How to Quickly See Newly Listed Real Estate
- Adam Garrett
- Nov 24, 2022
- 10 min read
Updated: Mar 6
Below I relate important elements of expeditious showings to buyers, a critical tool in a buyer's belt for getting under contract on the best house for them available when they're looking.
Importance of Expeditious Showings
The importance of expeditious showings is hard to underemphasize. I’ve seen where a buyer I was representing got in quickly on a home that had just hit the market in a hot market and was able to get under contract (with closing cost assistance even) before a cash buyer made a much stronger offer too late. While it impacted what the seller was willing to do when it came time for the home inspection, the buyer was very glad to get their offer in first. With the median days on market being as low as they are, sometimes properties go under contract very quickly, & the best properties go under contract typically below the median time on market at any given time.
How to expedite the time between a property hitting the market and your showing:
Expert Search Creation
Set up searches with a great buyer's broker/agent where nothing outside of that search would be a consideration (& let your agent know about any modifications), then click on the search(es) when putting together the most up-to-date list right before sending it to your agent/broker for the best information.
That includes highly targeted expert-based real estate agent/broker search that is:
cognizant of information that no non-agent buyer is aware of, such as what's required and what's not required to be input into various MLS (which may determine whether or not you use certain filters)
search features available on the MLS that are unavailable on all public websites that I am aware of, i.e. in REIN MLS:
Filtering out properties that rely on coal heat, floor furnaces, baseboard, oil heat, or wood burning for heat only
Filtering out a number of properties that for various reasons would require a renovation loan or escrow holdback to close
Filtering out properties with asbestos siding or EIFS siding, which were both subject to lawsuits
sometimes it includes templates that took dozens of hours to put together (i.e. my hurricane evacuation zone map filters on 4 MLS).
It's important to not just "browse" for potential properties, but to create a search with automated updates as properties hit the market. You'll waste a lot less time that way and optimize your ability to quickly respond as properties hit the market. Your agent can help you with that as long as they have access to the primary MLS of the areas you are looking in & the property type (i.e. single family residential). In the case of commercial & 4+ multi-family units, sometimes, such as in South East Virginia, the primary location of properties is a public one where your agent should be able to show you how to create a search yourself. If you're working with me, we can do that in person or over Zoom using the screen share feature & even the remote desktop feature if desired.
If you find yourself going outside of the search for properties that are present on the same MLS where you're getting a search feed, be sure to request revisions to your search to include properties like the ones you are looking up outside of the search as long as you're weeding through 20-50 properties total.
It has 20-50 properties total that the buyers are able to weed through.
It is typically best not to use "concierge mode" where the agent or broker manually weed through properties before they get to the buyer.
It typically includes buyers getting texts of new properties if buyers check texts more often than email, even if that means using a workaround like setting up an email-to-text via your email account to accomplish that which you didn't know was available.
Keep the search going by not ignoring the emails for too long during periods when you're no longer actively looking
Expert Manual Property Review
A buyer who knows what to look for online for properties is critical, especially when it comes to agent-restricted items.
A buyer's agent/broker knowing what to look for before seeing property is critical as well, to help a buyer weed out properties that the buyer client thinks that they should see before they see them by providing objective information that the buyer(s) is unaware of & asking the buyer their preferences based on that information. Examples:
I frequently get contacted by buyers about properties that the MLS states are under contract but where sites like Zillow have no record of the contract.
A listing disclosed that a home was in a flood zone & the annual cost. I asked the right questions, & the listing agent shared that around $40k in reno had recently occurred around 5 years ago due to major flood damage within the home. It was a multiple-offer situation, and I saved the buyer and I both a trip while the other buyers likely wouldn't have been making the offers if they simply asked the right questions.
A home looked like a great buy to multiple buyers who reached out to me about it. What they didn't see was in the agent remarks, which stated that the property had foundation problems. I reached out to the agent about it. The agent stated that the estimate to conduct the repairs was around $100k.
I don't know how many times buyers have reached out to me about a property that was not on the MLS search that I sent them that was a pre-foreclosure, a type of off-market property that may be available, but that isn't on the open market and which would require some hefty digging (typically of a high volume of pre-foreclosures and other off-market properties) in order to get someone who will sell to you.
Optimal Requests
Typically call &/or text if not a large list, or an email accompanied by a text/call to alert the agent if a full list (in my case, 24/7)
w/ correct spelling
w/ the source of the property (i.e. REIN MLS, Zillow, Craigslist with a link, etc.)
Potentially on a buyer property spreadsheet, especially if a long list
Expert Available Agent
There are 2 main qualities to look for regarding the agent/broker's availability for showings:
An expert buyer's agent/broker who is both available regularly (especially Monday-Saturday, with Sundays having the least new listings and the highest amount of unavailable listings that appear available)
A buyer's agent/broker who regularly has experienced expert agent fill-ins when the agent/broker is unavailable is ideal as well, though sadly rare. One of the ways that I can do it (beyond offering higher fees than most other agents looking for fill-ins) is that I work at a firm with over 100 agents/brokers scattered across a relatively large geographical area, with some of the agents there having been there or in the business for decades.
Prepare in Advance
A buyer who has prepared well for showings will be much better off when the time comes to see property faster without as many delays, to make a decision, and to write an offer expeditiously.
