When searching the property listings for your next home, you might find some “coming soon” properties. If you are interested in a listing like this, what do you need to know about coming soon homes for sale?
We look at the things you need to be aware of with coming soon real estate listings when buying a property.
What are coming soon listings?
When a property is listed as coming soon, it isn’t currently on the market but should be within 30 days. Coming soon listings can be found in the multiple listing services through your real estate agent and sometimes on websites like Zillow.
How are coming soon listings used?
A home coming soon to the market cannot be shown or purchased for a certain amount of time. A home could be listed this way to increase interest from buyers. It lets listing agents advertise the property and open house events in advance, increasing the chance of the home selling quickly.
If you are interested in a home coming soon, contact your buyer’s agent to learn more. If you don’t have a buyer’s agent to do this for you, this could lead to a dual-agency arrangement.
Homes listed as coming soon tend to spend less time on the market, with earlier offers from potential buyers.
Are coming soon and pocket listings the same?
While they might appear similar, pocket and coming soon listings can differ greatly. Generally, a pocket listing is a home unavailable on the open market. It won’t be added to the local multiple listing service and will only be available privately. This might mean the home is offered to select buyers known to the real estate agent.
Most of the time, a coming soon listing will be included in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for other agents to see and to be listed on real estate websites.
Homeowners need to understand this distinction when selling their homes. Advertising as coming soon does not offer a seller the same benefits if the home is unavailable on the open market via MLS.
Coming soon pros and cons
When you are interested in coming soon real estate, there are pros and cons that you need to consider.
Pros
Advance notice
If you are interested in a particular home, knowing it will be available to buy in advance can help. It might mean you avoid searching for properties you don’t like and give you time to prepare a good offer.
Early offers
When you know about a listing before other buyers, there will be less competition if you offer early. If your offer is close to what the seller was looking for, it might be accepted before other buyers make offers. This means the seller can avoid holding an open house or multiple showings and should mean closing day happens sooner.
Cons
Dual agency
A dual-agency arrangement exists if a single agent represents the buyer and the seller. If this happens, the agent will work for both parties, so how can your interests be fairly represented? They can’t!
You may feel more pressure to agree to such an arrangement if you love the home, though agreeing to this might cause problems. Dual agency contracts aren’t allowed in every state due to the conflict of interest they can create.
Fewer offers
There are likely to be fewer offers due to not having as many buyers seeing the listing. In some circumstances, this could result in the buyer paying more when making an offer higher than necessary.
Inaccurate market values
Appraisers often avoid using coming soon listings to judge the fair market value of a property. Since these listings haven’t been exposed to the market like a typical sale, the selling price might not represent a fair valuation. This might mean buyers are paying more than the home is worth with coming soon listings.
Finding coming soon listings
If you want to find this type of listing, homes will be marked as coming soon on listings websites and real estate signs.
You can also ask your real estate agent to help you find these homes. This will give you a better chance of buying a home you like if you make a good offer to the seller.
Final thoughts
While coming soon listings aren’t necessarily welcomed by all. They can benefit buyers and sellers. And when you are buying a home, you should be aware of what a coming soon listing can offer and the possible downsides.
