What is a pocket listing? When searching Knoxville real estate, one thing to keep in mind is that your Knoxville real estate agent may know of additional Knoxville homes for sale than what you are finding on internet sites. You may be asking yourself why that is. Aren’t all homes available for sale listed on the MLS and subsequently on the various real estate portals like Trulia, Zillow, and REALTOR.com? The answer to that question would be MOST, but not all Knoxville homes for sale are listed on the MLS.
Those homes not listed on the MLS are called “pocket listings”. They were called this originally because they were kept in the REALTORS pocket, out of public view. The definition of a pocket listing per Wikipedia is, “a real estate industry term used in United States which denotes a property where a broker holds a signed listing agreement (or contract) with the seller, whether that be an “Exclusive Right to Sell” or “Exclusive Agency” agreement or contract, but where it is never advertised nor entered into a multiple listing system (MLS), or where advertising is limited for an agreed-upon period of time.” According to Troy Stavros, Broker/Partner at the 865 Real Estate team, “It most oftentimes is when a homeowner and a real estate agent have a casual agreement, that says if the agent comes across someone who might be a potential buyer of their home, the agent will bring that person to see the house.”
There are various reasons a seller might want to keep their home as a “pocket listing” as opposed to traditional marketing. Some of those reasons are: privacy, secrecy, convenience, motivation and time. Many sellers want to sell their Knoxville real estate, but do not want the aggravation associated with showing the property. Keeping the home as a pocket listing often allows the agent to weed out those people who are just curious, and only show the home to serious, qualified buyers. To ensure this, the seller typically has a Knoxville real estate agent who qualifies all potential buyers on their availability to purchase prior to scheduling a showing appointment. Stavros stated, “Then there are those homeowners who may not be actively looking to sell, but will always move ‘if the price is right’, and oftentimes, for the right house, a motivated buyer will pay their price.”
Pocket listings may give buyers an extra advantage as well when searching for real estate which is not being advertised publicly This significantly reduces the amount of competition for a home. These special properties may be unique because they are sold privately and may never be intended to be listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Oftentimes these are high profile homes, with perhaps high profile owners.
For sellers of Knoxville real estate, because of the highly reduced amount of exposure and marketing, they must decide if exclusion from the MLS is in their best interest. For a buyer searching Knoxville homes for sale, it is important to work with a local agent who has established relationships, and is in communication with other agents in the community. This way, you can be sure that you will be aware of all potential Knoxville homes for sale.