"We bought it before it even hit the market"

"We bought it before it even hit the market."  WOW!  That phrase sparks so much emotion in the world of real estate.  The sellers & buyers of the "underground transaction" feel like they won the lottery. 

At the closing of one of these unicorn-like transactions everyone is happy.  The buyer feels like they lucked out getting a house before anyone else.  The seller is happy for how easy that just was.  And the agent(s) couldn’t be more proud.

But here’s a thought…who really wins in these deals?  The answer can vary between buyer & seller, with one remaining constant…the agent always wins.

How’s that?  Well, think about it.  

Buyer Wins:  If a seller has a “hot property” that flies off the market before it even hits the mainstream inventory, did they really get top dollar for their home?  Did they really get the best deal?  Or were they just hypnotized by the glamour of “selling before we hit the market”? 

Seller Wins:  Conversely, a buyer might feel added pressure to write an offer on a non-listed property.  Maybe they pay more than they would have in order to keep the house from hitting the MLS.  It’s possible that if it hit the market, the buyer would see that there isn’t any other interest, and they can negotiate the price a bit more.

But the agent…the agent always gets paid. 

Don’t get me wrong, there are absolutely times when selling a home off-market is the right thing to do.  Often times, those are delicate and/or unique situations.   Agents need to make their best judgement and ensure they are doing the right thing.

And then...well... 

Let's say an agent posts on social media "We helped these sellers by bringing them two buyers before this house even hit the market!".  

How do you think all the other buyers out there feel about this public post for the world to see?  Especially if this post is in reference to a hot market!

  

A post like this infers that this house was going to go on the market, and instead the agent kept it in their pocket for only a select few buyers.  Maybe there was a very good reason for this?  

But if there was a good reason to keep the sale quite before, why are you talking about it now?  

There’s no better marketing for an agent than creating whispers in the neighborhood about some magical secret sale.  The question is, when you whisper “we sold before it even hit the market”…who won?