How to Find Off Market and Pocket Listings

How to Find Off Market and Pocket Listings

I’m being very specific today by doing a real estate-centric mantra. Figured I’d shake things up a bit since the second half of the year is coming out of the gate like gangbusters already. AND the industry seems to be saying that things are going to continue in that good direction too. There is a great article on Inman about that very sentiment. Check it out.

So, let’s keep focusing on what can propel us forward in this second act of 2018 and jump into “Pocket Listings.” When it’s a seller's market, these become even more desirable.

Some basic techniques for finding these listings:
1- MLS – The system already has a plethora of market listings for the taking. What I suggest is to look for any listings that have expired, have been canceled or withdrawn. After you get the information and check that the property hasn’t sold, then call the agent that had the listing and say you have a client that may be interested. THEN, you show your client a house that is off market AND most importantly that you can provide them with listings they can’t find themselves. That is key.
2- REMINE – A new company that shows you who has equity and the percentage, so, if you want to send out mailers or go door knocking this is very helpful. Another app is called PROPERTY RADAR. It’s magnificent. You can go into an area and target people based on specific information… (Pre-foreclosures being one of them. By tracking this data with these two apps, this is the most successful way to go about dealing with pre-foreclosures. (For example- My friend went to the houses listed and tried to show them a way out with empathy and strategy and found that apparently, no one does this. That’s another way to find off-market listings. Be proactive!)
3- Websites- That actually have some listings not on the MLS; ThePLS.com and Thetopagentnetwork.com (TAN). You have to dig through, but the deal is you will end up being able to show houses to your clients that again, they would never otherwise be able to find on their own! The search is worth it.
4- Zillow- (Yes Zillow!) They have “potential listings” categories, which most clients will also NOT find on their own that you can go through.
5- New Construction Buyers- you can literally drive around and look for construction sites and then go straight to the builder before it hits the MLS.

I hope that was helpful and thanks for watching!

Peter

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