THREE STEPS TO FINDING OFF MARKET HOMES IN SAN FRANCISCO

Welcome to our quick and easy guide for finding off-market homes in the San Francisco Bay Area. In San Francisco proper, it has been reported that up to 11% of homes sold off-market. That number goes up to almost 20% as we look at the nation as a whole. Any savvy home buyer would be remiss to not take advantage of looking at these homes.

What are off-market homes?

Off-market homes, often referred to as pocket listings, are homes that never make it onto the public Multiple Listing Service.

So what can you do about it? Here are three steps you can take today to not miss out on these homes:

1. PARTNER UP & SIGN UP

Partner with a local knowledgeable realtor who can send you pocket listings. Duh. It’s a no brainer. There are plenty of knowledgeable trustworthy agents. Do your research though. Check their Zillow and Yelp reviews, ask for references. Make sure they are well-connected and well-respected. Need a recommendation? Drop us a line. It is very likely we know a great agent in your area. A well-connected agent will have a Rolodex of connections that keep them apprised of any new homes in your area. 

Sign up to join our weekly DEAL OF THE WEEK blast – unique properties, handpicked by our growing team, that can’t be found on any listing services (Zillow, Redfin, etc.) that just might help give you an edge.

Want to find a top San Francisco real estate agent? We’ve outlined some tips in this blog post about how to identify the best of the best. Another insider tip is to make sure your San Francisco real estate agent is a member of TAN (Top Agent Network).

2. WORK WITH A BROKER

Work with a brokerage (like ours) that has a wide network of top-producing agents. 2020 brought about some major changes to the way real estate is listed, advertised, and sold in the Bay Area. Without going into too many details larger brokerages have a better network for word of mouth. Meaning you get access to more homes off-market. 

Take a look at just some of the other top producing agencies we work with.

3. KNOW ABOUT ‘COMING SOON’

The National Association of Realtors has changed the way homes are marketed and placed on the open market. Real estate agents and some home sellers still choose to sell their homes without ever going through the whole fanfare of listing publicly. A property can be listed as ‘Coming Soon’ and sold all while still complying with the new guidelines. There are some real estate search platforms that allow users to search for Coming Soon but most are limited. A trusted agent is still your best bet for getting access to what’s coming onto the market and will be there to guide you through the tricky process of making a successful offer on a ‘Coming Soon’ home.

The Legacy Real Estate team has been buying and selling homes on behalf of San Francisco Bay Area residents for over 50 years. Let us know how we can help you today!

Call me at 415.871.3885 if you have any questions or email at [email protected]