New Rules for Maine Real Estate Agents! How will this affect your buying/selling experience?

Recently, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has implemented a new rule that affects buyers and sellers across the nation! This rule has been interpreted differently in each state. The new rule went into effect on May 1, 2020 and it is causing some realtors to change the way they practice real estate.

Pocket, or “off market” listings, have been very common among Maine realtors and across the country. These listings were not publicly available to the consumer via the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), sometimes agents posted them on Zillow or their social networks. Mostly, they sold these properties via “word of mouth”.

This was useful for high-profile sellers who wanted to maintain privacy, or homes that weren’t quite ready for photography and the public market.  It made the home search difficult in an already tight seller’s market because buyers needed to know the “right” people. Pocket listings would go under contract before “hitting the market” leaving buyers disappointed. In some parts of the country there has been concern that pocket listings were discriminatory and unfairly left many buyers out of the running for desirable homes.

With this new policy, all listings that are publicly marketed must be entered into the MLS within one (1) business day.   This rule has been interpreted differently in each state.

Let’s take a look at how it may affect buyers and sellers in Maine.

BUYERS are winners with this rule!

“Pocket Listings” made the home search process even more difficult in an already tight seller’s market. Buyers were often left disappointed when properties would go under contract before “hitting the market”  By promoting a more transparent system, buyers will have access to more listings with the help of their agent and get on to their next chapter more quickly!

SELLERS might benefit too!

The best way for any seller to ensure they are getting the highest price for their home is for as many people as possible to compete for their property.  The most effective way to do this is to list the property on MLS because it serves as an information portal for local real estate professionals while blasting the property instantaneously through every website that pulls from MLS from giants like Zillow to boutique real estate sites!

NEW: COMING SOON/ NO SHOW STATUS

Many sellers and agents previously used off market listings as a pre-listing strategy to prepare the property for the market.  Now, an agent will be able to input a listing into MLS with a “Coming Soon/No Show” status for up to ten business days.  While under this status, the property will only appear on Flex MLS and will not appear on any other 3rd party websites.   All agents will have access to the information through the Coming Soon/No Show status.  Agents are able to share this information with their clients but cannot show the property until the listing is Active.

ONE EXCEPTION: OFFICE EXCLUSIVE LISTINGS

An Office Exclusive Listing will not be entered into the MLS and can be promoted internally to agents within your agent’s brokerage. As the one of the largest independent brokerages in Southern Maine, Portside taps into connections with 90+ agents who actively support one another and the needs of their clients.  While we always encourage our clients to bring their properties to market, this can be a great option for sellers that are concerned about their privacy and prefer not to market their home publicly.

I hope this information is helpful to you. If you have any questions on how this may affect your property search or sale, please reach out!

Dava Davin
Principal, Portside Real Estate Group 

Our world is now different, and so is searching for, buying, and selling homes!
 

As your real estate partner, we take the health and safety of our staff, agents, and clients as our top priority. We have created guidelines and procedures to follow when showing a home, for buyers, for sellers, and on how we plan to market your home.

Please reach out HERE with any questions or concerns as we navigate the market in the time ahead.

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As the threat of COVID-19 continues to evolve, we are doing our part to follow the recommendation guidelines and safety precautions to keep our agents, staff and community safe.  While we are still very much here to serve you, we are taking the following safety precautions and continuing to serve you virtually. 

Thank you for your continued support and please let us know how we can help support you. 
 

 

Even in this time of uncertainty, we are seeing many Mainers helping Mainers through a variety of avenues.  We at Portside are committed to supporting our community throughout this time and wanted to share with you a few ways you too can help.

Here are three ways:

1. Full Plates Full Potential - Donate Here

Help feed Maine kids affected by COVID-19-related school closings by contributing to the Full Plates Emergency Fund.  There are over 184,000 Maine students and 43% rely on school meals every single day. Now that schools are closing, they are working hard to ensure that these critical meals for our kids continue — and they need your help.

Full Plates Full Potential and our statewide partners have created an emergency fund to support schools and communities serving grab-and-go meals during school closures. Full Plates has dedicated $10,000 to the emergency fund, but the need is urgent and great.  Here's how you can help.

 

2.  Mainers Together
In this time of crisis, the Maine People's Alliance has decided to dedicate organizing resources to supporting community-based efforts to respond to the community distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and protect our most vulnerable friends and neighbors. 

Please use the website below, mainerstogether.com, to make a request for help, an offer of assistance, or a donation to the Maine Together Fund.

 

 

 

 

3.  Support Small Businesses!
Many local restaurants, coffee shops, and breweries are adjusting to better serve you! You can purchase a gift card, takeout or delivery order to support our local buisnesses during these uncertain times. Here's a list from Portland Food Map with many options!

 

 

 

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