Market Matters: This MLS listing says, “Sold Before Sent.” What does that mean?

Illustration by Muti

Sometimes a property appears in the Multiple Listing Service as “sold before sent” because a homebuilder has worked out a deal with a buyer and an agent before the site was listed to the public. Or if the house was being offered for sale by owner (and therefore not included in the MLS) and a buyer’s agent helped broker the deal. In either case, says Bill Heckman, branch manager for Coldwell Banker West Shell in Hyde Park, MLS requires that the agent list the house, even though it is, technically, sold. “They want to capture all the sales history they can,” he explains. Occasionally a terrific house in a hot neighborhood will get snapped up before an agent can get it posted on the MLS. But it still needs to be listed for the record. It’s not just there to make you jealous.