How Whisper Listings Are Reshaping the Luxury Real Estate Market

In today’s luxury property market, where scarcity reigns, privacy is prized, and buyers are increasingly strategic, another form of status has begun to wield real power: the whisper listing. For years, these “pocket” or “off-market” offerings floated quietly through elite broker circles, trading hands before the broader market ever knew they were available. Now, they’re at the center of one of real estate’s fiercest debates, thrust into the spotlight after Zillow announced earlier this year that it would ban pocket listings—specifically homes not entered into regional MLS databases—from its popular platform. Zillow argues that “if a listing is marketed directly to consumers without being listed on the MLS and made widely available where buyers search for homes, it will not be published on Zillow.” The timing of that rule is telling. With luxury inventory still scarce and demand stubbornly strong, the policy pits the industry’s push for transparency against a high-end clientele that has always prized discretion. Pocket listings are far from a new phenomenon, but their modern momentum can be traced to one of Manhattan’s most influential buildings, 220 Central Park South. “It was, to date, the highest-profile building ever sold out,” says Scott Hustis of Paradigm Advisory, who has worked inside several of the city’s most confidential new developments. And, he went on, “The building was completely sold off market.” That blueprint has since become a template for developers eager to cultivate exclusivity while testing pricing in private and avoiding the public scrutiny of how many days a home languishes on the open market. For developers, the advantages are structural. Off-market launches allow them to control pricing without broadcasting inventory or sales velocity. “They can almost pick and choose who they’re deciding to work with,” Hustis explains. Buyers, meanwhile, are drawn to the status and privacy that come with being granted early access to something not yet available to the wider market. “There definitely is a prestige for buyers… It’s, how do we get in? How do we get an appointment?” he says. Privacy is one of the biggest drivers—both personally and professionally. Prominent individuals and high-level executives often prefer not to signal a move before a corporate announcement, and families with school-age children may simply want to avoid neighborhood speculation. “New York is such a big city, but it’s also such a small place,” Hustis notes. For these buyers and sellers, whisper listings offer control over when—and to whom—the news spreads. The trend is increasingly shaping how new developments debut. At 110 Boerum Place, a boutique condominium designed by Brent Buck Architects in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill, the developer Avdoo & Partners opted for an entirely under-the-radar rollout—no website and no public listings. Even so, four of the 21 residences went into contract almost immediately, including homes priced between $5.1 million and $6.75 million. “We felt the product could speak for itself,” says Shlomi Avdoo, the firm’s founder and CEO. “We didn’t need a traditional splashy rollout to attract the right audience.” Instead, the sales team introduced the building quietly, relying on a network of trusted brokers across the city to quietly hand-select potential buyers. The effect, he says, is transformative. “When a buyer hears about a project through a trusted broker or referral, the entire experience becomes more tailored. Buying a home is a major decision, and this makes the process feel more intentional and bespoke rather than transactional.” And, for brokers, that exclusivity becomes a form of currency. “Brokers really value off-market opportunities because it elevates what they’re able to offer their clients,” Avdoo explains. “It’s another point of differentiation… they have knowledge of luxury homes that aren’t publicly accessible or marketed.” At 110 Boerum Place, early interest has come largely from local CEOs, business leaders, and homeowners in Brownstone Brooklyn who have been tracking the project’s progress. Avdoo attributes the early momentum to the trust the firm built with brokers on previous developments. Other developers have begun adopting similar playbooks. That includes the upcoming Studio Sofield–designed tower at 1122 Madison Avenue in New York, where Legion Investment Group and Nahla Capital are quietly fielding early inquiries ahead of an official launch. The tactic positions the building, which is expected to be the Upper East Side’s priciest new development by starting price, as an ultra-exclusive whisper-level opportunity in a neighborhood experiencing a pronounced resurgence. For agents, whisper listings require more legwork and a deeper network, but the strategy pays off most at the top of the market. Inventory for large, family-sized homes—think five bedrooms and up—remains exceptionally limited. “There’s always a lack of larger homes,” Hustis says. “People are looking for more space.” That scarcity fuels private negotiations and often results in strong prices, with buyers willing to pay a premium to not have to compete for the property as they might if it were listed on the open market. Hustis says he more often sees off-market trophy properties trading at fair or above-market levels than at steep discounts. Still, the strategy has downsides. Sellers risk missing buyers who might have paid more in a public bidding environment, and less-experienced listing agents without a Rolodex of potential buyers may struggle to properly position a property without the amplification of the MLS. “Are you potentially leaving money on the table from buyers that would bid more but didn’t know about it?” Hustis says. “That is the risk.” It’s one reason Zillow argues that pocket listings disadvantage consumers, though brokers counter that the company’s rules apply unevenly. As Hustis explains, Zillow prohibits individual homeowners from quietly marketing their properties, yet developers can still pre-sell entire buildings off-market. The asymmetry, he believes, “really hurts a lot of individual sellers for the days on market, when we’re talking about their largest asset.” The argument about whether whisper listings should exist is, of course, different from whether they will. And at the high end, the answer appears clear. Hustis expects off-market strategies to remain a staple for ultra-luxury developments, particularly those commanding $6,000 per square foot and above. Past buildings like 140 Jane Street and 67 Vestry leaned heavily on off-market sales, and new projects appear poised to do the same. Even in the most privacy-driven corners of the market, however, public listings still have their moment. During the white-hot 2021 cycle—when bidding wars broke out at nearly every price point—sellers who wanted to maximize price often chose to go live rather than stay quiet. In frenzied conditions, exposure beats exclusivity. For now, though, the market is anything but frenzied. Inventory is tight, luxury buyers are selective, and privacy has become a form of luxury in itself. Developers are capitalizing on that psychology, and buyers are responding in kind because whisper listings are no longer the industry’s worst-kept secret—they’re becoming one of its most powerful tools. 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