San Diego homebuyers struggling to find the right home can now take a shot at ones that aren’t even on the market with the help of a new website.
Why it matters: Unlisted allows homeowners to gauge interest in their home before they’re ready to sell, and buyers can potentially get ahead of their competition by making their interest known.
- The new tool could shake up San Diego’s real estate market, which has limited homes for sale, high prices, historically low sales, and low turnover rates as owners stay put.
How it works: The site features every property listed in the public record. Visitors can search for a house by address and place their name on a waitlist to be considered when the home hits the market.
- The homeowner is notified and can chat with the prospective buyer directly or through agents.
- It’s the modern version of leaving a note on the front porch: “I love your house. Here’s my number if you sell.”
It can be slim pickings for young parents looking for family-size homes and prospective buyers with median incomes, but this platform gives them more potential options in the neighborhoods they’re interested in.
- It’s particularly useful for people who are flexible on timing.
Reality check: The site lists every home in the public record, but they aren’t for sale — yet.
“People warm up to the idea of selling,” it doesn’t happen overnight, Unlisted founder Katie Hill tells Axios.
- Unlisted allows homeowners to inch toward that decision and collect data along the way about the interest in their property, she says.
Zoom in: San Diego has 24 waitlisted homes across nine ZIP codes so far, and a handful of owners have claimed their homes.
- Clairemont, Bay Ho and Bay Park neighborhoods are the most sought-after, with a total of nine homes waitlisted.
- North Park is another “hot spot” in this limited sample.
The intrigue: The platform could be a new resource for military families looking to move in or out of San Diego because they can set their timelines to buy or sell around deployments or orders, Hill says…