More than most buyers realise, and it is mostly history rather than secrets — which is exactly the part that changes what you should offer.
Active listings are public. Photos, description, price, size, bedrooms, taxes and community are all available to anyone on any portal, including this site.
Sold prices and property history require a free registered account — that is a licensing rule for MLS® data in Alberta rather than a paywall. Once registered you can see what homes actually sold for, which is the single most useful thing for judging whether a listing is priced sensibly.
None of this is confidential information about the seller. It is the transaction record, and it is the context that turns a price into a judgement.
Two homes listed at $749,000 can be completely different propositions. One listed three weeks ago at that price. The other listed at $815,000 in April, reduced twice, went conditional in June, came back in July, and is now on its third agent.
Those two sellers will respond very differently to the same offer, and the second home may or may not have a problem — but you would want to know before writing, and the public listing shows you none of it.
This is the least glamorous and most valuable thing a buyer's agent does. Not opening doors — reading the history before you commit six figures on the basis of twenty photographs.
Before you write on any property, ask your REALTOR® for: the full listing history, whether it has been listed previously at another price, whether any deal has collapsed and why, and the sold comparables with their terms. Any agent should provide that without hesitation.
If you are not working with anyone yet, you can still create a free account to see sold prices and history yourself — and ask us about any specific property, whether or not you have decided who to work with.