It depends on the seller's goals and the home, and the research does not agree. A private sale can protect privacy and speed, but it limits how many buyers see the home, and Zillow's analysis found that homes sold off the MLS typically sold for 1.3% less.
Imagine you have been searching for a home on the Westside for six months. You have seen everything on Zillow and Redfin. You know the listings better than some agents. Then one day you find out a house on your favorite street just sold, and you never saw it listed. Never toured it. Never knew it was available.
That story is real, and there is a big debate in real estate right now about whether private listings help homeowners or keep buyers in the dark. The industry has argued about it loudly. What has gotten less attention is what it means for you, the buyer or seller.
I'm Keri White, President and Broker of Human Element Real Estate in Los Angeles, and I have thoughts.
What Is an Off-Market or Pocket Listing?
It is a property offered for sale without the public marketing you would normally expect. It might be shared directly between agents, through a private network, or with a select group of qualified buyers. In Los Angeles we call them pockets.
I use these networks. I have been part of Top Agent Network, and I regularly talk with other agents about properties their clients may be considering selling before those homes ever appear online. We have monthly meetings, we discuss pockets on broker caravan, and we tell each other about them during escrow. Pockets are a Los Angeles thing.
For a buyer, that access can be incredibly valuable, especially when you want one specific street, a certain type of architecture, or a home that almost never becomes available.
Should a Seller Sell Their Home Privately?
Here is where I separate two very different things. Finding an off-market opportunity for a buyer is one thing. Convincing a seller to limit who can see their home is another.
Say you own a $3 million home in Brentwood. An agent suggests selling it privately: no open houses, no strangers walking through, no public photos, and maybe a very convenient buyer who can close quickly. That sounds pretty good.
For some sellers, it is. Maybe you are going through a divorce, dealing with a sensitive family situation, or you simply value privacy more than exposing the home to every possible buyer. I respect that. Not everyone wants their house and their personal life all over the internet.
But what if three other buyers would have paid more for your property and never got the chance to see it? That is the question I want answered before recommending a private sale.
Do Private Sales Really Sell for Less?
The research is mixed, so here are both sides.
Zillow analyzed more than 15 million transactions from 2023 to 2025 and found that sellers who never listed on the MLS typically sold for 1.3% less than those who did. Nationally, that worked out to a typical loss of roughly $4,230 per home. That national figure is modest because the typical home costs far less than a Los Angeles home. On a $3 million home, 1.3% would be about $39,000.
Compass, which promotes private marketing, sees it differently. Its analysis of 70,809 of its own transactions from April 2025 to March 2026 found that homes marketed privately or as "Coming Soon" before hitting the MLS sold for 4.6% more and 34% faster than homes listed directly. Zillow's chief economist has argued that analysis is largely made up of homes that went through all the phases and ultimately sold on the MLS. Other researchers have reached conclusions that point both ways, and the incentives behind each study are worth keeping in mind.
I want to be careful with any statistic here. It does not mean every private listing sells for less, or that going public would automatically have produced a higher price. Different properties and different sellers have different reasons for choosing privacy. These are data points, not verdicts.
Still, if you are my seller, I want us to have that conversation. Is discretion worth potentially giving up some exposure? Maybe, absolutely. But I want it to be your decision, with the tradeoffs fully understood. I also do not like it when anyone acts as though one approach is automatically best for every seller.
How Can Buyers Find Off-Market Homes in Los Angeles?
If you have been house hunting here, you know the feeling of refreshing Zillow or Redfin, hoping something new finally shows up. But the MLS and public portals are not necessarily the whole universe of properties being discussed.
Maybe the owner of the house you love has been thinking about selling but has not committed. Maybe an agent knows about a property coming up in a few months. Maybe a seller is only willing to entertain a private offer. Those situations take more than an automated property alert.
Say you want a four-bedroom home north of Montana in Santa Monica, and inventory is painfully limited. I do not want to tell you there is nothing available and wait for an email notification. I want to be talking to other agents, asking what they are preparing to list, checking private networks, and seeing whether an owner might consider selling under the right circumstances.
That does not mean I can magically produce a house that is not for sale. It does mean we are doing more than shopping the same listings everybody else is seeing.
Is an Off-Market Home Automatically a Good Deal?
No. Sometimes an owner is asking significantly more than the home is worth because they are not particularly motivated to sell. Sometimes there is a perfectly good reason the property has not gone public.
So when a buyer comes to me excited about an exclusive opportunity, I still look at the comps, the condition, and what that home would realistically command on the open market. Exclusive does not necessarily mean valuable. Buyers get into trouble when they are so excited about access to something other people cannot see that they forget to ask whether they should buy it.
What Should Sellers and Buyers Do?
For sellers, the job is to decide which marketing strategy gives you the outcome you care about most. Sometimes that is maximum exposure and competitive bidding. Sometimes it is a discreet, carefully managed sale. Either way, start with a clear read on what your home is worth today.
For buyers, the job is to make sure you are seeing the opportunities, understanding their actual value, and not confusing access with a bargain.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an off-market listing? A property offered for sale without full public marketing. It may be shared between agents, through a private network, or with select buyers. In Los Angeles these are often called pocket listings.
Do off-market homes sell for less? Zillow's analysis of more than 15 million transactions found that homes sold off the MLS typically sold for 1.3% less. Compass's own data found that homes marketed privately before hitting the MLS sold for 4.6% more. The studies disagree, so the answer depends on the home and the strategy.
How much is 1.3% on a Los Angeles home? On a $3 million home, about $39,000. Zillow's national typical figure was roughly $4,230 per home, because the typical home nationally costs far less.
Is it worth selling my Brentwood or Santa Monica home privately? Only if privacy or speed matters more to you than reaching the widest buyer pool. It is worth a direct conversation with your agent about what you might give up.
Is an off-market home a better deal for buyers? Not automatically. Compare it against recent sales, check the condition, and look at what it would realistically sell for on the open market.
If you were selling a $3 million home, would you keep the process private or put it in front of the broadest buyer pool? If you are considering either side of that decision, reach out and I will talk through what an off-market strategy could look like for your situation, and whether it makes sense at all. Subscribe to KeriTV for more.
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