Some brokerages are starting to provide private pocket listing services for the public and investors that allow them to act as a dual-agent in the transaction. With the written agreement of the seller, this would allow the company to try to obtain both the listing side and the 'selling' side of the commission, an industry term known as 'both sides of the transaction'.Ī real estate company which is not a member of any MLS may have pocket listings, but may still be willing to cooperate with other real estate professionals in the sale of their listings.Ī broker or agent having a Pocket Listing can sometimes imply that the property will be sold directly to a buyer by the seller's agent. There are some companies which list property as pocket listings for a short time before entering it into their MLS. While many MLS systems may try to limit this type of listing by requiring execution of a written notice relative to the benefits of MLS publicity, they may encourage members to refrain from taking pocket listings. Many full-time agents have knowledge of pocket listings in their own office or in other offices of their own company. A pocket listing can help reduce the likelihood of a stale listing that can be caused by a property sitting on the MLS for many weeks or months. It can reduce the need for many showings to strangers. Other legitimate reasons for a seller to decide to do a pocket listing include the potential for a faster, smoother transaction when the listing agent has buyer clients who may be interested in the property. Pocket listings can be very appealing to buyers who seek exclusive opportunities. Several legitimate marketing strategies can also lead sellers to choose pocket listings. The reasons for a pocket listing may vary from the need for privacy or secrecy to discrimination, and some sellers may have their own reasons for not advertising a listing in conventional ways, including wanting to sell only to certain types of people. In Canada, this is called an Exclusive Listing.

In the real estate industry in the United States, a pocket listing or hip pocket listing is a property where a broker sells a property through private connections rather than entering it into a multiple listing system (MLS) or otherwise publicly advertising it. For the legal loophole, see Pocket contract.

Pocket real estate