What Is a Pocket Listing?

A “pocket listing” or “private listing” is a home for sale that’s marketed solely through a listing agent’s network, direct contacts, or exclusive platforms. Private listings are promoted as a way for sellers to prioritize exclusivity or test the market’s interest in a home.

Typically, a home seller works with an agent who lists the home for sale on a local database called a Multiple Listings Service, or MLS. The MLS then will syndicate listings to public sites like Zillow or Redfin, giving all buyers access to them. By definition, pocket listings don’t appear on the MLS — they’re accessible only through the agent or brokerage representing the seller.

Private listings may come at a cost to sellers who want to sell quickly and maximize returns. A 2023 study found that homes listed for sale in MLSs sold for 17.5% more than comparable homes listed privately. The pocket listing strategy also runs contrary to what many buyers say they want: 9 out of 10 prospective buyers in a 2025 Zillow survey agree that they should be able to see and access all available for-sale home listings, regardless of who lists them. 

When selling a home, you’ll need to decide whether a publicly available listing or another option best suits your goals. Talking to an experienced agent can help clarify your options. Whatever you decide, make sure your agent’s marketing plans are outlined for you in a signed agreement.

Read on to learn more about how pocket listings work — and how they can affect outcomes for home sellers.

How do pocket listings work?

Pocket listings are a way of privately marketing homes for sale outside of Multiple Listing Services, which are databases real estate professionals use to share listings with other agents and their clients. Pocket listings are sometimes called “off-market,” “exclusive,” or “private” listings because access to them is restricted.

Pocket listings come in several forms, but share one thing in common: They are available only to agents or brokers who are given special access to them. Some are available in invitation-only networks. Others are open only to agents from a specific region or real estate brokerage. Still others consist of homes that are shared privately with a select group of buyers as a way of testing a price on the market before they’re marketed publicly. 

Do pocket listings benefit sellers?

Pocket listings can:

• Allow a homeowner to sell their home with more privacy. This may appeal to celebrity clients who want to sell homes without public attention, those who do not want others to know their home is for sale, or people who want to keep certain details of their homes private.
• Hide potential red flags from buyers by not disclosing how long a home has been on the market, how many price cuts it’s had, how many buyers have expressed interest in it, or whether a potential sale has fallen through.
• Help sellers avoid holding open houses or having to evaluate competing offers in a bidding war.

Things to consider when listing a home as a pocket listing

Less exposure

Most homes are listed on an MLS, a database of for-sale homes that is widely shared by the real estate industry and, ultimately, the public. The MLS databases feed listings to consumer platforms, allowing agents, buyers and sellers to view information on sites like Zillow or Redfin. Most MLSs allow sellers to opt-out of internet display of their listing while still being included on the MLS. Pocket listings do not show up on an MLS, so they limit the number of buyers who see a listing.

Sellers, naturally, want to make sure they’re reaching as many potential buyers as possible. A 2025 Zillow survey found that an agent’s ability to get their home in front of the largest pool of interested buyers was a top priority for 52% of Americans.

That same survey found strong majorities who agree that:

• Viewing all for-sale home listings should be free for home shoppers (86%).

• A bidding war is more likely to occur on a for-sale listing if more shoppers can view it (81%).
• All available for-sale home listings should be accessible to home shoppers (77%). This is especially important for the majority of sellers who are also buying their next home, and want to line up the sale and the purchase to avoid multiple moves. 

More challenging to sell

Marketing to a smaller pool of buyers can also make a home harder to sell. The 2025 Zillow survey also found that more than 2 in 5 home sellers (43%) reported switching from the private listing recommended by their agent to listing on an MLS, where homes are marketed more broadly.

Make pricing more difficult

Pocket listings can make it harder to price a home or gauge the market for a particular property because listings and price history are hidden, limiting sellers’ view of the total market. The MLS allows sellers and their agents to have a deep understanding of the market in their area so they can use comparable home sales to determine the right strategy for achieving the maximum home sale price.

The MLS allows sellers to get immediate feedback from buyers, and see what homes are moving quickly, which require price cuts, and which come off the market when they don’t sell. This information is invaluable to sellers and buyers, especially in markets where there aren’t a lot of homes for sale.

May not get a fair market price

A multi-state study by Drexel University and BrightMLS found that homes listed on the MLS between 2019 and early 2023 sold for 17.5% more than comparable listings that were not marketed on an MLS. In 2022, that translated to $53,000 more to a typical seller who listed the home on an MLS.

Longer selling time

A 2022 study conducted by Bright MLS found that “most homes that begin as office exclusives are not successfully sold that way, which extends the time period for a sale.” Only about 13% of homes marketed as office exclusives ended up selling that way. For the rest, 63% were eventually sold on the MLS, and 24% of homes listed between April 2021 and December 2021 hadn’t sold or may have been removed from the market by early 2022.

What should sellers consider when listing?

As the home seller, you’ll need to decide which strategy is most likely to achieve your goals.

Talk with potential listing agents about the strategies they recommend for marketing your property, and be sure to include those in your signed agreement with the agent.
 An experienced agent can walk you through your options so you can sell in a way that makes the most sense for you.