Multiple Offers - Do Real Estate Agent Secretly Share Info?

[Jeff Rodgers]

I've read many posts here and via Google about losing out on a house due to "multiple offers". As someone who comes from a software/data background, I simply to do not believe that multiple offers "just happen" on homes that have sat for weeks/months AND there was no price drop to trigger interest. 

I've purchase 3 rental homes in the past year or so, and I've missed out on 3 during the process. All 3 were houses that were doing nothing. And the last one, the listing agent literally said NO ONE ELSE is looking at this house at this time. I look at it, make offer within 24 hours, and agent says multiple offers are coming in "make your best". WE LOST THE HOUSE. The odds of this RANDOMLY happening aren't zero, but darn close.

So, MY QUESTION IS, when a sitting house gets ANY interest, do agents have some secret MLS list that blasts out houses with "new interest"? There's something nefarious going on here, and it's starting to drive me crazy. Different agents keep telling me "it just happens", but I'm sorry, it's not possible.

Also, off some of my Google searches, I've come across the term "pocket buyer" where it said agents would tell these buyers what the highest offer is/was so they could outbid. This does not seem legal, but maybe it is. I know agents have relationships with buyers where they simply tell them every "good deal"? For example, I've I'm putting in a offer that 20% below listing, and it's sat for 6 months, do agents email/call investors and say "hey, this house is about to go for 20% below asking price, you might want to look at it"?

Is there anything else going on here that I'm missing?

Thanks!