![]() ![]() "Most of the time, the best deals for sellers come by way of marketing the home on the open market, with competition among multiple buyers driving up the sale price and eliminating contingencies that could erode net profits later," notes Philadelphia-based listing agent Chris Johnson. "We’re in a historic seller's market and by doing a pocket deal now, sellers would be giving up the opportunity to get the highest price and best terms possible by working only with a single buyer." When you set a single price for a pocket listing, even though you can set the price you want, you ultimately don’t know whether you received the best offer possible. When a home goes to market, especially in a seller’s market where multiple buyers are competing for every property, sellers stand to make the most money when demand sets the price. There are also fair housing laws that govern how homes can be sold by the very nature of keeping a home off the open market, pocket listings can get into murky legal territory when agents intentionally or unintentionally prevent certain groups of people (whether that's race, economic class, religious groups, etc) from knowing the home is for sale. Pocket listings are sometimes considered unethical for the same reasons dual agency is often considered unethical: if one agent is representing both sides of the transaction in order to receive a dual commission, it’s difficult (if not impossible) for them to fairly represent the best interests of both parties. However, non-Realtor agents (all Realtors are agents, but not all agents are Realtors) can still do this. This means that licensed Realtors can no longer hold onto properties for longer than a day before adding them to the MLS. Pocket listings aren’t illegal by law, but were banned by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in 2019. Are pocket listings illegal or unethical? In this scenario, a potential home seller whose home has not gone on the market yet is approached by a buyer or a buyer’s representative and asked to sell the home without going through the process of listing it on the MLS/putting the home on the open market. However, some listings - known as pocket listings, or off-market listings - are not. When you go to search for a home, most listings are available on a standard MLS (multiple listing service).
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