Where Can I Find Off Market Listings?

Table of Content

What is an off-market listing?

What does off market mean?

How do I find a house that’s not on the market?

How do I see hidden listings?

How can I get off market deals?

How to access off-market properties?

Can you buy a house off the market?

How to buy off-market homes?

What is an off-market listing?

An off-market listing is a listing that the seller and their agent have decided to share with only a limited amount of people, rather than post the listing and make it visible and accessible to many buyers. This is a different way of approaching the real estate market, and in many ways, it is not the way that the majority of people choose. Usually, those who want to list their homes will do so through a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) so as to ensure as much exposure as possible. This stands in stark contrast to off-market listings which are created in a way that makes them available only to a limited amount of carefully selected people. 

Off-market properties are still available on the market but finding them may occasionally require more effort on the part of the buyer. Many programs are directly created for sellers who want to sell their properties off-market. Many agencies will also assist those buyers in creating an off-market listing. All of those can become available to prospective buyers if they search for them both online and offline. 

What does off-market mean?

Off-market is an interesting term in real estate because it implies that while the property can be sold for an appropriate amount and the seller would be willing to take offers, the property is not actually on the market. Rather, it is not promoted on the market and made widely available for sale. This means that real estate agents and prospective buyers simply scouting the market would not be able to see a listing for that property and therefore would not know that there is potentially a property that fits their requirements up for sale. 

How do I find a house that’s not on the market?

Finding a house that is not on the market, or rather not widely advertised as being on the market will require a lot more work than finding a house that is widely available on the market. There are many ways of going about finding a home that is not on the market, some of them may prove to be more successful than others depending on your area, but all of them will be able to assist you in your search to find off-market listings in your area. 

1. Real Estate Agents

While real estate agents will not widely publicize if they have properties available that are off-market listings you can always search for the real estate agents in the area that you are looking to buy and contact them directly. During the call, you can ask if they have any exclusive listings that you could take a look at. If the answer is yes then they may be able to show you some properties that are off-market properties. 

2. Homeowners

If you have one specific area in mind that you would like to mainly look at purchasing a property at, you may be able to directly contact homeowners in the area. This door-knocking technique is not always the best or the most successful, as many homeowners will not be interested, but there is always the chance that those who have considered selling before will be interested in your offer. 

3. Online services

While we previously mentioned that off-market listings are not widely advertised online, that does not mean that certain off-market listings are not posted online on FSBO websites or craigslist. There are also tools that you can use to find non-MLS listings that are available online. This will help make the process of finding an off-market listing that much simpler for you. Zillow also offers a number of off-market programs that are available to those who are looking to either sell or buy a property that is listed off-market. These programs can be a great way of finding off-market properties and it is a far easier way than knocking on doors in neighborhoods that you are interested in. 

How do I see hidden listings?

Finding and seeing hidden listings will require quite a lot of work on your part. One of the main reasons for this is that if a property is not widely available through an MLS it will be up to you to contact the right people to find it. Using the list of ideas and tips from below you are sure to be able to find some off-market real estate listings. 

• Contact Local Real Estate Agencies
• Look through FSBO Websites
• Check Zillow’s off-market programs
• Check your county records for properties
• Find Abandoned Properties
• Contact builders in your area

How can I get off-market deals?

If you are looking to access off-market property deals you may find that you have to take several different actions so as to find these properties. As these are not properties advertised widely or available on MLS websites finding them might take a bit of effort but it could also result in you getting a great deal because of the properties not being available on the market. 

 There are many ways of finding real estate properties that are off-market, but some of the most popular ones include: 

• Real estate agents and brokers

Real Estate Agents will often have available off-market deals that they may be able to share with you if you ask them about them. This is why it is important to know which agents are most active in the area that you are looking to purchase, for they will be the ones most likely to have deals that you can take advantage of.

• Contractors

Contractors and builders are often the first ones to know if an owner is preparing their house for sale. If you know of the contractor of one such property you can ask them if they can put you in contact with the owner. In general, reaching out to contractors is a great way of ensuring that you will be one of the first ones to find out about any homes that will be put on the market soon.

