A new proptech startup, Unlisted, is offering a platform that could change how private real estate listings operate in Texas. The company, based in Dayton, Ohio, has developed an app called The Waitlist. This web-based application allows homeowners to gauge buyer interest before officially listing their properties for sale.
The Waitlist works by letting potential buyers express interest in homes even if the owners are not yet ready to sell. Homeowners can see who is interested and respond to those users. Real estate agents can purchase exclusive rights to represent zip codes on the platform, being labeled as Local Experts. According to Unlisted, most of these agents so far are from Sotheby’s International Realty.
Since its launch on June 18, the app has seen 7,000 homes—worth an estimated $5 billion—generate waitlists. The company aims to create profiles for every home in the country using property descriptions generated automatically and public record data purchased from ATTOM.
JB Hayes, a Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s agent who has bought five zip codes in Dallas through Unlisted, believes the service could become a key tool for off-market transactions. “Before, people would share off-markets with their colleagues that are in other brokerages, or people they’ve done deals with, but that’s illegal marketing now,” Hayes said.
This shift comes amid ongoing legal disputes involving major industry players such as Compass, Zillow and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) over private listings and compliance with NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy. This policy requires listing agents to place properties on the local MLS within one day of marketing them for sale. Zillow has taken steps to enforce this rule by treating yard signs and social media posts as public marketing.
NAR and Zillow have challenged Compass’ approach of systematically using private exclusive listings—a model that other firms like Douglas Elliman, Corcoran and Coldwell Banker have also explored.
Despite concerns about facilitating off-market sales, Unlisted founder Katie Hill emphasized a different vision for The Waitlist: “That’s not the vision right now. We want to be a readiness site, not a listing site,” Hill said. “The entire industry as we know it competes in listings; nobody competes in folks who are not for sale.”
Starting November, homeowners will be able to authorize agents to update their property profiles on the platform.
In Austin’s luxury market specifically, privacy is highly valued due to high property taxes and no mandatory sales price disclosure requirements. According to Jeanne Parker of Jeanne and Julie Residential Group in Austin: “Austin is an anomaly. California puts everything on MLS, everything. And Dallas and Houston put pretty much everything on MLS. So Austin’s really kind of an anomaly in the country.”
While there has been a trend toward more ultra-luxury sellers going public due to a shrinking buyer pool this year in Austin, private transactions remain popular among wealthy clients seeking discretion over maximum exposure or price.
“People get the most exposure when you promote and market and list. That is definitely the best way to go because you’re going to drive up the price… There are some people that just don’t care,” Hayes said. “They get the price they want; they’re going to be happy. So why go through all the hoops to make the house show-ready?”
