Why Aren’t All Homes for Sale in Orange County on the MLS?

Have you ever felt like your agent isn’t sending you all of the homes that are for sale that meet your wants and needs?

Maybe you have seen homes for sale on Trulia or Zillow that look perfect for you; yet they never come through on the lists of homes your Realtor sends you and you’re wondering why your agent hasn’t sent them to you.

The fact that you’re not receiving them may not mean that your Realtor isn’t doing a good job for you.  There are several reasons why a home that appears to be for sale might not end up on the MLS.

1. The Home Isn’t Really for Sale
• Sites like Trulia show homes that are in foreclosure, and these often appear to be for sale even though they aren’t actually on the market or up for sale.  For more on this, please see Homes on Trulia that Aren’t for Sale.
• This can be very confusing, especially since these homes often appear to be deals that are too good to be true.  For instance a home for sale in Costa Mesa for $60,000 that is a single family home with 2300 sq. ft. is not really for sale.  This is likely the default amount (the amount the current owner is behind in payments).
2. The home is already in escrow
• Frequently Realtors do not send homes to their buyers when they are already in escrow as this usually just leads to frustration on the buyers part since the home is not available.
• If there is little inventory or the buyer has very specific needs that are hard to meet, the Realtor might send these, but many choose not to forward homes that are already under contract to their clients.

   3.   The home may be a “pocket” or “exclusive” listing for the listing agent.

• Sometimes a Realtor may choose to list a home but has an agreement with the seller that they are not “cooperating” with other brokers/agents.  This home would then usually not be on the MLS.
• This might happen because the Realtor agrees to take less of a commission if they don’t have to split it with another agent.
• The seller might agree to this for some period of time before having it put on the MLS or may never have it put on the MLS at all.
• This is not as common as it used to be though it still happens.

    4.  The home is a FSBO/For Sale by Owner  

• Usually FSBOs are not on the MLS, so if a home isn’t listed by a Realtor/real estate agent, it probably won’t be on the MLS.

If you’re not seeing an Orange County home for sale in the MLS and are wondering why, please give Christine Donovan a call at 714-319-9751.