How to find a home for sale before anyone else does

Key takeaways:

• The best way to find homes before they are publicly listed is to work with an experienced local agent who has a strong network.
• Physical signals in a neighborhood can indicate a homeowner is preparing to sell.
• Public records, social media groups and direct outreach to homeowners can also surface opportunities.

The United States continues to face a significant housing shortage, and limited inventory means competition among buyers remains intense in many markets.

According to the National Association of Realtors' 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the median home went under contract in just 11 days, and 42.5% of sales closed above list price. In that environment, some buyers are looking for an edge by finding homes before they are publicly listed.

There are legitimate ways to do this. None of them are guaranteed, and none replace the fundamentals of being pre-approved for a mortgage and ready to act when the right property appears. But for buyers in tight markets, these strategies can expand the pool of available homes.

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This is the single most effective way to find homes before they hit the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS. Agents who are active in a specific area often hear about upcoming listings through conversations with other agents, past clients, contractors and local business owners.

"I have scored homes for my buyers during the height of COVID competition this way," said Tezeta Roro, a New Jersey-based real estate agent at Keller Williams.

The reason agents can access this information is straightforward: Sellers often discuss their plans with their listing agent weeks or months before the home goes on the market. During that preparation period, the listing agent may mention the upcoming property to other agents in their office or brokerage. A buyer's agent who is well-connected in the area may hear about the listing and contact the seller's agent before the home is publicly marketed.

The National Association of Realtors' data reinforces the value of working with an experienced agent. According to the 2025 Profile, 88% of buyers purchased through an agent or broker, and agents remained the most frequently used information source in the home search, ahead of online listings. Finding an agent with deep local roots and an active network in your target area gives you access to information that online search tools cannot provide.

You can find a local agent on Homes.com or ask for referrals from friends, family or colleagues who have recently purchased in the area you are targeting.

Related content:

• 12 questions to ask before hiring a buyer's agent
• What is a pocket listing and how does it work for buyers?

Sellers typically follow a predictable sequence before placing their home on the market: decluttering, making repairs, cleaning and staging. Each step produces visible signals that an observant buyer can spot.

Tristain O'Donnell, an Atlanta-based real estate agent for Engel & Völkers, said driving through target neighborhoods is her primary method for uncovering homes that are not yet listed.

"These visual cues often signal that a homeowner is preparing their home for sale, whether it's a light refresh or a full renovation," O'Donnell said. "In many cases, it could also indicate an investor flipping a property with plans to list it soon."

What to look for when driving a neighborhood:

• Dumpsters or construction debris in the driveway or yard. These often indicate a renovation in progress, which may precede a listing.
• Storage pods or moving containers. A homeowner who is packing belongings into portable storage is likely preparing to move.
• Fresh exterior paint, new landscaping or a recently repaved driveway. These are common pre-listing improvements.
• A home that has been vacant for an extended period. Overgrown yards, accumulated mail or consistently dark windows may indicate an owner who is absent and could be considering a sale.

This approach requires consistency. Driving through a neighborhood once will not surface much. Making it a regular habit, once or twice a week during your search, increases the chances of spotting something early.

The decluttering stage of a home sale often produces a yard sale or estate sale. Buyers who treat these events as early detection can sometimes identify a home that will be listed soon.

"Homeowners usually hold sales when they are thinking about minimizing and looking to move," Roro said. "Hit up a few."

Estate sales in particular can be a strong signal. They are often held when a family member has died or moved into assisted living, and the home is being prepared for sale. The estate sale company managing the event may know whether the home will be listed and when.

Not every yard sale means a home is about to be listed, but a pattern of downsizing activity, especially combined with other visual cues like renovation work or a freshly cleaned exterior, is worth paying attention to.

A foreclosed home is a property where the current owner could not keep up with mortgage payments, the loan went into default and the lender repossessed the property. A pre-foreclosure is the period after a borrower has fallen behind on mortgage payments but before the foreclosure process is complete.

"Since foreclosures have to be disclosed in public records, you can often look for and discover homes that are in pre-foreclosure," said Adam Hamilton, co-founder of rental property software company REI Hub. "That ultimately can give you the jump on being aware of the property before the general public."

Anyone can search for a list of pre-foreclosed homes at the county recorder's office, sometimes called the "clerk's office" or "register of deeds." The Multiple Listing Service also tracks pre-foreclosures, but access to specific property details typically requires a licensed agent.

"The best real estate deals rarely start on the MLS," said Elena Novak, lead real estate researcher at PropertyChecker.com. "They begin where few buyers are looking. When a property appears neglected and the owner hasn't lived there in years, that's not a red flag; it's often a strong lead."

Pre-foreclosure properties come with additional complexity. The owner may be in financial distress, the home's condition may be unknown and the timeline to sale can be unpredictable. Buyers interested in this path should work with an agent and, in many cases, a real estate attorney.

Many neighborhoods have dedicated groups on Facebook, Nextdoor and other platforms where residents post local updates, items for sale and, occasionally, that they are planning to move. A buyer who monitors these groups may see a post about a home before it is formally listed.

"Homebuyers can also post in these groups with their ideal home and budget," Roro said.

