PocketListings.net

Much like finding love on a dating site, Web 2.0 lets buyers meet their dream homes and sellers meet their dream buyers in a direct, match-making process– without the MLS.

Because of new technology, many agents and their clients are turning to unconventional ways to list property for sale, and the increasing speed and reach of the internet (especially social networking) makes it easier to get attention to a property for sale, attention that was previously reserved for listings on the MLS. As more and more agents and their clients begin to achieve an “off market” sale at a desirable price and terms for all parties, the boundaries of ‘one national listing place’ expand– potentially to the point of blowing apart.

That’s what PocketListings.net is all about. Says co-founder Alex Clark: “We’ve already seen a high volume of posts for higher end property and I expect that will continue, and we’re seeing a much larger number of agents using our service to promote ‘buyer needs,’ which bring fence sitting sellers and their agents out of the woodwork, and into contract. As we develop our technology further to simplify the process of posting pocket listings and buyer needs to our site, we suspect many more brokerages to get in the game as their clients (the buyers and sellers) become more and more savvy to the alternatives available to them.”

-Web 2.0 Remaking Real Estate, Again [SF Gate]

Hi Alex,

My wife and I are looking to relocate to Marin, and are currently deciding on whether or not to sell our flat (or rent it out and rent in Marin). I noticed on your pocket listing, http://pocketlistings.net/pl/662, that you had some clients that are looking for a place in our neighborhood, and I wanted to find out if perhaps they would be interested in our place?

We have a ~1914 sq foot condo (it is a 2 unit bldg with 3 floors, we have the top 2) with a huge 2 car garage w/storage, 2 fantastic roof decks, a backyard and is on a quiet cul-de-sac near USF. It is a 3 br (with an additional office that is bedroom sized but lacks a closet, currently used as a nursery) 2ba unit, with an updated kitchen and bathrooms (we just did the bathrooms in june ’11). It has been a great family home, we have 3 kids, and we have absolutely loved living there. The address is [removed].

I have not decided if we want to sell, hence why I think a pocket listing inquiry makes sense, but I would certainly entertain interested parties. I think there are some pictures still online at Zillow, but if not I can get you some further details. Thanks Alex,

-[Potential Seller]

This is awesome on many levels. For one, my vision of a network where buyers, sellers, AND agents can get together and shore opportunity is slowly coming to fruition, but also because not only is this a chance for my buyers to get a property that may be a match, it’s also a chance for this seller to “quietly” sell their home, and a chance for me to potentially get a listing.

It’s a new way to think about our industry, and I know it will take more time. Slowly but surely other agents will realize that just like email newsletter and blogs were considered unneccesary, this PocketListings.net thing is for real, and it is an opportunity no agent should pass up.

In case you don’t click on that, or can’t read it, that’s five buyers looking for property, and five sellers that are not listing their home on MLS…in two days! And these are only the agents that have chosen to email blast the San Francisco Association of Realtors.

So, is there a need for agents to share both their off market listings (pocket listings) and their buyer needs all in one place? Is there a service that allows agents to do exactly that, FOR FREE? Is there a service that puts the Match.com in real estate? The answer to all of those questions is yes. It’s PocketListings.net, and one of these days, maybe before I die, agents will begin to take advantage of the service we have created and get on the path to more happy clients.

To learn more about PocketListings.net, how it works, and how you can create opportunity where none exists, simply visit the site, and check out the tutorial. It’s simple. It’s FREE. It’s already there, and it works. Just use it.

-PocketListings.net: Off Market Real Estate Network

Another week, another issue of sfnewsletter sent. All kinds of great market info and real estate p*rn for you to peruse. Including many off market opportunities I’ve already mentioned here.

Have a great weekend!

-Latest issue of sfnewsletter/MarketTracker

I have word of a house, on the Great Highway at Noriega (the best sandbar on the beach right now), that is very much for sale, and very much not on MLS radar. Price hovering around $1,050,000 and $1,100,000. That is the view above, and here are the details below. As always, I am here to help get you in.

