In many markets, it’s hard enough to buy a home on the market these days, let alone compete for off-market property.
So-called “pocket listings,” or homes that never hit the official sales market and instead are shared with select groups of buyers, were to be banned back in 2019, but according to a new OpEd by Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman, not only has the practice continued—but it’s on the rise.
Kelman tells Inman that the number of homes sold without being marketed to the public has increased 67 percent, from 2.4 percent to 4 percent, rising every month so far this year.
The problem, of course, lies in who gets access to know about these pocket listings. Kelman notes that study after study have found that pocket listings disproportionately exclude people of color, creating an unfair housing market.
Head over to Inman to read Kelman’s full piece here, including suggestions on how the National Association of Realtors can more effectively enforce it’s pocket listing ban, and how agents and the MLS can rethink marketing.