Just Listed... Again

Our local market is slowing down, and many agents use a technique to get their listings noticed by buyers and other agents long after the home has been originally listed.

There are reports that real estate agents are in some cases pulling a property out of the MLS and then relisting it to the MLS to make it appear as though the property was just put on the market.

A property that sits on the market for a long time could lead some agents and consumers to question why the property has not sold, and some real estate Web sites allow consumers to view days on market for a given property.

So why wouldn't an agent and the seller want to give an old listing a fresh start by using this strategy, right?

This practice is not limited to our local market. The New Jersey Star-Ledger, which was granted access to MLS data by agents, reported "hundreds of examples" of relisting in Morris, Essex and Union counties.

The article quotes Judy Reeves, COO for NRT Inc., "We believe that this is not a seller disclosure issue or a question of ethics."

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service, a regional MLS in the state of Washington, has warned its members about the practice, and MLS-PIN in Massachusetts earlier this year changed property tracking in a way that prevents a reset in days on market, the newspaper reported.

Is this practice of removing properties from an MLS and relisting them to appear fresh misleading or is it just a clever marketing tool? Your comments?

–Glenn Roberts Jr., Inman News