How Denver Real Estate Agents Can Use a Coming Soon Listing Strategy to Build Buyer Demand in 2026

Jerad Larkin
Jun 23
7 min read

Picture a buyer driving past a Denver home with a sign that reads coming soon. By the time that listing actually goes live, three buyers already have their agents on standby and one has a pre-approval ready to go. That is not luck. That is a coming soon strategy doing its job.

For years, the coming soon listing was a quiet little tactic. In 2026, it has become one of the most talked about topics in real estate, and Denver Metro agents who understand how to use it the right way have a real edge in front of sellers.

What is a coming soon listing strategy and how can Denver real estate agents use it in 2026?

A coming soon listing strategy uses the pre-MLS window to market a Denver home before it goes active, building buyer demand and capturing leads. In 2026, agents do it through their MLS delayed marketing rules and tools like Zillow Preview.

I am Jerad Larkin, a Sales Executive with Chicago Title Colorado, and I work with Denver Metro real estate agents on listing strategy all the time. The coming soon conversation is one I get asked about constantly right now, because the rules changed, the portals changed, and seller expectations changed all in the same year.

This post breaks down what a coming soon listing strategy actually is, why it took off in 2026, the real benefits, the honest risks, and a simple step by step way for Colorado agents to use it without getting crossways with their MLS or their seller. I am not a real estate agent, so think of this as a title partner giving you the lay of the land, not legal advice.

What Is a Coming Soon Listing Strategy and Why Does It Matter for Denver Agents?

A coming soon listing is a property that is publicly marked as coming to market soon but is not yet active and showable in the MLS. The coming soon window is usually one to three weeks, and the whole point is to build interest before day one.

Think of it as the trailer before the movie. You are creating anticipation, collecting interested buyers, and giving the seller momentum before showings even start. For Denver real estate agents, it is also a powerful listing tool, because it shows a seller you have a plan to market their home before it ever hits Zillow.

Why Are Coming Soon Listings Such a Big Deal in 2026?

Two things happened at once: the rules changed, and the big portals got involved.

How Did the Rules Around Coming Soon Listings Change?

NAR spent the last couple of years reworking how pre-market and coming soon listings are handled. In 2025 it introduced a new option called delayed marketing exempt listings, which lets a seller instruct their agent to delay marketing a listing through syndication and IDX for a set period. As HousingWire reported, each MLS gets to decide how long that delay can be, so the rules in the Denver Metro may look different than another market.

NAR also kept its Clear Cooperation Policy in place, which generally requires a listing to be entered into the MLS within one business day of public marketing. The short version for Colorado agents: coming soon is allowed, but the timing and how you market it are governed by your MLS and brokerage. Always confirm the current rules before you run a campaign.

Why Did Zillow and Realtor.com Get Involved?

In May 2026, Zillow and Realtor.com announced they were extending their Preview listings so pre-market homes show up across both platforms. That matters because it turned the coming soon window into a real marketing runway instead of a quiet email to a few agents. Now a Denver listing can build demand on the two biggest search portals before it goes fully active.

What Are the Real Benefits of a Coming Soon Strategy?

Used well, a coming soon listing can do a lot of work before the first showing ever happens:

Build a line of interested buyers before day one
Capture buyer leads the agent can work now and later
Test pricing and gather feedback before going active, which lowers the risk of a price cut later
Give the seller a sense of momentum and trust before the sign goes in the ground
Create marketing content the agent can reuse across social posts, reels, email, and ads
Free up time to finish photos, staging, and prep while demand builds

Industry research backs up the demand angle. Redfin estimated that broader pre-marketing could increase the number of listings in a market by roughly 6 to 12 percent, a sign that sellers like having a lower risk way to test the waters before fully committing.

What Is the Risk, and How Do You Use Coming Soon the Right Way?

Here is the part a lot of coming soon hype skips. More exposure usually means more money, and limiting exposure can cost a seller.

