Washington DC/Baltimore

[MARYMAN]

Does the owner or the agent have anything to hide? What could be the reasons ?  This is an example of a house that is for sale but does not show the address;

http://www.redfin.com/MD/Chevy-Chase/Undisclosed-address-20815/home/10641096

[BrianMcGeehan]

Maryman,

It is rare to see undisclosed addresses and certainly does not help in promoting that your home is for sale, but there are some valid reasons some sellers chose to keep the information confidential.

The most common reason, is if they do not want friends/family/coworkers to know they are selling and/or what they are attempting to sell for.  Particularly in higher dollar homes, there is an increased desire for privacy. 

I have also had sellers concerned from a security point of view.  With the increases in pictures allowed online, there is the possibility that someone could review the pictures to determine how best to break into a home and even what items to target. 

Finally, there are some options when listing with MRIS in the mid-Atlantic area to prevent comments/blogging/automatic valuations etc... from appearing with listings on sites that pull information from the multiple list.  The seller/agent may have been overzealous in preventing the possibility of online discussion and inadvertently checked off do not disclose address...

In any case, it does present the home a bit less favorably to the public on the internet, but sellers need to weigh the advantages against what they feel the risks are.  Most buyers do not search by street, but by zip code or map area - If the home is appealing to a buyer (and this one has 20 pictures to view) and the price is in their range - they can find out the specific address from their agent or when they go to look more closely...While they may lose a few potential buyers, those who like what they see are apt to pursue the home further. 

Hope that helps!

Thank you,

Brian

[MARYMAN]

Thanks Brian. That seems very iffy to me.  Frankly would not pursue a house that has undislosed location.  If the seller wants full privacy, it house would go through private sale channels. There is just something smelly/dishonest about the house or/and the seller of a property with undisclosed location.

[eightonesix]

The listing now has the address.  

But when an address is omitted, given the impact it has on a reader, the person who does it must feel strongly about what they are doing. 

[whonu]

There is a listing agent in our territory that is notorious for advertising property without disclosing the address.  I believe she is of the very antiquated thinking that buyers cannot figure out where a listing is located and must go through her to express interest.  I suspect this is part of the selling strategy she proposes to the sellers,  also suspect that is may backfire in this information age market and old school thinking will get her left behind.

[DCsince83]

@MARYMAN -- I agree that it is annoying when an address is not disclosed, but i'm not sure what makes it 'smelly' or 'dishonest.' Obviously the house is being sold through legitimate channels if its on MLS, and has a selling agent. A serious buyer would be shown the house through an agent -- it seems this is one way to prevent buyers who aren't serious from gawking at someone's property. I'm curious what you think might be going on exactly that could be shady?

[rachel-musiker]

I agree that the main reason an address would be undisclosed is for the seller's privacy.  This will help them limit showings to only very serious buyers who are working with an agent.  If you're ever interested in a listing with an undisclosed location, your agent should be able to find out the address for you and arrange a showing.  It's possible though that the listing agent would also require proof that you are preapproved for the price range of the home before allowing a showing.  

[Liv]

I have seen houses on Redfin that show no address, but if you find the MLS number and google it, the address shows up on listings on other sites. I don't know why, but I have yet to see a listing I can't find the address if this way.

[Nanomug]

We sold a home a decade ago we experienced people knocking on the door asking to see the homes. We have a realtor so we don't have to deal with that.  We didn't disclose the address on the listing in 2009 for that reason.

Resort areas where there is a high percentage of second homes often don't disclose the address for safety issues.  Often the address can be found on other sources.  Some homes are listed in multiple MLS' and each has their own rules.

Some neighborhoods discourage the posting of addresses because they don't want lots of unknown vehicles driving by.  When two houses came on the market across the street the drive by lookers were plentiful it was a bit unnerving.   There were too many vehicles on our dead end street and too many people walking around.

[Matt]

@Liv it is generally because we are properly following the rules and not showing the address and the other sites are not . Or it is the case that it is a website like Trulia or Zillow which isn't MLS powered.