7.15.24
What Are Pocket Listings in Real Estate?
Plus, why home sellers choose pocket listings and how buyers can find them.
If you’ve ever wondered how some homes are sold without being advertised, you’ll want to learn about pocket listings. Below is a short summary of how they work and why sellers might use them.
What is a pocket listing?
A pocket listing refers to a home that’s for sale but is not listed on the multiple listing service (MLS). You might also hear a pocket listing called an exclusive listing or off-market listing. The fact that the home is for sale is shared with a limited audience. Typically, this includes other agents in the brokerage office that has the pocket listing and home buyers working one-on-one with an agent who has knowledge of the pocket listing.
Why home sellers sometimes opt for a pocket listing
A common reason not to advertise a home for sale is to protect privacy. A pocket listing means no pictures of one’s home are publicly available, no open houses and nosy neighbors aren’t privy to one’s plan to sell. Owners of historic homes may use a pocket listing to avoid wasting time with people who want to tour the home but have no intention of buying.
In other cases, sellers may use pocket listings as a way to test the waters with pricing. They may use exclusivity as a way to get a higher purchase price.
There’s another pricing consideration too. When a house listed on the MLS sits for weeks or months, the listing goes stale. Sellers with public listings often reduce the price after several weeks to attract buyers. The longer a property goes unsold on a public site the more wary potential buyers become. A pocket listing allows a seller to start with a higher price without the risk of a stale public listing.
How to find pocket listings
If pocket listings aren’t public, how do homebuyers find them? It takes a bit of legwork.
Talk to as many people you can, in person and online. Reach out to real estate agents who specialize in the area where you’d like to buy. Post on your social media about your desire to buy and ask those in your network to let you know about prospective homes for sale. Chat up your plans to buy a home to family and friends and ask if they know of anyone who’s considering selling.
Some homebuyers reach out to homeowners in neighborhoods where they’d like to buy with direct mail. A letter recipient nearing a decision to sell might be swayed to go ahead with an already-willing buyer so they can avoid some of the hassles associated with selling a home.
While for sale by owner homes (FSBO) aren’t the same as pocket listings, checking online platforms for FSBOs is another way to find homes not listed on the MLS.
When you find a pocket listing home to buy
Financing a pocket listing home follows the same process as homes marketed on the MLS. Unless the buyer is paying in cash, they finance the purchase with a mortgage.
Whether you’re a first-time home buyer or repeat home buyer, Consumers has custom-tailored mortgages to help you get the home you want.
All loans subject to approval. Rates, terms, and conditions are subject to change and may vary based on credit worthiness, qualifications, and collateral conditions.
