mandates are formally exclusive; for all the others, the rule is restriction — two brokers at most, one local and one international, never more. An “off-market” property circulating among five agencies is no longer off-market: it is a listing without a portal. It loses the scarcity that makes the numbers above — and word eventually gets out. Discretion is not a nicety: it is the mechanism.
Why sell without a public listing?
Discretion first: often a non-negotiable point for owners of exceptional homes. Scarcity next: it is about showcasing what makes the property unique.
The trade-off is simple: without advertising, everything rests on the agency’s network. That is precisely what ARES has built — a register of qualified buyers, a Geneva office in direct contact with the resort’s primary client base, and co-brokerage partners in the cities where Megève buyers live.
Off-market or a classic sale: how to choose?
Both routes coexist at ARES, and the choice is made case by case. A classic sale — with national and international distribution — maximises exposure and suits properties whose best chance is the widest audience. Off-market suits rare properties, sought-after addresses and owners for whom confidentiality comes first — even if the sale takes the time to find the right buyer rather than the first one.
In both cases the starting point is the same: a confidential valuation and a conversation about your priorities. It is also possible to start off-market and widen later — the reverse is not true: a property already exposed cannot become confidential again.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an off-market sale?
- An off-market sale is the sale of a property without any public listing: no portal advert, no shop-window display, no online exposure. The property is presented only to qualified buyers, one by one, under confidentiality. In the prestige segment worldwide, it is an increasingly common practice. At ARES it is a core way of selling for us: 40% of our portfolio is sold off-market, and we have completed 23 off-market sales since 2021 (source: the ARES observatory).
- How can I sell a Megève chalet discreetly?
- By selling it off-market: no advert, no portal, no shop window. The property is shown only to qualified buyers, drawn from our register and our co-brokerage network, one by one and under confidentiality. Neighbours and press never know — and the sale leaves no online price history. It is ARES’s speciality in Megève, Demi-Quartier and Combloux.
- How does ARES find a buyer without advertising?
- Through its network, built for this purpose: qualified buyers registered with a precise search, families already owning in the resort, and co-brokerage partners in Geneva, London, Monaco, Paris, Milan and Dubai. Our Geneva office gives direct access to the Lake Geneva clientele — the resort’s primary buyer base. Each presentation is individual and under confidentiality; the property is never mass-diffused.
- How does an off-market sale with ARES proceed?
- In five steps: a confidential valuation of the property using our ABC method — prices Achieved, Benchmarked against the market, Calibrated on the basis of our knowledge of the market; a discreet presentation file, prepared without public exposure; a targeted approach of qualified buyers from our network, under confidentiality; qualified viewings, arranged one by one; then negotiation through to completion. At every step the owner keeps control — nothing is shown or shared without agreement.