If you're still relying entirely on the MLS to uncover excellent real estate deals, you're likely missing out. In 2025, with housing inventory remaining limited in many regions and competition fiercer than ever, brokers who capitalize on off-market opportunities will close more loans and create better investor relationships. The truth is that the best real estate offers are usually snatched up by well-connected buyers before they appear on public listings.
With a significant portion of transaction coming from off-market and pocket listings, savvy brokers have to be creative to find excellent property deals before of the competition. Whether your clients are fix-and-flip investors, rental portfolio builders, or commercial clients, here are eight tried-and-true strategies for finding the best real estate outside the MLS.
The MLS will always have an audience, but in 2025, it's turning into a less viable option for serious investors. Here's why: First, listings are stale when they go live. Many properties that come on the MLS today have already gone through wholesalers and institutional buyers. Second, pricing is less flexible. Sellers who list on the open market tend to have higher expectations, whereas off-market sellers tend to be more motivated. Third, timing is everything. The best deals—distressed properties, probate sales, or landlord burnouts—are typically settled before they ever encounter a listing agent.
Your investor customers don't merely require financing—they require access to deals that are in line with their plan. The more you can provide that access, the more valuable you are as an investment partner.
Real estate is a people business. One recent survey discovered that brokers who network aggressively close 25% more off-market transactions than non-networkers.
Probate properties total about 10% of off-market listings and can be sold 5–15% below their value.
Almost 4% of homeowners across the country go into pre-foreclosure each year—a hunting ground rich in motivated sellers.
Landlords who send eviction notices tend to have high carrying costs and will sell to prevent vacancy losses.
More than 20% of off-market listings are now posted on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and specialty real-estate boards.
Google Ads and Facebook enable you to target individuals searching for a "moving truck" "estate sale," or "cash home buyer"—indicators that they might sell shortly.
Nothing substitutes ground-level observation: a 15-minute drive through your target neighborhoods can reveal more off-market transactions than just relying on data sources.
Properties sold at auction tend to be 10–30% under market, and fewer bidders equate to less competition.
Brokers that flourish in today's market do not sit back and wait for offers to come to them; instead, they actively seek them out. With MLS listings becoming more competitive (and often overpriced), the true opportunities are in off-market properties that don’t reach the general public. By implementing these creative techniques, you are not only filling your pipeline, but also providing your investors with a competitive advantage that they cannot obtain elsewhere.
Key Takeaways for Brokers:
To help your clients maximize the returns on their next investment, partner with a lender that can provide you with the best leverages and rates. RCN Capital lends to real estate professionals, commercial contractors, developers & small business owners across the nation. We provide short-term fix & flip financing, long-term rental financing, and new construction financing for real estate investors and lending partners. If you are looking to offer real estate financing to your clients, RCN Capital has competitive loan options and an award-winning broker referral program available to partners.