"A pocket listing could be defined as the holy grail of real estate, dangled by brokers to the select few lucky enough to be in their circle. When wielded correctly, it's designed to present your broker in such a light that they take on near-mythological status as a trustee of the wealthiest, most powerful landlords who are holding the city's best real estate. It conveys that your broker is on the interior; they are personal conduits for the city's true operators"
"When I started looking for a home in L.A. circa 2015, friends would brag that they'd purchased their home or business via pocket listing. A well-known musician friend of mine acquired a beautiful Los Feliz home and told me simply, "It was a pocket," before reclining in his chair, feet up in leather Unc sandals, sipping on an energetic chilled red from Jura dewy with condensation."
"So when I started to interview brokers in 2017, my first question was, "Do you have pocket listings?" Some would disparage the idea, saying it was all a gimmick, that everyone had the same access to everything, but the brokers wealthy enough to live in the neighborhoods they showed in would confidently reply, "Yeah. Sure. Who doesn't?" knowing that their competition in Culver City shopping at Suit Supply likely shakes with anxiety at this question."
Pocket listings function as exclusive, off-market property offerings marketed by brokers to a privileged circle, implying broker connections to powerful landlords and access to premier real estate. They confer status and suggest that brokers are intimate conduits to the city's true operators. In Los Angeles, buyers circulated stories of acquiring homes via pockets, reinforcing desirability. Some brokers dismiss pocket listings as gimmicks, while others in affluent neighborhoods treat them as standard practice. A buyer who chose a discounted broker later recognized that offering a discount can signal low demand or limited competence, especially after laws enabled negotiation of broker commissions.
Read at Curbed
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