> Luckily, this type of listing is relatively uncommon... Pocket listings account for a not insignificant percentage of sales in some markets. According to one

> Luckily, this type of listing is relatively uncommon... Pocket listings account for a not insignificant percentage of sales in some markets. According to one source, in Q1 2013, they made up as much as 25% of sales in certain Northern California markets[1]. > The problem is that by not putting a home on the open market, the seller never finds out how much it's really worth. You are making a couple of major assumptions: 1. Optimizing for price is best accomplished by maximizing the number of potential buyers. 2. Optimizing for price is the primary/only motivation of a seller, and outweighs all other considerations, such as speed, privacy and risk. Neither is always true, especially at the high end of the market. A good agent is going to understand his or her seller's needs and employ a strategy that makes the most sense, and it's the seller's responsibility to decide whether the agent's recommended approach is acceptable. Absolute statements (pocket listings are good/bad) are easy to make but ignore the fact that different scenarios reasonably lend themselves to different sales approaches. [1] http://speakingofrealestate.blogs.realtor.org/2013/05/16/mls-exec-pocket-listings-undermine-industry/ http://speakingofrealestate.blogs.realtor.org/2013/05/16/mls...