The increasing prevalence of off-market listings has buyers feeling like they’re missing out, new Inman contributor Michael Nourmand writes. Here’s how to provide clarity and transparency now.
Not long ago, I received an email from a client who was happy with my work but uncomfortable with their decision-making process. They were concerned that they may be missing off-market opportunities, and they’d like me to partner with another agent who they met at an open house and had recently texted them a property being shown off market.
I hear variations of this almost daily, and more frequently than in prior years. There is a growing assumption among buyers that the most desirable homes are pocket listings and that off-market access is the only way to succeed.
Although some buyers do find homes this way, the belief itself creates an illusion of scarcity. It changes how people search, how they make decisions and how they evaluate their agent.
In many cases, this concern arises even when the agent is doing a thorough job. Buyers hear about homes they did not see, sometimes from other agents, and begin to question whether they are missing opportunities. That moment of doubt can be enough for a client to consider bringing someone else into the process or to start soliciting random agents about off-market properties.
When I reviewed recent sales in the West Los Angeles market, I looked at just over 100 transactions in a defined period. Only about 7 percent of those sales were truly off-market. The vast majority of homes still traded through the MLS.
When clients raise this concern, my approach is to walk them through the data and provide context around what is actually happening in the market, including how much inventory is truly off-market and what has already been evaluated on their behalf. I send them every listing that has sold, including off-market listings so they can review. In most cases, the issue is not access. It is perception.
So why does the perception persist?
One reason is fragmentation. Buyers are no longer looking in one place. In addition to the MLS, there are brokerage networks, private inventories and social media. Information is widely available, but seems less centralized. As a result, buyers often hear about homes they were never shown.
In the areas that I reviewed, 93 percent of all listings were sold on market. So, while a property may have been shown for a short period off-market, the seller ultimately decided to expose the property on the MLS.
From the client’s perspective, however, it can feel like something was missed or even withheld. That perception creates pressure on the agent to produce something exclusive. It can also create an environment where other agents position off-market access as a differentiator and hook, regardless of how much inventory actually exists.
Another issue is that much of an agent’s work happens behind the scenes. We evaluate properties based on location nuances, floor plans, long-term resale potential and how a home fits a client’s lifestyle. Those conversations often take a back seat when the focus shifts to off-market inventory.
The result is that the conversation moves away from making the right decision and toward chasing something that feels elusive. The market itself has not become more opaque, but seems more fragmented, and that requires a different approach from agents.
The industry has spent decades building a transparent system based on the idea that broader exposure leads to better outcomes for sellers. That principle still holds. The more visibility a property has, the more likely it is to reach the right buyer and achieve the best price.
In my experience, a few principles are critical in this environment:
- Off-market inventory is nothing new and still represents a small portion of the market. While these deals will always exist, they account for a minority of transactions. Buyers who focus too heavily on what they cannot see risk overlooking strong on-market opportunities.
- While more property options is better, the real value comes from evaluating which properties make sense and why.
- Fragmentation creates confusion. With information coming from multiple sources, buyers can feel like they are missing something. Agents need to proactively clarify what is relevant and what is not.
- Transparency leads to better outcomes. The closer buyers and sellers are to working from the same information, the more rational decisions become. Limiting visibility may create short-term leverage, but it is not beneficial over time.
When buyers believe the market is opaque, their behavior changes. They rush decisions, worry about timing or pursue homes simply because they seem hard to access.
That shift has real implications for agents. Conversations that used to focus on price, condition and strategy now often begin with questions about what else is out there and whether something has been missed. In some cases, those questions are accompanied by outreach from other agents offering alternative access.
In this environment, the agent’s role is to help clients interpret the market. The agents who will be most effective are the ones who can provide clarity. In today’s market, the issue is not access. It is understanding.
Michael Nourmand is president at Nourmand & Associates. Get connected on LinkedIn and Instagram.