I have been in the real estate business since 1979. I was a salesman at the age of 21, I started my own company at the age of 26. Today, one in seven residential contracts in America has our name on it. I have never held another job, and never will. I will go to my grave a real estate agent. I love this industry and the people in it. Even more, I love what we do for a living. We help people buy and sell homes. From first to last, it’s a privilege to help individuals and families with the most important financial and lifestyle decision of their lives.
It always has been and always will be.
In nearly fifty years in the industry, I’ve seen just about everything. From bullish markets to really low ones. From interest rates as high as 18% to as low as 2.7%. I’ve seen a steady stream of new ideas and models that promise to “reinvent” the industry. I have even approved my fair share. Most come and go. A few sticks. But another debate I never expected to see is the question of whether it is better for a real estate agent to market his property privately or publicly.
To understand why this is important, it helps to explain how real estate has traditionally worked in the United States.
MLS creates high exposure
For decades, the backbone of the real estate market has been the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS. MLS is not a company. It is a shared marketplace created by real estate agents in that marketplace. When a home is listed on the MLS, that property information is immediately available to almost every real estate agent on the market who is a member of the MLS, and by extension, to every honest buyer working with an agent who has access to the MLS. Additionally, all online real estate buyers and sellers are happy to get their data out of it.
In simple terms, the MLS creates higher exposure, higher competition and higher chances for a seller to find what the market is really willing to pay.
Private listings, often called “off-market” or “coming soon”, work quite differently. Instead of being put on the open market, the home is being sold to a few viewers. This is usually between a single brokerage, a private network or a select group of buyers. By design, few people ever know about the home. It has been argued that although it is not on the open market, “good” agents and all “potential” buyers know this.
In fact, there is no way to know this or to prove it.
Let me clarify. Sellers should have the right to choose how their home is sold.
It is their property, their knowledge, their equity and their financial future. After all, there are some reasons a seller might choose to use a private listing temporarily. Increased privacy, fewer display requests and more time for pre-market preparations are all possible outcomes. Agents and their companies must respect the right of the seller and support any choice made by their clients. But rights and informed decisions are not the same thing. And what concerns me today is not the idea of secretly marketing a home, but the potential lack of full, balanced disclosure surrounding it.
Some companies in our industry have begun to promote private listings as the best way for sellers. They went so far as to advertise “special access” as a benefit instead of a limitation. And that may be true. That is not my business. My issue is full disclosure. Full disclosure where the seller is fully informed of their options and the potential benefits and pitfalls of each. My concern takes caresssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss Where potential upswings are trumpeted, and potential downswings are whispered or ignored.
That is not obvious. That’s marketing dressed up as advice.
Here’s the truth: The MLS remains the most dynamic, open marketplace for home buyers and sellers ever created. It exposes the seller’s home to every potential buyer, with every member agent, in every market. Immediately. Nothing else offers that kind of access, competition or fairness.
Private listings, in contrast, limit visibility by description.
They limit exposure to a small set of consumers. That may benefit the seller who really values absolute privacy. But that can also reduce competition, undermine bargaining power and ultimately cost the seller money. Pretending it isn’t is disrespectful.
And there is an irony in all of this.
A seller who chooses privacy today becomes a buyer tomorrow. If they bought a system that handles inventory in the name of specialization, they will face the same limitations on the other side of the business. They won’t see everything available. They will only see what the person chooses to show them. There is no open market. There is no full picture. There is no chance to realize all the possible options. An opaque market works both ways.
It’s time to raise the bar
That’s why I believe it’s time for our industry to raise the bar.
I encourage full disclosure. Real disclosure for sellers and buyers alike. Not the tone. It’s not a story. A clear presentation of the pros and cons of the ways in which property can be sold and the ways in which property can be acquired. This way, people can decide what is really best for them.
We should respect their rights by empowering them to decide, not by making their consent.
States are beginning to understand this. In fact, Wisconsin passed a public marketing and transparency law that will go into effect on January 1, 2027.
The future of our industry must be about transparency and disclosure. Strong markets are built on trust, and trust is built on truth. Let’s give consumers the whole truth and let them make their own choices.
Let’s give homeowners clarity and let them choose with confidence.
Continue…
Gary Keller, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, Keller Williams Realty, LLC
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.
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