Midwest Real Estate Data is Coming After Pocket Listings - Stay Tuned
Inman News published this news story yesterday and it's already sounding an alarm among agents who live off of "pocket listings". MRED (out of Chicago) has had a longstanding policy opposing pocket listings. Now MRED has taken the next step, asking NAR to adopt a nationwide ban on pocket listings.
Whether you agree or not, pocket listings are considered anti-competitive. In some cases, pocket listings may even be a Fair Housing violation. Asking NAR to adopt a national policy against pocket listings is a big deal, and it will impact agents all over the country.
We see pocket listings all over the nation and not just in population centers. In our cozy little Apostle Islands community (Madeline Island and the surrounding recreational/resort area), we have brokers who sometimes dabble in pocket listings. And we have a few who rely heavily on them. We still have one or two non-MLS brokerages in our quiet corner of northwest Wisconsin.
I'm not saying that these pocket listing fans are a majority, but they're not difficult to find.
When you can't market your listings as "exclusive" or "private", what are you going to do? You might actually have to deal with competition. If you can no longer pull a listing out of thin air and boast to a buyer, "you can only see this one through my office", how will you keep those buyers walking into your brokerage?
A level playing field can be a real drag, right?
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