By CityRealty Staff

320.9K Unique Monthly Visitors

A stack of bills awaiting Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature includes the “Fair and Transparent Real

Estate Listings Act,

” a measure that would make public marketing the default for residential sale and

rental listings in New York State. The bill does not eliminate private listings outright, but it would

require sellers and landlords to sign a standardized disclosure form before directing their agent to

withhold a listing from public marketing.

For buyers, the issue comes down to access. Listings that never appear on a multiple listing service,

public portal, or broadly accessible platform can be difficult, if not impossible, for many consumers to find.

For sellers, the question is more complicated. Some may value privacy, discretion, or a softer launch

before going fully public. Others may lose out on exposure, competition, and potentially stronger offers if a

property is marketed only to a limited network.

The debate should not be framed as a simple question of whether private listings are good or bad, says

Briggs Elwell, CEO and co-founder of RLTYco, a platform that provides real estate professionals with

knowledge, resources, and support. In Mr. Elwell’s view, the central issue is consumer choice.

“Everyone

has a right with their personal property,

” he said, noting that some sellers have legitimate reasons to

control how widely information about their home is distributed.

In the meantime, the debate has revived an old real estate question: What is the value of a listing if most

of the market never gets to see it? Below, we look at what whisper and private listings are, why they

appeal to certain buyers, sellers, and brokers, what the proposed transparency law could mean for New

York real estate. Finally, we end with a round-up of active listings with upcoming open houses available to

tour for anyone who registers their visit beforehand.

What are whisper listings?

Whisper listings, sometimes called pocket listings or off-market listings, have long existed in residential

real estate. In the simplest terms, they are properties quietly circulated among select agents, buyers, or

broker networks rather than broadly advertised to the public.

The terms “whisper listing,

” “private listing,

” and “off-market listing” are often used interchangeably, but

there are subtle differences. A whisper listing is generally shared informally with a small circle of agents or

qualified buyers. A private listing may be marketed more formally, but only within a brokerage’s internal

network or another restricted-access channel. In both cases, the property may never appear on the MLS

or on major public listing sites.

That restricted visibility is exactly the point for some sellers. A celebrity, high-net-worth individual, or

owner of a particularly distinctive property may not want floor plans, photos, or pricing widely circulated.

Others may want to test pricing before a public launch, avoid open houses, or reduce the disruption of a

traditional marketing campaign.

The history of whisper listings

Whisper listings are not new, but they have attracted greater scrutiny in recent years as more brokerages,

portals, and regulators have debated who benefits when inventory is kept out of public view.In 2019, the National Association of Realtors introduced its Clear Cooperation policy. The policy generally

requires participating listing brokers to submit a property to the MLS within one business day of publicly

marketing it. The goal was to prevent available homes from being fragmented across private channels

and to preserve broader access to listing information.

Even with Clear Cooperation in place, private and off-market listings have continued to play a role in the

city and nationwide. Some brokerages have embraced exclusive internal networks as a way to give

sellers more control over how a home is introduced to the market. Critics argue that these systems

reduce transparency, limit buyer access, and give larger firms an advantage by keeping inventory inside

their own ecosystems.

The pros and cons for consumers

Whether whisper listings are helpful or harmful depends largely on where one sits in the transaction.

For some sellers, especially in the luxury market, private marketing can be appealing. Trophy properties

often trade through relationship-driven networks, and buyers at the highest price points may rely more

heavily on experienced agents than casual online searches. A private listing can also offer discretion,

reduce public exposure, and allow a seller to avoid the time, cost, and inconvenience of staging,

photography, and repeated showings.

Elwell points to celebrities, estate sales, and other sensitive situations as cases where off-market

marketing may be more than a convenience. For a public figure, he noted, news that an apartment is

being listed can invite speculation about career moves, personal circumstances, or finances.

“Imagine if

you heard a player from Knicks listed their apartment for sale, it would invite speculation that the person is

being traded to another team.

” In those cases, privacy may be part of the seller’s best interest, even if

broader exposure could potentially produce a higher price.

For buyers, a whisper listing can feel like a valuable inside track. In a low-inventory market, access to a

property before it is widely publicized may help a buyer avoid a crowded open house or a stressful

bidding war.

“Our responsibility is to serve our clients’ best interests, whether they are buyers or sellers, and broader

market exposure creates the strongest outcome”

– Jenny Lenz, agent, Dolly Lenz Real Estate

But there are tradeoffs. When a listing is withheld from public view, many qualified buyers may

never know it exists. That can reduce competition for the property and may lead to fewer offers,

weaker terms, or a lower final price for the seller. For buyers, private listings can also reinforce an

uneven playing field, favoring those with the right broker relationships while leaving others dependent on

incomplete public inventory.

