In the premium property market, off-market luxury property sales have moved well beyond niche territory. For many luxury homeowners, it's now the deliberate strategy of choice.
The reasons rarely have anything to do with speed or convenience. They're about privacy, security, and long-term control over information.
It's perhaps no surprise that Grand Designs is one of my favourite TV shows. I was working in construction when it first screened in the UK some 26 years ago. What I believe was supposed to be a programme about design - by Kevin McCloud, an architect - actually turned out to be, for me, the first reality TV programme, even before Big Brother aired in Europe.