PocketListings.net

Much like finding love on a dating site, Web 2.0 lets buyers meet their dream homes and sellers meet their dream buyers in a direct, match-making process– without the MLS.

Because of new technology, many agents and their clients are turning to unconventional ways to list property for sale, and the increasing speed and reach of the internet (especially social networking) makes it easier to get attention to a property for sale, attention that was previously reserved for listings on the MLS. As more and more agents and their clients begin to achieve an “off market” sale at a desirable price and terms for all parties, the boundaries of ‘one national listing place’ expand– potentially to the point of blowing apart.

That’s what PocketListings.net is all about. Says co-founder Alex Clark: “We’ve already seen a high volume of posts for higher end property and I expect that will continue, and we’re seeing a much larger number of agents using our service to promote ‘buyer needs,’ which bring fence sitting sellers and their agents out of the woodwork, and into contract. As we develop our technology further to simplify the process of posting pocket listings and buyer needs to our site, we suspect many more brokerages to get in the game as their clients (the buyers and sellers) become more and more savvy to the alternatives available to them.”

-Web 2.0 Remaking Real Estate, Again [SF Gate]

The argument for skipping MLS is always the same, “You gotta expose your property to MLS to get the best price.” We’ve heard it a thousand times over. It’s simply not true. That is the old way of thinking. The new way of thinking is that a good price is what a buyer is willing to pay, and what a seller is willing to accept, and exposure can come from any number of online or offline channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, email, etc.) None of these companies or “social networks” existed when MLS was created…neither did the Internet! MLS was designed prior to the internet and the free and open exchange of information…and WAY before social networking.

We envision an age where licensed real estate professionals are connecting through multiple channels and creating relationships with colleagues and clients alike that foster transactions from one person to another regardless of whether it’s “on” or “off” the market. If your home or property is for sale, it’s “on” the market. It’s as simple as that. And if you get the price you want, the rest is irrelevant.

Perhaps the very location that is changing the world with their technology (Silicon Valley) should be a lesson in what we have in store:

Gautam Nadella, who works in management at Cisco Systems, Inc., said he and his wife bought their five-bedroom Menlo Park home before it went back on the market, after their agent told them it would be available.

“There is something to be said of taking uncertainty out of the selling process and the buying process,” Nadella said. “We were able to move quickly, calmly, with 100 percent confidence that the deal would get done, and as a result we did not have to go through the bidding process.”

We aren’t simply creating an environment to share “off market” real estate, we’re creating an alternative to the current system. Don’t fight technology and advances in our industry. Embrace, encourage, and promote change. You will do more deals. You will have more happy clients.

-In Silicon Valley Real Estate Frenzy, Off Market Transactions Are Frequent [Bay Citizen]
-PocketListings.net

The multiple listing services (MLSs) list most, but not all, available properties. By contrast, a local, knowledgeable real estate professional is also aware of an inventory of homes that are not currently on the market – “pocket listings,” in industry parlance. Without consulting an agent, the consumer has no way to know about these options.

We are not selling consumables, airline tickets, ball bearings, or books. Real estate requires negotiation — sometimes below list price, sometimes over, and sometimes with off-market homes that are not yet priced.

Hmmm….if you’re a real estate agent, or CEO of a company like Pacific Union, that is very aware of PocketListings.net, you need to think long and hard about the future of information (buyer and seller) exchange in our industry, and consider the alternatives available to you and your agents/colleagues, and clients. Encourage your buyers and sellers to get in the market by giving them options for exchanging wants and needs, and educate them of the alternatives to selling and finding property in the “social” age of the internet.

Just a thought, because the system is a changin’.

-5 Reasons Why Real Estate Professionals Aren’t Dinosaurs [Pacific Union]
-Will Real Estate Agents Become Extinct Over Time? [AG Beat]
-PocketListings.net…an MLS alternative

In case you don’t click on that, or can’t read it, that’s five buyers looking for property, and five sellers that are not listing their home on MLS…in two days! And these are only the agents that have chosen to email blast the San Francisco Association of Realtors.

So, is there a need for agents to share both their off market listings (pocket listings) and their buyer needs all in one place? Is there a service that allows agents to do exactly that, FOR FREE? Is there a service that puts the Match.com in real estate? The answer to all of those questions is yes. It’s PocketListings.net, and one of these days, maybe before I die, agents will begin to take advantage of the service we have created and get on the path to more happy clients.

To learn more about PocketListings.net, how it works, and how you can create opportunity where none exists, simply visit the site, and check out the tutorial. It’s simple. It’s FREE. It’s already there, and it works. Just use it.

-PocketListings.net: Off Market Real Estate Network

We are proud to say, we have secured an additional “Angel Investment” and can now offer our service to you FREE OF CHARGE. That’s right. PocketListings.net and all of the wonderful things we have created for you to do more deals and give your clients an alternative means to listing property for sale is 100% free to use, and incredibly easy to join.

We hope you and your colleagues take advantage of the opportunity placed in front of you to get on your way to more closed transactions. We encourage you to think outside of the box that we have all been forced to work in for so many years, and realize EXPOSURE and NETWORKING (the #1 and #2 methods to sell property), can (and will) come through participation on our site. Use PocketListings.net to your advantage and help your sellers sell, and your buyers find what they need.

Go ahead. It’s FREE!

-PocketListings.net Tutorial
-PocketListings.net