This is the central consumer issue at the heart of the transparency debate. Since the rise of online

listings, buyers have had unprecedented access to housing information. Whisper listings move some of

that information back behind closed doors.

The pros and cons for agents and brokerages

Agents and brokerages also have a clear stake in the future of private listings.

In some cases, an off-market transaction may allow a listing agent, team, or brokerage to keep more

control over the deal. If the buyer is found internally or through a limited network, the listing side may be

more likely to capture both sides of the commission or keep the transaction within the same firm. For

large brokerages with deep rosters of agents and clients, private listing networks can be a powerful

business advantage.Smaller and independent brokerages may see the issue differently. If large firms are able to keep more

inventory inside their own systems, agents outside those networks may have fewer listings to show their

buyers. That can affect competition not only among buyers, but also among brokers trying to serve them.

This helps explain why policies such as Clear Cooperation and laws like New York’s proposed Fair and

Transparent Real Estate Listings Act are so divisive. Supporters see them as necessary safeguards for

market access and fair competition. Opponents argue that sellers should have more freedom to decide

how, when, and where their homes are marketed.

The Fair and Transparent Real Estate Listing Act

The Fair and Transparent Real Estate Listings Act would require timely public advertising or

marketing of residential properties on platforms accessible to the general public and to real estate

licensees representing prospective buyers or tenants. In practice, this means a listing agent would

generally need to market a property on an MLS or another public, broadly accessible platform unless the

seller or landlord signs a required opt-out disclosure.

The bill’s stated purpose is to promote fair housing opportunity, market competition, and accurate price

discovery. It is also aimed at reducing the use of private or limited-access listing channels that make

some homes visible only to select brokers, buyers, or brokerage networks.

Importantly, the bill would not ban private marketing altogether. Sellers and landlords could still

choose to keep a property off public platforms, but only after acknowledging the potential risks in writing.

Elwell questioned whether the proposed disclosure requirement would materially change seller behavior.

He compared the opt-out form to a kind of “nutritional label” for private listings, designed to make the risks

clearer rather than remove the option altogether. Sellers who truly need privacy, he said, are still likely to

choose an off-market strategy after acknowledging that public exposure may bring more buyers and

potentially a higher price.

Main points of the bill

●

Public marketing would become the default. Listing agents would generally be required to

publicly advertise or market residential properties for sale or lease on an MLS or another platform

accessible to the public and to licensed agents representing buyers or tenants.

●

Private and limited-access channels would be restricted. If a property is marketed through a

private brokerage network or other restricted channel, it would also need to be marketed publicly

at the same time unless the seller or landlord opts out.

●

Sellers and landlords could still choose privacy. The bill preserves the option for non-public

marketing, but only if the seller or landlord signs a standardized opt-out disclosure before or at

the time of entering into the listing agreement.

●

The opt-out form would explain the risks. The required disclosure would warn that withholding

a listing from public marketing may reduce visibility, limit online exposure, lead to fewer offers,

affect price or timing, and cannot be used in a discriminatory way.

●

Agents would have recordkeeping obligations. Listing agents would need to keep the signed

opt-out form for at least three years and make it available to the Department of State upon

request.

●

The Department of State would oversee implementation. The Department would issue rules

and make the standardized disclosure form publicly available.

●

Penalties could increase. The bill would raise the maximum fine for certain real estate licensee

violations from $2,000 to $5,000.

●

The law would not require open houses. Sellers and landlords would not be forced to hold

open houses or allow showings that violate their rights under state or federal law, including

health, safety, and security protections.It is important to note that sellers or landlords can still list privately under the Fair and Transparent Real

Estate Listings Act. They will simply be required to sign a disclosure form acknowledging the risks of

withholding their listing from public marketing, including fewer offers and possibly a lower sales price.

Compass broker Leonard Steinberg told the New York Post that his firm already provides such

disclosure forms, and he supports the bill for that reason. Many other real estate professionals concur.

Less competition, more privacy, or less exposure?

The debate over whisper listings is not simple. In certain situations, private marketing can serve a

legitimate purpose. A seller may have privacy concerns, security concerns, or a desire to avoid the

disruption of a full public launch. A buyer may benefit from learning about a home before it becomes

widely known.

But the larger question is whether a housing market works best when available properties are visible to

everyone or when access depends on private networks. New York’s proposed transparency law comes

down on the side of broader access, while still leaving room for sellers and landlords who knowingly

choose a quieter path.

For consumers, public listings remain the clearest view of what

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