How We Sell Homes Before the MLS

Seven times out of ten, when a home hits the MLS right out of the gate, it’s mispriced.

Look around your local market — you’ll see it everywhere:

• Listings that sit for months with repeated price cuts.

• Homes that expire or withdraw unsold.

• Or the opposite problem — properties that sell in a single day, leaving 5% or more of the seller’s equity on the table.

Each of those outcomes tells the same story: the home entered the MLS before the price hypothesis was tested.

That’s why at Dolby Haas Real Estate Solutions, we don’t rush to the MLS. We pre-market first.

Why We Don’t Start in the MLS

The MLS is a powerful tool — but it’s not forgiving. The moment your listing goes live, the clock starts ticking and the market begins forming judgments.

Days on Market can stigmatize a property faster than any defect.
Expired or withdrawn listings stigmatize it further.
Numerous price reductions scream “something’s wrong.”
And nothing hurts perception more than trying to raise the price later — it’s the real-estate equivalent of a scarlet letter.

By contrast, marketing the home on the open internet before the MLS lets us collect data quietly, without risk or reputation damage. We can gauge how buyers respond to our pricing, photos, and presentation — and adjust freely.

When the home finally enters the MLS, it’s not an experiment. It’s a proven performer.

How Pre-Marketing Protects You

Here’s what sellers gain from this approach:

• Accurate pricing through data, not guesswork. We measure real buyer response before committing to a public list price.

• Freedom to adjust. If we don’t like what the market’s telling us, we can pivot — no stigma, no record of failed attempts.

• Reduced commission exposure. Pre-marketing often lets us work directly with the buyer, saving our seller the co-op side of the commission — typically 2.6–2.8% of the sale price. That’s nearly half the total selling cost.

• A second chance if needed. You get a mulligan. If conditions aren’t right, we can pause, re-position, and relaunch stronger.

And in the fourth quarter, when activity slows and most agents throw in the towel, this strategy shines. We can prepare, test, and fine-tune your listing — then hit the MLS running when the spring market returns, without carrying a stale DOM count into the new year.

Our Track Record Proves It

We’ve used this system to relaunch dozens of expired and withdrawn properties that other agents couldn’t sell — and many went on to achieve record-breaking prices.

One of our favorites: 23327 E Ottawa Drive in Aurora. (shown here)
The previous agent dropped the price repeatedly with no success.
We applied our pre-marketing process, adjusted based on buyer engagement data, then entered the MLS strategically.
Result: Sold at a record price near 470, with the appraisal and solar valuation handled seamlessly.

That’s the power of data, timing, and experience — not luck.

The Dolby Haas Difference

Our philosophy is simple:
Get the price right, protect your equity, avoid stigmatizing the property, and keep control of the process.

Pre-marketing is the cornerstone of that system. It gives our clients flexibility, leverage, and a clear path to the strongest result — without the stress of failed starts or unnecessary discounts.

Ready to Test the Market the Smart Way?

If you’re thinking about selling, let’s discuss whether a pre-marketing strategy makes sense for your property and timing.
It could be the difference between testing the market and mastering it.

➡️ Schedule a confidential consultation with Dolby Haas Real Estate Solutions.