Zillow studied 2.72 million transactions and found that sellers who limited pre-market exposure could lose between 1.5 and 3.7 percent of their final sale price, and that pre-market listings took a median of 37 days to reach contract compared to 20 days for homes listed fully on the MLS.

That does not mean coming soon is bad. It means the goal of a coming soon window should be to build demand and then get the home in front of every buyer, not to keep it hidden. The agents who use it best treat it as a short on ramp to a full MLS launch, not a substitute for one.

A few honest rules of thumb for Denver agents:

Use the coming soon window to build demand, then list fully and publicly
Be transparent with your seller about the tradeoffs, in writing
Keep the coming soon period short and purposeful
Follow your MLS and brokerage rules on timing and disclosure
Never use coming soon to steer a seller away from full market exposure when that is not in their best interest

This is an area where MLS rules, brokerage policy, and fair housing all matter, so confirm compliance with your broker before you run any campaign. This is educational information, not legal advice.

How Can Denver Agents Run a Coming Soon Listing Step by Step?

Here is a simple framework I would use:

Confirm the rules first. Check your MLS delayed marketing policy and your brokerage guidelines before anything goes public, and get the seller's written instruction on file.
Set the timeline. Pick a short coming soon window, usually one to two weeks, with a firm go live date so the urgency stays real.
Prep the assets. Use the window to finish photos, video, and staging. Strong visuals are what make a coming soon post actually perform.
Build the teaser. Create a coming soon graphic and short video for social, email, and the portals. Tools like Canva make this fast.
Promote where buyers are. Post to social, run a small geo targeted ad to the surrounding Denver Metro zip codes, and use Zillow Preview where available. Here is how I teach agents to run Meta ads on a small budget.
Capture every lead. Send interested buyers and agents to a simple sign up, then tag them in your CRM so you can follow up the moment the home goes active.
Launch big on day one. When the coming soon period ends, go fully active on the MLS with all that built up demand pointed at the front door.

If you want the listing presentation side of this, I broke down how to build a modern Denver listing presentation that wins sellers, and a coming soon plan fits right into it.

Where Does Chicago Title Colorado Fit Into Your Coming Soon Plan?

A coming soon window is also the perfect time to get ahead on the parts of a closing that usually slow things down. As a Sales Executive with Chicago Title Colorado, part of what I do is help Denver Metro agents prep listings before they go live, from property and ownership research to opening title early so the path to closing is clean once you have an offer.

When you build demand on the front end and clear the title work on the back end, you give your seller a smoother, faster experience and you look like the professional who thought of everything.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a coming soon listing in real estate?

A coming soon listing is a home that is publicly marked as about to come to market but is not yet active or showable in the MLS. Agents use the coming soon window, usually one to three weeks, to build buyer interest and capture leads before the property officially goes live.

Are coming soon listings allowed in Colorado in 2026?

Yes, but the timing and marketing are governed by your MLS and brokerage rules. NAR kept its Clear Cooperation Policy in place and added a delayed marketing option, and each MLS sets its own delay period. Denver Metro agents should confirm current rules with their broker before running a coming soon campaign.

Do coming soon listings sell for more money?

Not necessarily. A coming soon window can build demand, but research from Zillow found that limiting pre-market exposure can cost sellers between 1.5 and 3.7 percent of the final sale price. The best approach is to use coming soon to build interest, then list fully on the MLS for maximum exposure.

How long should a coming soon listing last?

Most coming soon windows run one to three weeks. For Denver agents, a shorter window of one to two weeks with a firm go live date usually works best, because it builds urgency without keeping the home hidden from buyers for too long.

A coming soon strategy is a great example of how one well timed idea can change how a listing performs. If you are a Denver Metro or Colorado real estate agent who wants help building a listing marketing plan, or you want me to walk your office through strategies like this, reach out anytime. You can find more tools, resources, and upcoming classes at MileHighTitleGuy.com.

Jerad Larkin

Sales Executive | Chicago Title Colorado

milehightitleguy.com

My Blog