Spend some time in my buyer's guide
Have a preapproval in advance (ideally having gone through manual underwriting from a local lender)
Consider options to reduce your real estate cost in advance, since sometimes if you get under contract on a property, it would be far too late to acquire one:
If you're planning on seeing property and live out of town, have a plan in advance for how you'll go about seeing property, whether you get education & set up for an optimized video showing or whether you make advanced plans on what you will do for coming to the area to see property (See "Coming to Search for Your Home from Out of Town/State" in my Area Guide).
Perform a thorough buyer's agent/broker search & establish buyer brokerage (exclusive or non-exclusive) & ask any questions in advance of doing so prior to requesting showings (especially if your agent/broker requires disclosures to be signed) so that you're not slowed down when the time comes (also especially if you don't see anything you like in the initial list of properties, as you may be more selective than most).
If your agent is a REALTOR, you should sign a buyer brokerage agreement prior to showings based on the recent NAR settlement.
Some states like VA also have legal requirements of buyer brokerage agreements prior to most showings.
Contrary to popular belief, buyer brokerage agreements may be exclusive or non-exclusive, although it's not uncommon for agents to not do non-exclusive agreements.
Be sure to ask about transaction coordinator fees/admin fees if it's not mentioned in the buyer brokerage agreement.
You may want to pass on agents/brokers/brokerages that lock you into using their preferred lender.
Compensation in buyer brokerage agreements may vary by agent.
Be familiar with the kind of property that you are considering purchasing:
Be familiar with area considerations
Be familiar with making an offer on real estate in advance, including but not limited to:
More:
More Tips & Expectations on Showing Requests
Before you request a showing, it's a good idea to do some due diligence online. For more details, see:
How is your agent legally limited by something good (fair housing)?
Phantom Property Availability: For Sale, Under Contract, but Hard to Tell
For more details, see: Buyer Tips for Requesting Real Estate Showings
When do the most listings hit the market?
It’s helpful to know that most properties hit the market Monday-Friday, with Mondays and Thursdays (excluding federal holidays) being the biggest days. The least properties hit the market on Sundays (only 1/47th of properties on a 5 week sample I checked), with the next lowest day being Saturday (1/20th in the same sample). Because of that, it’s critical to be checking properties hitting the market during the week when the most listings are hitting the market.
It's also helpful to know that the least properties hit the market in REIN MLS (the primary MLS of Hampton Roads) in December, while the most hit the market typically any time between March and July.
You might think that the low volume of new listings in December spurs prices up, but it's actually the opposite, since demand is lower then, & December actually typically commands the lowest prices of the season, with most contracts taking 1 month from the time of contract to closing.
When are property listings the least accurate?
The shorter the market time, the higher the probability that the property is under contract already with a buyer, excluding the 1st 12 hrs of listing. In some cases though, properties can go under contract in less than 12 hrs.
The lower the price-to-value ratio of the property, the higher the probability that it's already under contract.
5 PM-9 AM tends to be the least accurate time during Monday-Friday, with Saturdays and especially Sundays being the least accurate times all week as long as the property didn't hit the market less than 12 hrs ago.
Popular holidays, especially Christmas and Thanksgiving, & especially if Christmas falls on a Saturday or Sunday.
Related:
Importance of Expeditious Offers
Even if you complete a showing quickly, that won't mean that you'll be able to get a home if your expeditious showing isn't accompanied by an expeditious offer. Even with an expeditious showing and an expeditious offer, there's no guarantee you'll win an offer, but the start of a successful offer is both in an expeditious showing and an expeditious offer. Making an expeditious offer means you'll be more likely to win in a competing offer scenario or prevent a competing offer scenario. In order to reduce the time in between when you see a property and when you make an offer, it's a good idea to at least start reviewing some items & have some things ready before showings.
Here are further details on expeditious offers.
Relevant Contract/MLS Basics to Know
Contracts won't be updated immediately in MLS after they go under contract. In the case of REIN MLS, the primary MLS of Hampton Roads, listings have 2 business days to be updated following contract ratification, which excludes Saturday & Sunday. With that said, a property could go under contract on a Friday morning, with a federal holiday on Monday, and not be updated in MLS until Wednesday at 11:59 PM without receiving a fine if the agent has MLS input rights.
Not all agents have MLS input rights. At some firms, like Garrett Realty Partners, most agents don't have MLS input rights, and an MLS coordinator, who works typically 9-5 M-F, inputs listings & changes (i.e. changing the property from active to pending) into MLS.
Sometimes there will be "verbal agreement" between buyer and seller before a property is under a written contract.
Sometimes a property will require 24 hr or even 48 hr notice before it's available for showing, and in more unusual cases, it can't be shown at all.
In some cases, there will be a gap between when showings are allowed and when the seller will make a decision.
In some cases, a deadline is provided for offers, which is in some cases visible in the listing (typically only visible to agents if present). In other cases, no deadline will be present, but an offer could be accepted at any time. Even when there is a deadline, sometimes offers are accepted early.
Sometimes properties have back-to-back showings during showing windows for a day or more prior to an offer deadline.
Some MLS allow coming-soon listings, while others (i.e. REIN, the primary MLS of Hampton Roads), do not.
Related:
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