A Complete Guide to Understanding Pocket Listings

According to BatchService and ResiClub Analytics, there were approximately 1.2 million “pocket listings” or off-market real estate sales in the United States in 2024, with the vast majority happening in Texas and Florida. Pocket listings are more common in some areas of the country than others, yet it’s important to be familiar with them no matter where you’re located.

In this article, we’ll cover the definition of a pocket listing, the pros and cons for both agents and sellers, and how to transact off-market legally and ethically. Plus, we’ll give you marketing ideas for promoting your pocket listings.

What is a pocket listing in real estate?

A pocket listing — also known as a quiet listing, off-MLS or off-market listing — is a real estate property that is for sale but not listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Instead, the property is marketed privately through the listing agent’s network, direct contacts or exclusive platforms.

Over the years, the term “pocket listing” has developed a negative connotation, as people sometimes think this is just a strategy used by sleazy agents to double-side a transaction and not get the highest price for the seller. While I’m sure there are instances where this is unfortunately the case, there are legitimate reasons why selling off-market is in the seller’s best interest.

The pros & cons of pocket listings for agents

• Potential to double-side. The likelihood of the listing agent selling a pocket listing to a direct buyer without their own agent increases greatly with pocket listings. This could translate to a higher commission, depending on how your contract with the seller is written. 
• A reason to call your buyer leads. An off-market listing is a great excuse to call all those buyer leads in your database. Selling a pocket listing positions you as a successful agent with valuable information these buyers would not otherwise have access to.

• More work. The inability to leverage the reach of the MLS and all the aggregator websites to promote a pocket listing means it’s up to you, as the listing agent, to spread the word. We will give you ideas of how to do this in a later section. It certainly can be done, but it’s a heavier lift than a traditional sale.
• Fewer marketing opportunities. One major benefit to agents of working with sellers is the incredible marketing opportunities that come with each listing: a sign in the yard, open houses, social media content, door knocking in the neighborhood — these are just a few of the many ways to leverage your MLS listings to find more clients. Most, if not all, of those opportunities are lost with pocket listings.

The pros & cons of pocket listings for sellers

• Convenience: For an occupied property especially, it’s more convenient to have fewer buyers coming through the house — fewer times the sellers will need to get the property “show-ready.”
• Privacy. Some sellers don’t want their neighbors to know they are selling. One seller asked me to park down the street during our first appointment so his neighbors wouldn’t see my car in his driveway and ask him if he was selling. This can be especially true for luxury homeowners who don’t want looky-loos seeing the inside of their home published across the internet.
• Celebrity-friendly. Selling as a pocket listing is a popular choice for athletes and celebrities who need a higher level of discretion, often using LLCs instead of their names to buy and sell property.
• Health. Since there aren’t typically weekends of open houses and dozens of private showings on pocket listings, there will be fewer buyer germs walking into the house. For some sellers, this is a significant concern, and selling off-market may make sense.

• Lower selling price (potentially). There’s the risk that sellers may leave money on the table since they aren’t maximizing their property’s exposure to the most buyers possible. Typically, the more buyers who see a property, the more offers the sellers will receive and the higher those offers will be. Of course, this is not always the case, yet sellers considering a pocket listing do need to be aware of this. 
• Longer timeframe to sell. Because pocket listings are not publicized through MLS or syndicated to the top real estate websites, they usually take longer to sell. It takes longer to get the property in front of enough buyers to find the right one willing to offer the right price.

Source: Ashley Hardwood, housingwire.com