How Realtors Can Find Homes Before They’re Listed

Staying apprised of new property listings in your local market can help you plan ahead and strategize your negotiating strategy. As you build your portfolio as an agent, finding the most reliable information networks possible to learn what will be available before your competition is essential. There are many methods for doing so, and adopting a multi-faceted approach to building your real estate portfolio is vital for both your short- and long-term growth as an agent.

In her time selling breathtaking, one-of-a-kind properties in the San Francisco bay area, Kara W. Lee has developed a keen edge for scouting out and leveraging pre-listed properties. Read on to learn four time-tested tips to help you build your own portfolio as an agent and enjoy a consistent head start over the competition.

One of the most straightforward sources of pre-listed homes is direct from builders in your market. Because builders are often focused on the quality and efficiency of the construction process, they usually aren't focused on listing homes on the MLS (multiple listing service). Part of this is deliberate, as they don't want to unskillfully flood their own market and reduce the value of their work. Also, they are often confident that there's always a handful of ambitious local realtors eager to do the marketing for them — and you may as well be one of them.

Keep your eye on the activities of local home builders in your area. When you notice one becoming particularly busy, chat with their decision makers to explore their realty needs and what their inventory is like. As with any job interview, remember that you are ensuring it's a good fit for both of you, so compile a few solid questions about the properties they're building, or even better, ask if they'll schedule a tour with you.

Alternately, you can check with the city or county offices to see when the number of building permits and zoning applications increases. Either way, start putting the most active or soon-to-be-active builders on your radar.

This could pay off at any moment because it's not uncommon for builders to alter their plans and decide to sell surplus properties earlier than anticipated. If you've already thrown your hat in the ring with them, presented yourself well, and periodically follow up, the chances are that you'll start getting calls out of the blue from local builders. From there, it may be a matter of time before you establish long-term working relationships with one of the primary physical sources of new houses in your market.

If you have a client looking to create a custom home, it could be a great way to guarantee a sale and generate positive future referrals in two directions at once. Builders can easily get used to matters of efficiency and quantity, and it may be a welcome opportunity for them to shift gears and create a custom home from scratch. Many designers and architects veritably jump at the idea when the price is right, and the timing is good, and establishing a successful custom home referral is a surefooted step into the luxury home market if the homeowner is pleased and passes your name along to those with similar socioeconomic means in their social circles.

Further, by bringing business to a builder, you'll establish a more versatile and stronger bond with them, likely leading to more future work together. As for the custom build at hand, you'll receive double the accolades, as the new homeowner and the prospective builder alike see the beginning of the relationship as a major success.

Though it may seem, considering the matter of competition, like another agent wouldn't be forthcoming about new home listings, some agents may actually have too much on their plate already. Agents at every level rely on new collaborations, so it pays to start establishing trustworthy relationships of your own.

Just as you may be seeking properties while other agents cannot fully manage the properties available to them, at another point in time, you may be able to return the favor. Some agents specialize in a specific type of property, but by happenstance, they come into representing properties that are outside their expertise or present focus. In such cases, they may get more by leveraging the properties as favors and establishing lasting working relationships.

Depending on whether they are concentrating more on buying or selling, your contribution to their own market's statistics may help them shift the property values in that market to their benefit. Generally, alliances between agents are more common than new agents might think, even when they don't work for the same agency.

Next time you are networking at a realtor event or befriend some realtors in your region, be bold enough to ask them if they know of any pocket (unadvertised) listings from sellers who put a high premium on privacy and discretion. Be sure, though, that you know the local and national regulations against pocket listings — generally, an unlisted home can only be sold off the MLS if it is entirely unadvertised.

This means that homeowners of unlisted homes often rely on agents willing to go out on a limb and ask about unlisted homes periodically. As is often the case with luxury properties, these estate owners might place a premium on privacy over ease of sale and marketability, which benefits the agents they come to trust. Even with publicly listed houses, though, ask your new and old colleagues about future listings so you can start thinking about your budget and bidding strategy before the listings enter the open market.

At a more arduous but thorough level, you could even conduct manual searches of public listings and make a list of each active agent in your area. Then, make a formal introduction with them (especially those with many listings), and inquire about potential clients they cannot currently focus on or properties about to hit the market they aren't interested in.

Be clear that you aren't looking to increase competition for them, and consider what you might offer them in exchange — even if it's just the promise of making recommendations about them to future clients who need the services of an agent operating in areas you don't service, but your new colleague does.

Qualified leads are to a realtor as "warm leads" are to a sales agent. They connect you with clients who are more likely to have the financing and other necessary factors that help them take more decisive action when seeking a home to buy. Some of the advice given above (e.g., connecting custom homebuyers with builders or asking colleagues for under-served clients) involved qualified leads, but it's good general practice to make at least a mental distinction between qualified and unqualified leads to attune your efforts accordingly.

For one thing, unqualified leads are less likely to be purchasing in the immediate near term. You certainly don't want to turn away potential future sales, but at the same time, your entire client base and realty agency benefits from having a realtor who moves properties more frequently because it increases the number of properties available to you and your clientele.

One way to gain consistent access to more qualified leads is through good working relationships with your local credit unions or bank branches, where there is an almost never-ending rotation of customers applying for mortgages. After approval, their next logical step is to establish a relationship with a reliable agent — and if they trust a particular bank with a mortgage agreement, they'll likely trust their recommendation for realtors.

Let that be you by offering your services to the bank's mortgage manager. Make your offer stand out by providing value-added services at a discount, such as competitive inspections and walk-throughs, broker-price opinions, advertising sponsorships, or other creative ideas either of you may have. In return, they'll send you qualified leads who will likely be first-time buyers, and they'll not only be ready to buy but positively eager! Serve these clients well, and you'll reap greater sales and quickly start building a collection of exceptional reviews that are invaluable for future sales.

Note that banks may also be a source of pre-foreclosure properties, but take caution — tempting though foreclosures may be to some, such sales almost always come with a host of murky legal issues that some jurisdictions are not always fully honest about or even aware of. Even when a foreclosure matter is relatively clear and straightforward, a mid-2010s study spearheaded by researchers at MIT and Harvard concluded that foreclosed properties lose 27% of their value on average.

That's a big loss for what is also often much more work, given that foreclosed houses are less likely to be in a sell-ready state. These adverse effects on property values can also extend to properties within a quarter-mile radius, meaning the value of your entire portfolio could suffer if a spate of foreclosed homes enters the market. Of course, these effects may happen no matter what you choose to do in response — but it's best to look at the long-term effects and how diminished the returns might be.

With her keenly honed artistic sense, Kara W. Lee's approach to luxury Bay Area real estate is to view the market as a continually changing, living canvas. This fresh view, coupled with her business acumen and close community ties, gives her clients and colleagues the immediate sense that their property management needs are in the best of hands. If you're looking for a San Francisco realtor who makes client needs the primary factor, be sure to peruse Kara's unique and inspiring portfolio and connect with her.