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Local Voices

"Pocket Listings" Negatively Impact Home Sellers

By Gary Lange, Branch Vice President of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Fairfax City Office

It seems like common sense: To generate the highest possible price for a home, it should be exposed to the largest number of qualified buyers. However, that’s the exact opposite of a strategy known as “pocket listing,” in which a real estate agent signs an exclusive contract agreement to market a home, but provides zero or limited advertising and doesn’t enter it into the Multiple Listing System (MLS).

When an agent convinces a seller not to put their property in the MLS, they’re really doing a disservice to the homeowner by severely limiting the home’s exposure to the market. While the seller may get offers from local buyers known by the agent, they’re missing potential offers from buyers throughout the Mid-Atlantic, across the country and around the world. Quite simply, this results in leaving money on the table.

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Buyers trust CBmove.com to market their properties to the largest number of potential buyers, wherever they may be. The company uses its unparalleled Internet presence that reaches 16 million buyers and the global Coldwell Banker® network of nearly 85,000 agents in over 50 countries to showcase each home to buyers everywhere.

An additional problem with pocket listings, which are not entered into the MLS, is that the absence of data about their sale may hurt the appraisals of nearby homes and negatively influence an entire neighborhood’s property values. This can cause other sellers to suffer from the increased probability that their properties won’t appraise for the contracted sales price, and force homeowners to endure lower values and less appreciation than is occurring in other parts of the Washington, D.C. metro.

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Homeowners hire a real estate agent to get the highest and best offer for their property, but with pocket listings agents get paid while making little or no effort to achieve that goal. Shouldn’t the seller receive a full marketing value for that investment, and how can they be sure they’re really getting the best price for the property when most potential buyers don’t even know it’s on the market?

In the end, there’s just no question: Putting a home in the MLS exposes it to the widest possible audience and will generally result in a quick sale at the highest price.

For assistance in buying or selling a home in the Fairfax City area, contact one the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage office in Fairfax at (703) 691-1400 or visit CBmove.com.

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