In Los Angeles, we’re still enjoying a housing market where homes can feasibly spend less than a week on the market. But the market is tumultuous at the best of times. We recognize there’s an urgency to finding your dream home. Maybe you’re searching for your very first property. Maybe you’re ready for an upgrade. Or maybe your living situation has changed and you just need something new. But in all of those cases, you likely want to get into your new home as quickly as possible. Thoughts of home listings flood your every waking thought. Maybe a few of your sleeping thoughts too! You want to use every tool you can to give you an edge. And at JohnHart, we have one resource that you’re not likely to find anywhere else. They’re called off market properties and they’re bound to give you an exclusive edge over your competitors.  

What is an Off-Market Listing? 

When a seller decides to sell their property, they may not necessarily want to list it publicly. And this is fully within their rights! Homes that are to be sold but not listed on multiple listing services (MLS) are referred to as off-market properties. But if the goal is to sell a home, why would a seller want to keep it off the market? 

Photo credit: Envato

It may seem counterintuitive but there is a method to the madness. Several methods actually. For one, a seller may not be so eager to sell their home that they’d compromise their privacy. Others may want to gauge interest in their homes before opening the property up to the market at a later date. And then there are those who use the exclusivity of off-market listings to drive their price up. We’ve seen all of these time and time again. But even agents can also benefit from strategical use of off-market listings by incorporating off-market properties into cultivated “pre-marketing” strategies.

What is the Benefit of an Off Market Property?

That’s fine and dandy for the seller, but how do off market properties help you as the potential buyer? The first benefit is probably the most obvious. Off market properties save you from the chaos of a bidding frenzy. You may have a competitor or two gunning for the same home, but it’s nothing compared to the all-you-can-spend mania we see when a hot property hits a starving market. The second benefit goes hand-in-hand with the first. Less competition may mean that you get the house at a better price. 

How Do You Get Access to Off Market Properties? 

So, if a house doesn’t get listed on the MLS, then how do you get access to these in-demand, exclusive off-market listings? Short answer: call your JohnHart agent. But there’s a longer answer that goes into why it has to be your JohnHart agent. As a rule, most real estate agents don’t have the right to share off market properties outside of their brokerage. 

Photo credit: Envato

So what makes JohnHart different? We only have one owner and don’t operate as a franchise. Therefore, when one of our agents signs a listing that for whatever reason won’t be placed on the market, all of our agents have access to it. This means we can share these exclusive listings with our clients. We can’t share them on the MLS. We can’t share them with real estate professionals outside of JohnHart. But we can share them with you. And for buyers looking for a leg up on the competition, that’s an advantage that can’t be beat. 

So, if you’re looking for an insider advantage, consider off market properties. You’re not likely to get these kinds of opportunities anywhere else. Reach out to a JohnHart agent today to see what your competitors are missing!