Internet Browser
Hundreds of homes for sale in the Chicago multiple listing service (MLS), Midwest Real Estate Data, aren’t on this site or any other public Internet site. When I did an unscientific check last week they were 2.4% of all Chicago MLS listings. 3.4% weren’t found on sites such as Zillow or Trulia.
These are not pocket listings. Those are homes listed for sale with a real estate brokerage that are not (or not yet) in the MLS. I’ve encountered pocket listings most often in the luxury market. Some luxury sellers prefer privacy over the benefits of advertising their home for sale on hundreds of real estate sites.
Chicago MLS listings not on the Internet aren’t more likely to be luxury listings. Of the 271 such listings I found last week only 13 were priced above $1,000,000. They were in 65 of Chicago’s 77 official areas. They include houses, condos, co-op apartments and townhomes.
Such listings give up the privacy of a pocket listing, but don’t take advantage of the reach of the Internet. They can be found by buyer agents searching in the MLS, but the public won’t be aware of them unless there’s some other advertising or publicity.
Even More Chicago MLS Listings Not on Zillow or Trulia
When I checked last week there were an additional 110 Chicago MLS listings that display on sites such as this one and numerous Chicago brokerage sites, but not national portals such as Zillow or Trulia. 57 real estate brokerages had such listings.
What This Means for Home Buyers
To avoid missing out on MLS listings not on the Internet have a buyer agent search in the Midwest Real Estate Data MLS for you. Even if a listing is on the Internet not all of it’s information may be displayed. Sellers’ agents sometimes choose not to display the remarks or street address. If you see a listing on the Internet without a paragraph describing the home for sale or without a street address, have your buyer agent send you the listing directly from the MLS. If the Internet listing is missing the street address, you’ll need to send your agent the MLS number.
To avoid missing out on MLS listings that don’t display on some of the national real estate portals search homes for sale on Chicago real estate sites that get their data from Midwest Real Estate Data. Not only are there more Chicago MLS listings, but the data may be updated faster. Third parties are sometimes involved in updating data for the national portals which can cause a 1 to 2 day delay.
What This Means for Home Sellers
Now you know that just because your home for sale is in the MLS doesn’t automatically mean that the listing will appear on the Internet. If you want your listing to appear on the Internet, make sure your agent knows. After your home goes on market have your agent send you links to the listing on numerous real estate sites.
How Agents Can Find Non Internet Listings in the MLS
Buyer agents will find listings regardless of whether or not they are on the Internet when they search for their clients in our MLS. However, the online search tools in our MLS currently do not provide a way to search specifically for listings not to be displayed on the Internet. To find such listings requires downloading search results to a spreadsheet using the eNeighborhoods CMA export fields format. Then sort on the Internet Listing Field to find those listings where the value is not “All”.
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Call Fran at 773-793-4516, text or email
Fran Bailey specializes in downtown Chicago, Lincoln Park and Lake View condos, co-op apartments and houses. She has shared home buying and selling advice since 2006 and written about over 130 Chicago high rises. To schedule showings for any listings, get a 
