Homes that sell off-market don’t get the benefit of a competitive bidding process, typically leaving the seller with less money to show for it.

In this red-hot, historic seller’s market, something sinister is afoot. A business practice that slick real estate agents are promoting to “make the sale easier” on their seller clients. 

Sellers are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to their bottom line because of this practice.  

The practice, called “pocket listings,” happens when a seller’s agent suggests a homeowner avoid listing their property in their local multiple listing service (MLS) and allow the agent to limit exposure to their clients or a small group of agents. 

Imagine putting your prized Rolex or grandma’s impressionist painting up for auction where dozens of serious and qualified buyers are waiting to bid on it. Would you sell it to someone for their asking price in the lobby before the auction started? No. You wouldn’t, but many sellers are doing just that when they accept an early offer without listing their home in MLS. 

Follow the Money 

Homeowners, beware of any agent that suggests you can have an easy sale by avoiding total market exposure. 

These seller’s agents, who by the way have a fiduciary responsibility to the seller, advocate to “privately market” your home because they have a list of “VIP buyers” who want to see it. Meanwhile, these agents are hawking your house on social media to buyers lauding “avoid competition,” “save money,” or get “a deal,” while the seller has no idea. 

Who stands to gain from this practice? The agents and companies who rake in both the listing and buyer sides of the commission.  

In a sister practice, seller’s agents are abusing a pre-marketing tool called, “coming soon.” Coming soon is a fantastic tool intended to generate excitement about a property before it goes on the market.   

However, some seller’s agents will enter a property as “coming soon” in a MLS, allow select buyers to see the property, and make an offer before it hits the MLS. Not only is this against the intended spirit of Coming Soon, but it also violates the rules for MLS PIN, Massachusetts’ largest multiple listing service.The only way to guarantee the best terms and price is to make sure everybody knows it’s on the market, can see it, and make their best offer. In the current market, buyers miss out on properties, and sellers miss out on securing the best sale price and terms. 

Is your real estate agent working in your best interest or their best interest? There is no gray here. There is only black and white. Angels and devils. Harry Potter or Voldemort. Luke Skywalker against Darth Vader. Frodo versus Sauron. 

Not Always a Win-Win 

Too many agents work in the gray area. They are skilled at selling their strategy as not only okay and acceptable but credible and good for their clients.   

Let’s get inside the head of one of these naughty agents. Here’s what she is thinking “My client got a fair price, and I got the whole commission.”  

Win-Win? Not always. The seller clients may be thrilled. They’ll never know how many qualified buyers wanted to see their property and didn’t have the opportunity or how much more money they could have made as a result. They are blissfully ignorant of what happened. The listing agent who pocketed both the listing and selling side of the commission is ecstatic. No need for the homeowner to ever know he/she lost out on a lot of money. 

What does dark conjure for you? Wicked? Lonely? Vile? Sinister? Bad? The dark side is the dark force, the underbelly. We use the term “dark web” for an underground economy for illicit sex, drugs, weapons. Dark money is donations by unknown sources. Perhaps we should start calling these “dark listings,” too. 

So, unless you have a good reason to avoid going on the market publicly, know that your agent isn’t allowed to suggest you do. They are not allowed to initiate a conversation to go off-market. If they do, you are dealing with an agent who isn’t working in your best interest. Don’t go dark when you list your home. 

Linda O’Koniewski is CEO of Leading Edge Real Estate, with 12 offices in Greater Boston and Southern New Hampshire.