Pocket listing making comeback in home sales

PHOENIX — If you’re selling your home, be advised there’s a trend popping up that comes back every time inventory is low. It’s called pocket listing.

“We’re starting to see some of it,” said Bill Rimsza of Rimsza Realty.

Pocket listing is when a realtor doesn’t place the property on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), but rather shows and sells only to people they know. While legal, pocket listing raises some ethical questions.

“Particularly, agents that do a lot of investors and they are selling directly to them instead of putting the property on the open market,” said Rimsza. “I think the reason it’s not ethical is your seller signed an agreement with you to put it on the market and get as many potential buyers as possible.”

Bottom line, when you don’t have a lot of buyers at the table, you might not get the best price for your property.