Peeking Under the Curtain

Last Sunday I showed my clients five homes in the west suburbs that all met the profile of what they were looking for: within 20 minutes or so of downtown Minneapolis; around 3,500 FSF; at least 4 Bedrooms; a nice master Bath; price between $600k and $750k.

So what?

Only one of the five homes I showed was already on the market.

The other four were either pre-lists or one-time showings.

Missing Out

One of the things prospective Buyers not represented by agents don’t know is that homes are often quietly for sale well before “the curtain goes up,” i.e., they formally debut on MLS.

Behind the scenes, Buyer’s agents are busy broadcasting their clients’ criteria, while listing agents are busy promoting their upcoming listings through a variety of pre-list marketing.

Not surprisingly, technology and social networks make this kind of pre-list activity easier and cheaper than ever.

And therefore more important . . .

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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