3 Story SFR taken to the studs and beyond in 2008
2BR 2.5 BA + Office
3 car tandem parking
LOTS of storage
Dog wash station
Hot/Cold water hookups for outdoor shower in the backyard
Ipe flooring throughout
Open layout with 8′ wide sliding birch pocket doors separating living/dining/kitchen
8′x15′ Blomberg window in living room
Custom cabinetry throughout
Spark brand fireplace in living room with flat screen TV mounted above
Half bath on living level
Huge dining room
Gourmet kitchen
Wenge cabinets
Subzero fridge
6 burner Wolf Stove with a grill and 2 ovens
Stainless sinks
Island with prep sink
Ceasarstone counters
Bosch dishwasher
Walk-in pantry
2 person office with built in Wenge desk and cabinetry
Baths all feature custom bamboo cabinets, modern Italian tile and Italian fixtures
Laundry room
Rear bedroom with attached bath has shower over tub
Master bathroom has walk-in 2 person shower with seat
Soaking tub with river rock surround
2 sinks
Separate room for toilet and bidet
Master bedroom has his/hers closets + walk-in closet for shoes (most closets in the house have storage by california closets)
Also has Spark brand fireplace with flat screen TV mounted above, cathedral ceiling, built in Wenge headboard with nightstands, plus built-in bed (plus a platform for a dog bed)
Expansive deck overlooking the surf
Ocean views from living and sleeping levels

From what I know, this is a home built for entertaining, hanging out, and enjoying all that Ocean Beach has to offer.

Contact me to go take a look. Principals Only.

Are you, or any of your friends, looking for a single family home in Noe or Cole Valleys (or anywhere in San Francisco for that matter)? Are you getting beat out by multiple offers in the over million dollar price range ($1.5M+), and showing up late to the party? Is your Realtor telling you they’re doing all they can (simply checking MLS everyday, which you can do too), but really not delivering? If so, you’re not alone, and I can help.

Within the past couple of months my buyers and readers have known about dozens of properties prior to them going to MLS. To think I share all of them online with everyone is simply silly. For example, my circle of clients knew about 707 Cole, 1027 Cole, 313 Parnassus, 785 Cole, 1340 Cole, 121 Beulah, 471 Duncan, 2975 Lake, and many more. There are also a dozen or so homes that never even made it to MLS and were shown without a hint of market activity, such as a mid-century home in Noe Valley, a grand, modern home on Sanchez, an AIA tour home in Golden Gate Heights, a penthouse stunner in SOMA, and a few others that I can’t recall the address off the top of my head.

Today, I present to you two more opportunities in Cole Valley, one in Nob Hill, and another on Lake Street not on MLS. Nowhere near MLS in fact. Not on PocketListings.net, not in my pocket, and not even on anybody’s radar. They are all single family homes, and they are all at least 2 bedrooms, and close to or over $1,500,000. They are not fixers, they are done, done, done…or turnkey as we like to say.

If you are interested, or know somebody that might be, you gotta contact me directly (alexclark@gmail.com), you gotta be unrepresented, and I’m going to ask you to work with me going forward and sign a written agreement confirming exactly that. No co-agents, no “I’ll work with you if you find me the property”, no “let’s try it out on this deal”…none of that. You either marry me as your agent or you don’t. Not sure if you should? Have a look at some recent testimonials I’ve been gathering and come take the plunge.

Like I’ve said, working with and finding a Realtor you like is like dating. If it’s not working out with one, you are free to leave to find another.

I’m also beginning to dabble in Lake Tahoe real estate, so if you’re interested in a second home, ski pad, lake front property, my finger is finding the pulse of that market too (and I know where all the good powder is).

So feel free to give me a shout, and let’s work on getting you ahead of the pack and into the home of your dreams. I’m also happy to help any of you sellers out there sitting on the fence in these markets. It’s a good time to sell in certain areas and certain price-points. I am at your service and available for consultation.

-Prior off market opportunities I presented [theFrontSteps]
-Testimonials
-Lake Tahoe Ski Cabin [theFrontSteps]

I mentioned this one a bit ago, and you can’t deny it “sounds” wonderful. But we never had a look inside the home, let alone inside the gates. That is until now.

Have a look at Villa De Montaña in St. Helena an let your imagination soar!