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• Direct mail marketing

Direct mail marketing is when you reach out to the owner of a property through email. This could be a rental property or a property that you found interesting and wanted to know if it was also available for purchase. As this is not a listed property you will very likely have no competition if the property is indeed available for purchase.

• Networking/ Meeting people in the neighborhood

A great way of finding off-market deals in a specific area is by talking to those who already live there. Word of mouth is one of the quickest ways of finding such deals, and if any of them was considering putting their house up for sale they will know to contact you first as you had previously shown interest in. This could save them the trouble of having to get an agent to sell their home and it could result in you getting a great off-market deal.

• FSBO websites/ Other online websites

While off-market properties may not be traditionally posted on MLS websites, that does not mean that they are not going to be posted on sites like Craigslist or FSBO websites. It is always a good idea to check those websites if you are looking to purchase an off-market property.

• Real estate auctions

Often times there are both live auctions and auction websites that have houses and properties available for sale. These are off-market properties and oftentimes they are great deals as they are sold at lower prices. By finding such actions in your area you could find a great home at a great price.

• County/public records

If you are interested in a specific property, you can use the county or public records to determine who the owner of the property is. Once that has been determined you may be able to get in contact with them directly and ask them if they would be interested in selling the property. If they are, they will let you know and you can then potentially proceed with the purchase. 

How to access off-market properties?

To access off-market properties and homes you will need to try to find those deals by contacting either owners, builders, or real estate agents directly. At times you may also be able to find such off-market properties by checking local auction websites or websites that are focusing on off-market deals and FSBO sales. Programs such as the ones offered by Zillow could also be a great way of finding these off-market deals. 

• Ask Real estate agents and brokers for exclusive deals in the area you are interested in
• Contact builders and Contractors
• Contact property owners through Direct mail marketing
• Network and meet people in the neighborhood
• Check FSBO websites/ Other online websites
• Look through Real estate auctions and real estate websites
• Find the owner by looking through County/public records

Can you buy a house off the market?

Buying a house off-market is definitely possible but it may require a bit more work than buying a house that was available through an MLS listing would take. Normally, buying off-market is often an option if you are in a seller’s market. However, that does not mean that opportunities are not available for those who are in buyer markets. The first place to start if you are looking to buy an off-market property is your real estate agent. Your realtor will be able to check canceled, withdrawn listings, or even listings that are coming up on the MLS market but have not quite been listed yet. 

Once you have found those listings that you are most interested in your real estate agent will be able to write a letter and contact those homeowners directly. While not everyone will be willing to sell, you may find that one of those people will be willing to consider your offer and is still looking to sell their property. Once you have managed to view the home and have a home inspection carried out you can send in your offer. 

From there the seller may be happy with your offer or may want to negotiate for a better one. Either way, from here on the process becomes similar to what it would have been for a property that was listed on the market. The seller will need to accept your offer and you will need to close on the house in a similar manner as you would have if the listing was on an MLS website.

How to buy off-market homes?

Buying off-market homes is a great way of avoiding having your offer rejected or having to go into a bidding war to get the house that you want. An off-market property saves you from both of those cases as these properties are not widely listed online. To find them you will need to search both online and offline so as to find those deals in your area. Once you have found an off-market property that you are interested in you will need to directly contact the owner and ask them if they would be interested to arrange a viewing and a home inspection. From there you can proceed with sending an offer and potentially purchasing the property if it fits all of your needs. Having a real estate agent can be useful during this part of the process, but one of the best parts of buying a property off-market is that you will often be able to complete the process without one. 

Summary: 

Off-market properties are properties that are potentially up for sale but they are not widely advertised as such. This can have many benefits as it allows the buyer and seller to proceed with the sale of the house or property without a real estate agent. While, it may take more time to find an off-market property it may be a better deal financially if you do, so if you are interested in such a purchase you should start by looking in the area that you are interested in.