Unlisted Shows the Way for... Brokerages

The Real Deal recently reported on a new proptech startup called Unlisted that has joined the private listings conversation:

As real estate heavy hitters Compass, Zillow and the National Association of Realtors duke it out over the legality of private listings, Dayton, Ohio-based Unlisted has created a product that turns the whisper network of off-market listings into an app.

The Waitlist is a platform that lets homeowners gauge buyer interest before listing. The web app, which will eventually be available on iOS as well, lets window shoppers express interest in homes before their owners are ready to sell. Homeowners can respond to users on their waitlist, and its profit model sells real estate agents the chance to own zip codes on its website.

I checked it out some, and thought about it some more.

I like it for a variety of reasons, which I’ll get into below. But unless I’m completely mistaken, Unlisted feels like a business plan doomed to be copied to death and executed on better by other companies—specifically, large tech-forward brokerages.

I imagine that if I am able to think of these things, then companies like Compass and Redfin and others who have a CTO are also able to think of the same things, except with expertise and knowledge.

Let’s get into it.