A direct post describing what you are looking for, the neighborhood, the price range and the home type can sometimes connect you with a homeowner who is considering selling but has not yet contacted an agent. This is particularly common in tight-knit communities where residents prefer to sell to someone they know or someone connected to the neighborhood.

The trade-off is that homes found this way are not listed on the MLS, which means there is no standardized disclosure, no formal listing agreement and potentially less transparency about the home's condition and history. Any purchase that originates through social media or a direct conversation should still go through the standard process: agent representation, home inspection, title search and financing.

Real estate agents are the most obvious source of early listing information, but they are not the only one. People who work in and around homes, contractors, landscapers, cleaners and property managers often know when a homeowner is preparing to sell before the general public does.

"Don't underestimate the folks you interact with regularly, such as your cleaner, landscaper, mailman, hairstylist, barber or dentist," Roro said. "Mention what you are looking for. They may know someone looking to make a move."

Builders and construction companies can also be a source.

"There are some house construction companies online that talk about their future builds for houses and neighborhoods," said Dylan Calvo, a Tennessee-based agent at the Realty Association. "Follow them, look at their websites and become friends with them. Be the first to know about it."

For buyers who are comfortable with a more active approach, real estate investment club meetings can provide access to a different network of sellers.

"At these types of meetings, typically there will be agents focused on off-market sales opportunities, along with real estate wholesalers and real estate investors that frequently buy and sell properties," said Ryan David, a real estate investor in eastern Pennsylvania. "The goal of these local groups is to network and to pass along deals that the average person doesn't know about."

While the strategies above focus on finding homes before they are listed, most buyers will still find their home through the MLS. The key is seeing new listings as soon as they appear.

Homes.com allows you to set up saved searches with custom filters for location, price, home type and features. When a new listing matches your criteria, you receive an alert. Sorting search results by "newest" rather than "recommended" or "price" ensures that recently listed homes appear at the top.

The first 24 to 48 hours after a listing goes live are when the home receives the most attention. Buyers who see the listing early and are prepared to schedule a showing quickly have an advantage over those who wait.

Being prepared means having a mortgage pre-approval in hand, knowing your budget and being ready to make a decision. In a market where median days to pending is 11, there is often not time for extended deliberation.

Not every home that is available for purchase appears on the MLS. Some sellers choose to market their home privately for reasons including privacy, property condition or tenant considerations. These are sometimes called "pocket listings."

However, MLS rules govern how and when a property must be listed. The National Association of Realtors' Clear Cooperation Policy requires that properties be entered into the MLS within one business day of being publicly marketed. In 2025, the National Association of Realtors loosened the policy to allow brokers to temporarily withhold listings from third-party websites for a period set by each local MLS. Agents can post a home as "coming soon" on the MLS, but it must be officially listed within the required timeframe once any public marketing begins.

Some brokerages have taken that flexibility further. Compass, the largest residential brokerage in the country, markets some homes through its internal network before placing them on the MLS. Compass says this gives sellers more control. Critics, including Zillow, say it limits buyer access and can reduce the number of offers a seller receives. The disagreement has led to federal lawsuits between the companies and new state laws in Washington, New York and Connecticut that require homes to be publicly marketed within a set timeframe or with the seller's written consent to opt out.

For buyers, this means some listings may appear on a brokerage's private network or under a "coming soon" status before they show up on public search sites. An agent who monitors multiple channels can help you see those homes sooner.

Sellers who want to keep their sale private can still do so, but the property cannot be advertised publicly, which limits the pool of potential buyers. For buyers, this means that truly off-market homes are harder to find and typically require agent connections or direct outreach to discover.

Finding a home before it hits the market can reduce competition and give a buyer more time to evaluate the property. But it also comes with trade-offs:

• Less pricing data. Without a formal listing, there is no list price to anchor negotiations. The buyer and seller must agree on a price based on comparable sales, which requires research and, ideally, a comparative market analysis from your agent.
• Less disclosure. MLS listings require sellers to provide specific information about the property. Off-market sales may not include the same level of standardized disclosure, depending on state law.
• Fewer competing offers. This is usually an advantage for the buyer, but it can also mean the seller is less motivated to negotiate on price, since they have not tested the open market.
• Potential fair housing concerns. Homes sold exclusively through private networks may not reach all qualified buyers, which is one reason the National Association of Realtors implemented its MLS listing policies. The growth of brokerage-run private listing networks has increased this concern, and several states have passed laws requiring broader public marketing. Buyers should ensure that any off-market transaction complies with local and federal fair housing requirements. 

• Find a local agent with deep connections in your target neighborhood.
• Get pre-approved for a mortgage so you can act quickly when you find the right home.
• Set up saved searches and alerts on Homes.com with your criteria.
• Sort search results by "newest" to see new listings first.
• Drive your target neighborhoods regularly and look for renovation activity, dumpsters, storage pods or vacancy.
• Attend estate sales and yard sales in the area.
• Join neighborhood groups on Facebook, Nextdoor and other local platforms.
• Tell your personal network (friends, family, service providers) what you are looking for.
• Check pre-foreclosure records at the county recorder's office or through your agent.
• Follow local builders and construction companies for information about new developments.
• Consider attending a local real estate investment club meeting.