Currently not marketed on MLS, this home is on 20+ acres and surrounded by 1,000 acres of the Mayacama Mountains. Asking $16,950,000, it is a 32 room estate with 2 master suites, 4 guest suites, 3 offices, 10 bathrooms, a state-of-the-art gourmet kitchen, breakfast room, sun room, wine cellar, exercise studio, library, and the list goes on and on.

Although not decorated to my standards, the home is quite lovely indeed, especially this killer patio…

I’d love to come visit you on occasion and (insert British accent here) sip a lovely glass of Napa Valley wine on your lovely estate, and marvel at the exquisitely manicured grounds, enjoy delicious meals from your private chef, and form extraordinary friendships with your undoubtedly, absolutely delightful friends. Cheers…

For more details, visit Villa De Montaña, St. Helena, $16,950,000 on PocketListings.net.

-More Wanderlust [theFrontSteps]

It is jam-packed with new features to help you, the agent, do more deals, and give you, the client, more options when selling and searching for real estate. There is a fabulous tutorial on all of the great new features and how they work, so please take five minutes of your day and check it out.

Some major new features to highlight:

Real Estate Match™: As buyers and sellers post to the site, we do a little Match.com magic to match criteria and facilitate a potential transaction. Agents can post any property they have that is not listed on MLS, and ALL of their buyers looking for homes. If no matches are found immediately, when some do show up, emails will be sent. It’s online dating for real estate.

Privacy Options On Posts: Pocket listings are tricky in that some clients want the most exposure possible, while others want little to none, but they still want their property sold. When an agent posts a pocket listing on our site it is immediately searchable, but agent controls what information about the property to share, and with whom.

Principals Only: Inspired by our friends in commercial real estate, we give you the option to request anybody that contact you act as a Principal.

Saved Searches For Members: Do a search, save it. Refer to it later. Get emailed when posts fitting that criteria show up on our site. Simplifying your success.

Sharing with Social Networking: Whether you are the person that posted, or you’re someone browsing our site and you come across an opportunity that you absolutely must share, we make it easy. Using third party applications you can “Like” or “Send” any posts via Facebook, and share or repost via Twitter, LinkedIn, email, Digg, Stumbleupon, and so much more. Do a post, spread the word, and tell those in your circle to spread the word too.

Email Notifications of New Matches: Whether you save a search, or posted to our site and we’re looking for matches for you, we’ll notify you via email when something shows up on our site that might be a match.

How We Use Twitter To Get Posts More Exposure And Deliver Results In Real Time: It’s pretty simple really. Every post that hits our site is fed to our Twitter profile. It becomes searchable and we create hashtags for the city (#city) and a unique hashtag for our site that allows Twitter followers to see results only in their city of interest (#plcity). The more followers we get (and we’re getting a lot), the more exposure you get to your post (respecting your privacy options).

Those are just a couple of the big new features we released with this version. We actually have several more features lined up that we’re hoping to release as soon as possible.

We’ve already been written up in Top Agent Magazine, and press inquiries are coming in. The bottom line is that there is more real estate opportunity out there than what is on MLS, and clients deserve an alternative. Please help us help you by spreading the word and using our site today!

-PocketListings.net Tutorial
-PocketListings.net
-Top Agent Magazine

Details are here, the listing agent is here, and I am here to help you make this your new home (or city pied-a-terre) where you can enjoy all the South Park reruns from the comfort of your South Park home.

…and how can you deny yourself such easy access to the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen literally out your door!?

-One bedroom, one bath, one car parking at One South Park, $659,000 [PocketListings.net]

3 UNIT BLDG VACANT, NEVER RENTED, FIRST TIME ON MARKET IN 32 YEARS; VIEWS; NEAR SHOPS/RESTAURANTS; TRANSP; SELLER WILL CARRY LOAN; LOWER PRICE NOW & HIGHER PRICE LATER ON MLS; HARDWOOD FLOORS; BACK STAIRS; SEP. METERS; RENOVATED; MUST SEE.

It sounds like a must see, but is it? Anyone?

-North Beach 3 unit, $1,650,000 [PocketListings.net]