The world is spinning so fast that you hardly have a chance to learn your new iPhone before another comes out. The same is true for real estate. In a slow national real estate market, companies and agents are throwing everything against the wall to attract the elusive buyer.
For at least two decades, buyers have become accustomed to depending on local multiple listing services and online real estate sites to see every available listing in the area they’re looking to buy in. The assumption that buyers are seeing everything on the market changed dramatically in January when Compass Real Estate acquired Anywhere Real Estate, the parent company of Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, Century 21 and Sotheby’s International Realty.
Compass is now the nation’s largest brokerage and is offering sellers a new, out-of-the-box way of marketing their property. According to Compass, sellers will now have the ability to have more control and choices of the selling process. In addition, it is actively encouraging its agents to take their listings off the traditional real estate portals, going as far as offering cash bonuses to do so.
So, what is Compass offering its sellers? Essentially, it has three different programs for the seller to choose from when they’re ready to put their home on the market.
The first option is a pocket listing, which is an off-market listing not publicly advertised on a local multiple listing service or other online sites. These are sold primarily through word of mouth among agents and clients. There is nothing new about pocket listings, but Compass has taken it to a whole new level, making pocket listings the rule rather than the exception.
The next option is the Private Exclusive listing. These are listings that are visible only to Compass agents and affiliated companies. Buyers or agents from competing firms must contact Compass for the information.
Finally, there is the Coming Soon listing. These listings are not marketed by multiple listing services and most public portals, such as Zillow, but are visible on Compass.com and on Redfin.
There certainly are plenty of critics of Compass and the way it’s doing business. Primarily, it is accused of hiding listings so its agents will have a better opportunity of selling the listing in-house. With more than 200,000 agents in this country, it’s hard to tell a seller that their property is not getting exposure. In Manhattan, Compass and its affiliates now handle more than 80% of residential sales by dollar volume, according to some estimates.
On another note, by now most homeowners know that Amendment 3 has passed. Once the dust settles and we start to see the pros and cons of the outcome, there’ll be lots more to talk about.
In this new world of real estate marketing, it will be time-consuming to keep up. However, you, as a buyer or seller, need to understand all the options and what they mean.
